Farming Chit Chat II

oxjkqg

bbam wrote: »

Folks..
What HP to pull a mole plough or subsoiler, single leg??
Ground is heavy..

Would I be mad to think 85HP 4WD would manage ??

Then im mental!! 75hp 2wd deutz and single leg home fabricated job not a bother!! the way i do it is drive away tickin over and if she hits a bad stone or rock she'll cut out or start spinnin. and if shes spinnin all the time then i think its too wet to mole drain or subsoil at all. ye may laugh but thats how it works for me. did 2 paddocks already this year when it was dry, probably not correct time of year but my god the difference is unreal regards dryin and soakage. every man should have a mole drainer or subsoiler of some sort or do a bit of it.:cool:

C0N0R

quadboy wrote: »

He says they dont get the crap kind of rain that we get and when they say its gona rain tomorrow it does not like our weather forecasters.

Aye If it going to rain, it rains then it fecks off elsewhere. Beautiful part of the world over there. Heading over in a few weeks once I've the cows dried off.

delaval

quadboy wrote: »

He says they dont get the crap kind of rain that we get and when they say its gona rain tomorrow it does not like our weather forecasters.

Yea, but the rain will still wet ya:P:P:P:P

quadboy

delaval wrote: »

Yea, but the rain will still wet ya:P:P:P:P

I'll also dry quicker though

quadboy

Am i the only one watching made in chelsea

valtra2

quadboy wrote: »

Am i the only one watching made in chelsea

why does that not suprise me

quadboy

Ah its totes amazeballs ha

darragh_haven

valtra2 wrote: »

why does that not suprise me

!
Jesus! That's some ****e. Herself watches that and I just feck off to bed. along with jersey shore, the Kardashians, the only way is Essex. Etc

quadboy

darragh_haven wrote: »

!
Jesus! That's some ****e. Herself watches that and I just feck off to bed. along with jersey shore, the Kardashians, the only way is Essex. Etc

Watched an ep of geordie shore and thought i would die, Made in chelsea is gas tho cos their all posh

hugo29

quadboy wrote: »

Am i the only one watching made in chelsea

Wtf is made in Chelsea, sounds like pain

darragh_haven

quadboy wrote: »

Watched an ep of geordie shore and thought i would die, Made in chelsea is gas tho cos their all posh

Bangin'!!!

Bizzum

hugo29 wrote: »

Wtf is made in Chelsea, sounds like pain

Pure scutter.

quadboy

inbetweeners on now yere surely watchin that

freedominacup

quadboy wrote: »

inbetweeners on now yere surely watchin that

Ahhh,... no:D

hugo29

quadboy wrote: »

inbetweeners on now yere surely watchin that

Quad boy you seriously need to get out more,:D

Muckit

quadboy wrote: »

inbetweeners on now yere surely watchin that

Have the boxset! The film is very good, seen it in cinema, but it was on the telly there last night... them dancing for the girls in the nightclub.... legend!

hugo29

It actually looks like a day in may this morning, sun shining blue sky, just looks though, still cold out, going to start a cow choir, they were all loooing in unison this am when I went out to shed, annoying but impressive:D

Dampintheattic

hugo29 wrote: »

It actually looks like a day in may this morning, sun shining blue sky, just looks though, still cold out, going to start a cow choir, they were all loooing in unison this am when I went out to shed, annoying but impressive:D

Far from May type of day here. River running through the land, is up to the brim. Made a lot of rain last night.

Muckit

Dampintheattic wrote: »

Far from May type of day here. River running through the land, is up to the brim. Made a lot of rain last night.

Yes rivers well up. the suck is flowing over here

reilig

This spring breeding season is proving to provide us with many challenges. One farmer in Dingle, Co Kerry, summed it up by outlining his predicament.
"It is the uncertainty associated with the current weather which makes it difficult to manage the dairy herd. Will I have to zero-graze the silage ground two miles away? The maiden heifers are still indoors since last July. When will the ground recover from the poaching caused when we had to graze heavy ground this spring?"

These issues are faced on many farms throughout Ireland. A reality check is now required by the relevant bodies supporting an expansion programme towards 2020.

These proposals have not addressed their impact on the family farm. Constraints relating to farm size and fragmentation have to be accepted.

Likewise, not everybody has the skill set required to manage large dairy herds in grass-based milk production systems, where weather has such a variable nature and determining effect on grass growth rates and dry matter intakes.

The level of stress at farm level is palpable on my daily farm visits throughout Ireland. The silence associated with the increase in calf and cow mortality has only of late brought it to media attention. The knackeries have seen a dramatic increase in fallen animals since early February. These numbers have been compounded by cattle mortality associated with the Schmallenberg virus.

The primary causes of cattle deaths has been poor quality silages harvested last year. There has also been less mephasis in recent years on ensuring a good reserve of silage, based on the view that the duration of winter feeding did not warrant the extra inventory cost.

Many farmers have also increased cow numbers with higher stocking rates and no additional housing for the winter period.

We cannot continue to develop food production systems which increase the stress on both the animals and their carers at various stages of the production cycle.

We pride ourselves on marketing milk products produced from a healthy environment. "The green green grass of home" will come to most peoples' minds; a cow grazing on a mild summer day with a child holding buttercups is the ultimate picture of a stress-free food production system.

Indeed, there is scientific data supporting the processability of milk being greater from healthy cows.

pivotal

The healthy cow has to be pivotal to our marketing of milk products in the future: Ireland will add value to milk by managing our dairy herds to achieve a scientifically recognised herd health status at all stages of the milk production cycle.

It is noteworthy that 80pc of your future dairy herd potential is determined by transition management. Unfortunately our low-cost approach to dry cow management and early post calving nutrition has been highlighted this year.

Bearing in mind the impact of dry cow management, we need a management approach which centres primarily on transition management. The budgets for forage conservation will have to increase to accommodate the needs of the grass-based milk production cycle because of the uncertainty of weather patterns.

The weather is already having an adverse effect on farmers starting their breeding programmes in early April. To counteract this I am recommending farmers to use USART (*Ultrasonography Assessment of the Reproductive Tract) to:

1. Assess the percentage of cows which are over forty days calved and are fit for AI.

2. Determine what percentage of these cows are bred over the next three weeks.

Current fitness percentage ranges from 40pc to 80pc, with a target of 90pc. Submission rates range from 55pc to 85pc, with a target of 95pc.

Surprisingly, the fitness of maiden heifers has been poor this year. Many heifers are not reaching target weight for breeding. However, we now realise that body weight targets are not a strong predictor of cyclicity.

Heifers that were previously cycling have stopped cycling. Many farmers who have resorted to the "blind" injection with prostaglandins at 12-day intervals have realised that they have wasted money after having a USART scan done. Increased stocking rates, housing on slats, early turnout to grass with reduced DMI and harsh weather have all been contributors to poor heat detection rates.

Identify non-cycling heifers and cows with impaired reproductive health by scanning. You can then maximise submission rates among fit cows and address the requirements of unhealthy cows by veterinary or nutritional intervention.

In conclusion, stress in both animals and their carers has to be addressed. A refocus is required whereby healthy cows for a healthy food chain is pivotal to our food marketing strategy. Stress-free cows benefits man, beast and the food chain.

Dr Dan Ryan is a bovine Reproductive Physiologist and can be contacted at www.CowsDNA.com

Irish Independent

Total reappraisal needed in all types of stock farming methinks!

hugo29

hugo29 wrote: »

It actually looks like a day in may this morning, sun shining blue sky, just looks though, still cold out, going to start a cow choir, they were all loooing in unison this am when I went out to shed, annoying but impressive:D

cancel that its raining again:mad:, not much rain last night but it lashed all day yesterday

bbam

hugo29 wrote: »

cancel that its raining again:mad:, not much rain last night but it lashed all day yesterday

Cold nights.
Was below 3c here most of the night. Grass is mostly at a stand still. There is that constant cutting wind, constant!

As the days creep bye we are heading down a bad path. Near the middle of may and I don't have a field I could travel on without rutting or probably getting stuck in. Small stock have mud marks to their knees.

quadboy

Bizzum wrote: »

She'll be on during the night or early morning.

She was standing a few times this morning so into the crush with her

Dampintheattic

The Journal quoted a statistic, last week that 25% of the total years grass should grow in May, and I think 60% of the annual total, should grow in May and June combined.
Given half May is already gone, with pretty much no growth. The immediate outlook is for more of the same weather. Land is already saturated, and for that matter badly poached.
Is it not already a given, that a fodder shortage for next winter is almost a certainty

reilig

Dampintheattic wrote: »

Is it not already a given, that a fodder shortage for next winter is almost a certainty

Not really. It's based on supply and demand. If there are not as many cattle in the country then the demand won't be as great. A lot of cows being slaughtered at the moment. If there are likely fodder shortages next winter, farmers will not carry passengers and they will get rid of animals through the factories in the autumn regardless of whether they are finished fully or not.

Dampintheattic

Good to see, the political classes, out there in the trenches, fighting tooth and nail on our behalf:rolleyes: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ming-insists-morocco-trip-not-a-glorified-holiday-29263840.html

hugo29

reilig wrote: »

Not really. It's based on supply and demand. If there are not as many cattle in the country then the demand won't be as great. A lot of cows being slaughtered at the moment. If there are likely fodder shortages next winter, farmers will not carry passengers and they will get rid of animals through the factories in the autumn regardless of whether they are finished fully or not.

well i for one decided last night that I am cutting back on numbers, saturated land at moment only half silage ground closed up, the rest was due to be reseeded 3 weeks ago, still not sprayed never mind reseeded, and to top it all off are we now looking at 7 month winters with housing on 1st November (if yer lucky) and turn out in mid may, not a chance,

jomoloney

heavy rain overnight again, forecast bad for weekend,

rounding all the sheep into 1 batch and using them to clear up the paddocks taking 1 less grazing with the cows

I try to avoid poaching at all costs

Off now to think out plan C if A and B don't work

iverjohnston

Some very depressed people about in our area, as we increasingly face into another year of cooler temp's and heavy showers. Fodder shortage probably not as severe overall as in the southern counties, but many individual cases of extreme need. Most years in this area, and with the heavy soils predominate in drumlin counties, turnout in early/mid April would be a good result, often nearer May 1st. Housing usually in mid/late October. The knock-on effects of last summer will really impact from now on, with many people having silage fields poached and still holding water and unsown. So while we are used to making silage to provide for a 6 to 7 month winter, even this model of farming is unsustainable when the growing season is unable to provide sufficient grass.

reilig

hugo29 wrote: »

well i for one decided last night that I am cutting back on numbers, saturated land at moment only half silage ground closed up, the rest was due to be reseeded 3 weeks ago, still not sprayed never mind reseeded, and to top it all off are we now looking at 7 month winters with housing on 1st November (if yer lucky) and turn out in mid may, not a chance,

We've had 6 month winters all our lives and had to prepare for it accordingly. Housed at the end of October and let out at the end of April. It's the housing in July that caught us for fodder and these last 2 weeks have seen us scavenging for fodder. The 6x3x3 bale of hayledge from france that we picked up in the co-op yesterday afternoon was gone at 7pm yesterday evening. Doing a 120 mile round trip with the jeep and trailer to pick up 3 bales of hayledge from a relation tomorrow.

We're not short of grass. Meadows have been closed at normal times. Only problem is that we can't walk across the land.