Turnout date spring 2015 beef farming

I said

As title suggests what dates are most lads aiming for.
Weather depended,land type all the factors to consider.Date of closing paddocks in 2014.
I'm aiming for mid march trying to get a couple of extra weeks this spring.
Following the dairy boys example by getting them out a bit earlier and turn grass in kilos quicker.
On heavy type land so restricts February turnout

Muckit

St. Patricks Day..........well maybe the day after

I nearly had a lad convinced today that Good Friday was falling on a Thursday this year!

Mad4simmental

Same as Muckit, generally paddys day befoure they get out here or elce they swim. November first was our closing date and that was about two weeks later than normal.

Bullocks

All depends on the weather really but as soon as places are dry enough not to poach I'm going to let out bits and bobs in small numbers , the boss tends to wait untill later and the grass is too strong which is a bad start but I think he will give into an earlier turnout this year because he is getting a bit old to be scraping out the cubicles and is well sick of it this year !

TUBBY

Paddys Day the usual target. Few wet days could change that....

heavy land too.

Kovu

Muckit wrote: »

St. Patricks Day..........well maybe the day after

I nearly had a lad convinced today that Good Friday was falling on a Thursday this year!

Sounds like that joke about this fella.

Aim for Paddys day here too but don't always hit that target.

Greengrass1

How heavy is the land lads?
Could you not let out cows on there own for s few hrs and let them back to shed to the calves around dinner time

RobinBanks

Greengrass1 wrote: »

How heavy is the land lads?
Could you not let out cows on there own for s few hrs and let them back to shed to the calves around dinner time

I was thinking about doing this on one of the silage fields beside the road way going up the farm. The grass is a bit long to put slurry on it, it would be a good idea alright. The problem is I work full time and won't be able to manage it. The baby calves go in and out to the fields but they won't eat much.

Deepsouthwest

Greengrass1 wrote: »

How heavy is the land lads?
Could you not let out cows on there own for s few hrs and let them back to shed to the calves around dinner time

I think u have no comprehension of wet land GG, I walked a lot my place yesterday and while I've never had more grass, there's no way I could let cows out for another few wks, and that's assuming that we get a lot of dry weather in the interim. We've actually had rain nearly every day recently. Don't get me wrong, I've often seen land an awful lot wetter, but still too soft for me to venture out. I couldn't believe how dry that field u posted on grass measuring was yesterday. I'll stick up a few photos later of my place, and u'll see what I'm talking about.

Greengrass1

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

I think u have no comprehension of wet land GG, I walked a lot my place yesterday and while I've never had more grass, there's no way I could let cows out for another few wks, assuming that we get a lot of dry weather in the interim. We've actually had rain nearly every day recently. Don't get me wrong, I've often seen land an awful lot wetter, but still to soft for me to venture out. I couldn't believe how dry that field u posted on grass measuring was yesterday. I'll stick up a few photos later of my place, and what I'm talking about.

Very true I don't know what wet land is.
I've 10 acres here with springs in it that's hard to graze now but rest is good to go.

I couldn't imagine having to leave cows in till paddy's day.
Just seems wrong

I said

Greengrass1 wrote: »

How heavy is the land lads?
Could you not let out cows on there own for s few hrs and let them back to shed to the calves around dinner time

Out for a few hrs I've no intention of chasing after hairy arse bullocks around after a few hrs grazing don't be on the farm long enough to get used to the place yr after yr.
I might get a few weanlings start of march and let them work away if the weather is half decent.

Deepsouthwest

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Very true I don't know what wet land is.
I've 10 acres here with springs in it that's hard to graze now but rest is good to go.

I couldn't imagine having to leave cows in till paddy's day.
Just seems wrong

Not my wettest or driest field

Greengrass1

And here's me flat out with the tanker on what the cows grazed and only making a mark at the gap

Greengrass1

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Not my wettest or driest field

I was on a farm in clonmel before with similar type soil maybe even worse.was April 13 and cows going to there knees still.

Deepsouthwest

Had more pics but my phone won't let me load as it says file too big, even when I only include one pic. Fcukin technology!

sea12

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

A few pics, not my wettest or driest field. Plenty covers like this around, but no hope of getting out. U can see in last picture how easy it is to root even in my boots. I think we have good soil to grow grass, but it's what's underneath is the prob, water takes ages to get down through it.

I've a few sheep that will look after that for u deep south.!!!
Just saw the second pic. Think the sheep would even sink in that

Bullocks

Greengrass1 wrote: »

And here's me flat out with the tanker on what the cows grazed and only making a mark at the gap

Ah GG you're just giving us the rub now !

Deepsouthwest

Soft

TheSunderz

it takes a good farmer to manage the heavy land :P sure there's no challenge with dry land :rolleyes:

larrymiller

TheSunderz wrote: »

it takes a good farmer to manage the heavy land :P sure there's no challenge with dry land :rolleyes:

What about a drought!

Bullocks

larrymiller wrote: »

What about a drought!

Not really much of a problem sure they have February's silage to use as buffer :P

Farmer Pudsey

If weather comes anyway right I be letting cattle off from February 28. Aim is to have everything out by St Patrick's Day.

Base price

TheSunderz wrote: »

it takes a good farmer to manage the heavy land :P sure there's no challenge with dry land :rolleyes:

We don't have dry land ourselves but a friend in South Wexford does. Not easily managed land during a prolonged dry spell of weather which is common in that part of the country.
Our yearling stock have access to paddocks all winter, more so to keep them from getting bored and they can lie out on sunny days.
Ground conditions V slurry spreading we aim for late Feb early March but its an annual event depending on the weather to get older cattle out.

TheSunderz

larrymiller wrote: »

What about a drought!

I think prolonged wet spells are more common than dry ones! Besides ye can start harvesting rainwater for your 'droughts' :P

Mac Taylor

We turn out cows as they calve. Mind you our land is limestone. Definitely puts a step in your walk when you see freshly calved cows and their calves going out😍

leg wax

40 weanlings going to grass mid feb i hope,plan on emptying all tanks this week if weather stays this way.

Miname

Il aim for the end of February for replacements. Cows will be going out as they calve over the next few weeks. Autumn calves are creeping out as is but there mothers will stay in until near April.

larrymiller

All cattle out. Mower coming today to do 50 acres of second cut.

leg wax

larrymiller wrote: »

All cattle out. Mower coming today to do 50 acres of second cut.

any pics larry:D:D

larrymiller

leg wax wrote: »

any pics larry:D:D

Just getting going now

blue5000

Weanlings going out mid feb, cows going out as they calve from paddys day, weather permitting.

I said

Beef farmers should target a February turnout date
http://www.agriland.ie/news/beef-farmers-target-february-turnout-date/

rushvalley

I said wrote: »

Beef farmers should target a February turnout date
http://www.agriland.ie/news/beef-farmers-target-february-turnout-date/

The lad that wrote that has clearly never been on farm west of the shannon on valentines day:pac:

It will be early March before theres any cattle out around me anyways

Mad4simmental

I'd love sum of these clowns to farm sum of my bog for a year to open their eyes that everyone is not farming in the golden vale. Or are farming a small fragmented farm not a nice big block all together.

I said

That's why I put it up here,no thinking to it no more than the new research farm at athenry all in one block.

AP2014

Mad4simmental wrote: »

I'd love sum of these clowns to farm sum of my big for a year to open their eyes that everyone is not farming in the golden vale. Or are farming a small fragmented farm not a nice big block all together.

Seems handy being a suckler farm. According to the artcle just by a cow like this:

Suckler farmers are being advised to actively asses all of their cows. Teagasc now defines a good breeding female as one that produces a weanling for sale every calendar year within a 365-day calving interval; has sufficient milk to maximise weanling gains and is easy kept.

The prerequisite to all of this is that replacement heifers should calve down successfully at twenty four months of age.

Kovu

AP2014 wrote: »

Seems handy being a suckler farm. According to the artcle just by a cow like this:

Suckler farmers are being advised to actively asses all of their cows. Teagasc now defines a good breeding female as one that produces a weanling for sale every calendar year within a 365-day calving interval; has sufficient milk to maximise weanling gains and is easy kept.

The prerequisite to all of this is that replacement heifers should calve down successfully at twenty four months of age.

And then elsewhere it says to breed your own replacements using the ICBF data, fair enough, but how about the sods law bull calves that are 5 stars for milk and maternal

Changing our calving the next few years to March if at all possible, then sell in late November. Calves on the slats are too much hardship, calve them and let them off.

Miname

If Teagasc aim for February we as suckler farmers usually take their info with a pinch of salt. So with this might aim for March. And with that they have set a seed in farmers minds to push a bit more towards maximising the utilisation of grass. The dairy men are getting them out earlier we should be trying once the figures stack up.

freedominacup

TheSunderz wrote: »

I think prolonged wet spells are more common than dry ones! Besides ye can start harvesting rainwater for your 'droughts' :P

Average rainfall year is a drought year here. Just starting our eighth month, actually our 20th out of the past 26 months, feeding silage now. End in sight alright but shur a bit of hardship is probably good for our souls considering how handy we have it on this dry ground.

I said

Seriously considered letting a few out today,didn't bother after just as well with the showers that are falling now.2 more weeks hopefully.