2014 fodder crisis- has it begun already

stanflt

Just reading that lads are feeding already- just like last year except in totally different conditions

With no surpluses this year could it be a worse winter for many

mothoin

There are huge amounts of hay/haylage/silage for sale though, albeit most of it seems to be of pretty dubious quality! one of my neighbours made hay on a field that would be 50/50 grass an weeds!

Surely with the amount of fodder made should ease the burden, I can see hay getting fairly cheap soon as lads rush to get it off the field!

Now we have no cattle or sheep, just horses, but I am going to buy a year and half worth of haylage, 100 bales, and then fill our shed with ryegrass hay, its just a matter of finding the hay, as I have the haylage sourced!

blue5000

mothoin wrote: »

There are huge amounts of hay/haylage/silage for sale though, albeit most of it seems to be of pretty dubious quality! one of my neighbours made hay on a field that would be 50/50 grass an weeds!

Surely with the amount of fodder made should ease the burden, I can see hay getting fairly cheap soon as lads rush to get it off the field!

Now we have no cattle or sheep, just horses, but I am going to buy a year and half worth of haylage, 100 bales, and then fill our shed with ryegrass hay, its just a matter of finding the hay, as I have the haylage sourced!

And the money to buy it!!:eek:

Timmaay

You feeding yet stan? Or do you ever stop supplementing them high output HOs?

Also, have many people given up on maize this year, after the brutal crop last few years, I certainly know a good few who stopped after last year, and of course are kicking themselves now! I wouldn't mind buying in some to feed the winter ladies, I wounder how much will be for sale later in the year, or will maize be tight also!

blue5000 wrote: »

And the money to buy it!!:eek:

Only saving grace for the dairylads this year is the high milk price, I think many of us would be facing an overall year well worse than 2009 if the milk price had not been good!

bob charles

Timmaay wrote: »

Also, have many people given up on maize this year, after the brutal crop last few years, I certainly know a good few who stopped after last year, and of course are kicking themselves now! I wouldn't mind buying in some to feed the winter ladies, I wounder how much will be for sale later in the year, or will maize be tight also!

Like any crop you have to stick with it through the good and bad years. I usually see the good growers always seem to have a good crop irrespective of the year. I have around 30 ac as had cut back due to making a decision to feed less maize silage in the diet than I used to and use more maize meal. currently it seems like im winning on both counts which is unusual.

Anyone having to be feeding bales now are on dry land and didnt really experience the true fodder crisis last winter. this weather is really benefitting the farmers who farmed last winter with little or no forage

As someone how buffer feeds all animals at grass the more heat we can get the better and it doesnt bother me if place goes completely brown as energy maintenance is so low in hot weather that they put all the grub on their backs

Going forward...

They're so content in this heat, doesn't take much feed to satisfy them. It's nothing like the drudgery we faced 12 month ago, for man and beast.

Dampintheattic

bob charles wrote: »

Like any crop you have to stick with it through the good and bad years. I usually see the good growers always seem to have a good crop irrespective of the year. I have around 30 ac as had cut back due to making a decision to feed less maize silage in the diet than I used to and use more maize meal. currently it seems like im winning on both counts which is unusual.

Anyone having to be feeding bales now are on dry land and didnt really experience the true fodder crisis last winter. this weather is really benefitting the farmers who farmed last winter with little or no forage

As someone how buffer feeds all animals at grass the more heat we can get the better and it doesnt bother me if place goes completely brown as energy maintenance is so low in hot weather that they put all the grub on their backs

Yes. Suckler cows in great condition now. Calves well ahead as well.
I have one young cow who hasn't benefited at all condition wise.
Was thinking she might need a fluke dose or the likes.
Then this morning I saw the real problem. The bull was sucking her. Cleaned her out the fkuer. Her calf is in fine fettle, but watching him for a while, he's getting sups from several different cows. Nature, eh! -;)

stanflt

Timmaay wrote: »

You feeding yet stan? Or do you ever stop supplementing them high output HOs?





Only saving grace for the dairylads this year is the high milk price, I think many of us would be facing an overall year well worse than 2009 if the milk price had not been good!

No not feeding just after doing a walk an I can see where the cows are going to be in 10 days so I'm ok- however curve has flatlined for anything graze in the last seven days- this means I need to introduce buffer in three to four days time so I don't run into a shortfall

Prevention is better than cure

Cows dropped 3 litres in last week- still doing 29 litres over whole herd and well over 2.1kg milk solids which will rise next week as I have the first batch of September calvers to dry off- this in turn will further drop damand and bring stocking rate below 4 for the first time since April- for me it had been a fantastic year for growth and I've already caught up on the defecite lost in the spring- any amount of fodder around here but I always like a reserve for the following year to cover the what if scenario like this year

freedominacup

I farm in as dry a parish as there is in the country, very light dry soils and generally less rain than most of the country. Most guys would have a significant proportion of their winter forage still in the field at the start of Sept most years and these crops are flying. Everybodies feeding but no-one is panicking, quite the opposite, enjoying the good weather most of us, always see one of the neighbours at the pier/beach in the evenings after work, happy days.:)

It's probably easier to make contingiencies for dry weather on dry land than to deal with a 2012 on wet ground. Last year might show the bales big downfall, the difficulty in keeping them beyond a season. Might there be a case for guys in the wetter areas to make a bit of pit silage from the surpluses they all appear to have this year that they would leave unopened until the next bad summer. Guys at the end of last winter were feeding out from the back of pits that hadn't seen daylight for 8-10 years. Pit silage keeps, bales rot. I think the problem of not being well set up for pit silage might seem like a small one the day you needed to open that pit.

Viewtodiefor

Fog burning off this morning. Ground really drying out it will be fair burned after another week of this! Long term forecast models look really settled likely this fine spell stretching out for another two weeks at least, I'm not complaining but looks like we will be feeding bales after two weeks. If no rain arrives. Reading mt cranium he seems to think we r in for a really dry spell! This will have a big effect on winter forage if it materialises

mf240

In 2006 we had no rain for 14 weeks and it's been said that this blocking high pressure we have now is the same as that year.
I reckon it will be sept before we have rain.
Those of you that measure can you tell me if demand reduces in the hot weather.
Also why not feed meal and keep silage for winter?. Sorry if that's a stupid question.

delaval

The one certainty is that it will rain. We will get 1m of rain as we do every year with very few exceptions.

All haggards will be filled in the autumn. Beet, maize and grain crops look really good at the moment and I'd say combining will start in winter barley this week.

Lots if early silage made and half the country seems to be baled for hay and all the should be great quality. With all this in mind I think the back end will be very good and in all 2013 will be remembered as one if the best farming years in a while, as long as we don't have a super levy!!!!????

Viewtodiefor

delaval wrote: »

The one certainty is that it will rain. We will get 1m of rain as we do every year with very few exceptions.

All haggards will be filled in the autumn. Beet, maize and grain crops look really good at the moment and I'd say combining will start in winter barley this week.

Lots if early silage made and half the country seems to be baled for hay and all the should be great quality. With all this in mind I think the back end will be very good and in all 2013 will be remembered as one if the best farming years in a while, as long as we don't have a super levy!!!!????

Yeah so what r the odds on super levy now?? Must be dropping fast? What do u reckon the econimics of feeding extra meal relative to bales? Considering most people are trying to build their winter feed

Mulumpy

Would hay be any good to buffer feed dairy cows or would it hit their yield too much. Would prefer to leave silage for winter

keep going

wouldnt be as paniciky this year if barley is drop down to 140approx.much better off buying ration as opposed to silage or whatever at least you have something to sell.anyway cattle are eating nothing at the moment.:)

delaval

Viewtodiefor wrote: »

Yeah so what r the odds on super levy now?? Must be dropping fast? What do u reckon the econimics of feeding extra meal relative to bales? Considering most people are trying to build their winter feed

My opinion of superlevy hasn't changed, will be a struggle to fill it nationally however back end will tell a lot.

Meal prices are falling and will fall further. Per kg fed the return on meal will beat all forage hands down. Meal alone if all your grass is gone wont be enough so I think good bales or maize will need to be included. I will be avoiding pit silage at all costs to protect solids and max milk price.

We were on 1kg 12% cows milking 1.8kgms/day they dropped and we now are on 2 kg for the moment and they have recovered. We will prob increase protein as silage increased over coming week. At the moment we are restricting cows to 2kg nuts, 4kg baled and only 11 kg grass. We will try to keep this level if grass in diet but we are really dry at the moment.

We were stocked at >5 'till two weeks ago but are back to 3.6 now and with Sept calvers going dry next week this will help. We will also have second cut ground coming back in but this will only take the place of area burned off for reseeding!!!??

We took an early second cut in bales cover 1800 in order to have enough bales for milkers.

We are feeding bales at the moment and it looks like our stack will be small come Oct however we have pits almost full. Second cut starting today 50 acres and 50 more in 2 weeks after my holidays.

reilig

Hay is still over priced. See people looking for €35 per bale around here!

stanflt

reilig wrote: »

Hay is still over priced. See people looking for €35 per bale around here!

It's over priced above 22euro a bale

vanderbadger

you would want to know where the hays coming from as well, ive seen fields that havent been cut in years baled as hay in the last 2 weeks, it was brown ****e before it was ever cut..some amount of rubbish baled up

whelan1

stanflt wrote: »

It's over priced above 22euro a bale

only 2 months ago it was going for twice that, i hope to buy some later for under 20 euro a bale... is it being moved at those stupid prices?

reilig

whelan1 wrote: »

only 2 months ago it was going for twice that, i hope to buy some later for under 20 euro a bale... is it being moved at those stupid prices?

Hay was €70 per bale from the co-op around here 2 months ago
Our baleing contractor was telling us on saturday that he had priced a load. @ €35 per bale. I'd say that €10 per bale is in it for the haulage to here, so you should get it from the field @ €25. Even then, it's too expensive. If we have this cheap grain that they're promising, hay won't be as expensive. Would have to agree on the remarks above about quality - a lot of ****e was baled up in the last few weeks - it'll only help to spread weeds around the country!

sea12

reilig wrote: »

Hay was €70 per bale from the co-op around here 2 months ago
Our baleing contractor was telling us on saturday that he had priced a load. @ €35 per bale. I'd say that €10 per bale is in it for the haulage to here, so you should get it from the field @ €25. Even then, it's too expensive. If we have this cheap grain that they're promising, hay won't be as expensive. Would have to agree on the remarks above about quality - a lot of ****e was baled up in the last few weeks - it'll only help to spread weeds around the country!

I sold 2 loads at 25 a bale ex field. No problem getting it. Was nice clean stuff though. Regular buyer too.

Dampintheattic

What's all this talk of fodder crisis 2014. There will be no such thing. All the wet land in the country, is being baled and rebaled, like never before. Grass, rushes, docks, ferns, ragwort, buttercups, thistles, nettles, briars, and so on.

Get your orders in now, before it's too late.

Remember, when the are they're gone, they're gone:):)

Dial 1-800-FODDER, now:cool:

PatQfarmer

reilig wrote: »

Hay is still over priced. See people looking for €35 per bale around here!

€25 delivered for good hay in Tipp. Short draw.

1chippy

This farmer went in with his pregnant wife when she was giving birth. When all was done the midwife came out and told him it was a boy. The farmer was over the moon and asked the midwife will he make a farmer? Of course he will she said he's crying already.

Muckit

Dampintheattic wrote: »

What's all this talk of fodder crisis 2014. There will be no such thing. All the wet land in the country, is being baled and rebaled, like never before. Grass, rushes, docks, ferns, ragwort, buttercups, thistles, nettles, briars, and so on.

Get your orders in now, before it's too late.

Remember, when the are they're gone, they're gone:):)

Dial 1-800-FODDER, now:cool:

Heard one down the pub the other night.....
New film being made about the bad spring farming wise.... they're calling it 'In the name of the fodder'

Timmaay

delaval wrote: »

Meal prices are falling and will fall further. Per kg fed the return on meal will beat all forage hands down. Meal alone if all your grass is gone wont be enough so I think good bales or maize will need to be included. I will be avoiding pit silage at all costs to protect solids and max milk price.

You mind running through the diet you feed to your autumn milkers? Say for when they are indoors off grass? If you are avoiding pit silage, do you feed them all maize/beet, and then parlour nuts? Mine got exclusively pit silage, and parlour feed nuts last winter, I had quite a few calf down in Nov/Dec, most of whom lost a shedload of condition, I was lucky that it suited me to push them all over to calf down Feb next year, as alot did not come bulling until April anyways. I certainly don't want a repeat of that with the autumn ladies this winter!

delaval

Timmaay wrote: »

You mind running through the diet you feed to your autumn milkers? Say for when they are indoors off grass? If you are avoiding pit silage, do you feed them all maize/beet, and then parlour nuts? Mine got exclusively pit silage, and parlour feed nuts last winter, I had quite a few calf down in Nov/Dec, most of whom lost a shedload of condition, I was lucky that it suited me to push them all over to calf down Feb next year, as alot did not come bulling until April anyways. I certainly don't want a repeat of that with the autumn ladies this winter!

We feed nuts and bale silage, while it lasts.
We have beet ordered chopped, washed and delivered for this year as will be short of silage IMO.

We fill our contract mostly with spring calvers usually sell Autumn ladies. Bonus not good enough to justify calving too many in Sept.

What I meant about no pit silage was in relation to cows for the grazing season

Dampintheattic

Muckit wrote: »

Heard one down the pub the other night.....
New film being made about the bad spring farming wise.... they're calling it 'In the name of the fodder'

Fukn classic!!! -;)

mf240

Muckit wrote: »

Heard one down the pub the other night.....
New film being made about the bad spring farming wise.... they're calling it 'In the name of the fodder'

Did ya hear about the farmer that was with the hooker?

First it was too dry, then it was too wet, then it was too expensive.:D