Farmer Focus: Outdoor calving of heifers hinges on weather

The arrival of two sets of twin calves early on the morning of 7 April signalled the start of calving for 2024. Their smooth delivery brought a little optimism for the rest of the season. 

Usually, heifers and twins are calved indoors for ease of management, and the rest are outside. After recently cutting back sheep numbers, we had decided to use the space to calve the heifers outside this year as well.

Given the recent wet weather, though, we ended up sticking to the original indoor-calving plan – at least initially.

As weather conditions hopefully improve, and fields dry up, outdoor calving for the remaining heifers remains a strong probability.

See also: 5 ways to ensure a safe and successful beef calving 

About the author

David Girvan

Livestock Farmer Focus writer David Girvan and family run a 140-cow Stabiliser herd and wool-shedding crossbred ewes on a 3,000ha upland farm west of Inverness. Finished stock are sent to Woodheads. Diversifications include pumpkin picking, wind turbines and a biomass boiler.

Read more articles by David Girvan

We are lucky to have missed the relentless rain and strong winds battering the eastern side of the country in recent weeks.

Usually, I am jealous of the weather and grass growth in the East. But although we have had some unfavourable days, our area has received rainfall within normal averages for the time of year, which is fortunate for us.

One of the reasons we don’t lamb until later in the season is the lack of grass at this time of year.

With input costs high anyway, this weather could have an effect on many livestock farms already finding it difficult to make ends meet. 

As we gear up for lambing, preparations have got under way to ensure ewes are in good condition.

Throughout the winter, ewes have been primarily supplemented with silage during snowy periods, and leftover feed buckets in the lead-up to lambing.

Grazing rotations have been adjusted to meet the increasing nutritional demands of the pregnant ewes, with plans to set-stock them shortly before lambing begins. 

We were delighted to be invited by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to meet Princess Anne at the opening of the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre a few weeks ago, along with several of the local SAC consultants.

The centre is SRUC’s new facility in Inverness. We were impressed by Princess Anne’s knowledge of the industry and her genuine interest in the subject.

We enjoyed seeing a demonstration by one of the lab technicians in the new post-mortem room afterwards.

It is a great facility that will hopefully open many new doors for the next generation.