Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

keep going

Timmaay wrote: »

Different country up here, alot of totally saturated paddocks yep, but enough dry ones to get away without to much damage. I can never understand cows standing at gaps, leave the bloody gap open for them to come back in ha. If they only get 2hrs grazing done and back in that is fine! I was lucky enough the cows choose to stay out until 3 or 4pm most days this week though!

You must be in good country tim, I was at a farmwalk in darrara last Wednesday and they were strongly pushing getting the manure, slurry and cows out but to be honest only a mad man would put them out.i grazed paddocks last year during a wet spell and did alot of work to mind it but it never grew right for the year after so it has made me more cautious this year

frazzledhome

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Regularly carry over maize, no problem once well covered and rat baited. The end of the present pit is there with two years and still fine.

Leased a farm in 2012 with maize pitted in 11, fed it in 13 and was perfect and all the better as I didn't have to pay for it

Milked out

Timmaay wrote: »

Have had mine out by day since 17th Jan except for 3days during it, yeilds up about a litre, however protein has remained stubbornly low at 3.20. Still over 1/2 a pit of silage and maize for the milkers (which my dad moans about every single morning when I let the cows out ha), 2bh we definitely made wayyy too much of it, this winter I was feeding high dmd wraps also. Is it too much of a risk to hold over the maize until next year?? We were feeding out silage until well into may last year to empty the pit ugh.

Just under 11% of the farm grazed out (lighter maidens out also), I'm actually moving through it too quickly at the minute, however our calving is very spread out across March April and may, so once I dry off the rest of the late spring calvers in 2wk we'll be stocked extremely low for the rest of round1.

What are you feeding them with the grass when inside tim? Thinking here, if they ever get out, that once out by day will pull silage and just feed maize when inside depending on the grass they can get in. The maize and spring grass would hopefully get em to drive on milk wise and hold condition. A slight advantage with autumn calvers and early grazing is they have full appetites so can help clean out, draw back being some of them could be bulling and do more damage. Protein at 3.5 here but still have 30 carryovers/ late spring calvers milking so they are most likely keeping it up a bit. Will dry off late calvers next week if I get a break in calving. Rain wise is getting serious, left a half foot at top of Tower for rain before Xmas needless to say it is full now so will have to drop it a bit somehow, dry ground here you'd slip walking across it not a mind a tanker

Dawggone

Fired out the cows on Mon by day on heavy covers. Brought them in on Thur as milk pr had dropped to 3.1 and down 1.8 litres. Academic anyhow because 44mm rain yesterday. I'll use other stock to clean out the heavy covers.

Dawggone

Fired out the cows on Mon by day on heavy covers. Brought them in on Thur as milk pr had dropped to 3.1 and down 1.8 litres. Academic anyhow because 44mm rain yesterday. I'll use other stock to clean out the heavy covers.

Timmaay

Milked out wrote: »

What are you feeding them with the grass when inside tim? Thinking here, if they ever get out, that once out by day will pull silage and just feed maize when inside depending on the grass they can get in. The maize and spring grass would hopefully get em to drive on milk wise and hold condition. A slight advantage with autumn calvers and early grazing is they have full appetites so can help clean out, draw back being some of them could be bulling and do more damage. Protein at 3.5 here but still have 30 carryovers/ late spring calvers milking so they are most likely keeping it up a bit. Will dry off late calvers next week if I get a break in calving. Rain wise is getting serious, left a half foot at top of Tower for rain before Xmas needless to say it is full now so will have to drop it a bit somehow, dry ground here you'd slip walking across it not a mind a tanker

Cows still on a decent bit of grass silage 2bh. I'm between a rock and a hard place with the pit mixed of grass and maize, it's about 6ft of grass and 2 of maize on top, the grass tested at 72dmd, average for milkers but too good for drys, I obviously have to use up the grass to keep feeding out maize. I've pulled the high dmd bales fully, only about 6 left which I'll feed out any days the cows forced back inside. Cows getting between 2.5 and 5kg of a high energy 18% nut in the parlour also.

On our ground, it's far from the best most free draining around, however we've obviously been very lucky to have avoided the most serious of the rain that alot of others got over the last week.

Dawggone

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Regularly carry over maize, no problem once well covered and rat baited. The end of the present pit is there with two years and still fine.

Had a good few tons of maize here that was 15+yrs in the pit and it was excellent quality when we eventually got to it. Maybe like a good wine....

Milked out

Timmaay wrote: »

Cows still on a decent bit of grass silage 2bh. I'm between a rock and a hard place with the pit mixed of grass and maize, it's about 6ft of grass and 2 of maize on top, the grass tested at 72dmd, average for milkers but too good for drys, I obviously have to use up the grass to keep feeding out maize. I've pulled the high dmd bales fully, only about 6 left which I'll feed out any days the cows forced back inside. Cows getting between 2.5 and 5kg of a high energy 18% nut in the parlour also.

On our ground, it's far from the best most free draining around, however we've obviously been very lucky to have avoided the most serious of the rain that alot of others got over the last week.

Yeah know what it's like with one pit holding both alrightwas the same here other years, have both cuts of silage in one pit here and big difference in quality between the two. Still, better to be looking at it that way than looking at an empty pit

orm0nd

anybody got a source for good quality dairy wipes / paper towels, ?

best ones I found were from Fane Valley, but the ex. rate does;nt justify just now



no hope of cows going out here for at least 10 days according to forecast

freedominacup

whelan2 wrote: »

do many have cows out?

Cows out here since 13th apart from Sun to Wed of this week. Probably could have gone Wed but just have it the day to set up. Contractor in with 3k gallon tanker here on Thursday no problem. Cows mad to go every morning apart from the four they were in.

Clearout improving. Big drop in solids the first few days they were out until we got the balance right. Based on their extra silage intake the days they were in they are eating 5kg dm out doors atm. Increased their allocation yesterday to make up for the days they lost on the planner.

Not sure what we're going to go with on first round. Thinking about 15-10-10 at a bag and a half. If not a bag of urea. I think having the bag p&k on early has something to be said for it.

Dawggone

freedominacup wrote: »

Big drop in solids the first few days they were out until we got the balance right.

Could you flesh out on this Free?

freedominacup

Dawggone wrote: »

Could you flesh out on this Free?

Dropped from 3.45-3.5% pr to our first test under 3.3 since the early nineties. Obviously intakes weren't high enough. You need them to graze but you don't want production losses. They need to get their conc allocation so therefore in as much as possible you don't want any tmr left in feed passage. Takes a few days to get it right esp when calving kicks off and numbers changing daily. Add to this that grass not really as good as the forage it's replacing yet....

A lot of balls to keep juggling. Feed has to adjusted daily. And the same person needs to be allocating grass and adjusting feed. Have to make provision in the morning for the day they'll be forced in early with bad weather. My preference is to leave out until evening milking if possible.

Greengrass1

freedominacup wrote: »

Cows out here since 13th apart from Sun to Wed of this week. Probably could have gone Wed but just have it the day to set up. Contractor in with 3k gallon tanker here on Thursday no problem. Cows mad to go every morning apart from the four they were in.

Clearout improving. Big drop in solids the first few days they were out until we got the balance right. Based on their extra silage intake the days they were in they are eating 5kg dm out doors atm. Increased their allocation yesterday to make up for the days they lost on the planner.

Not sure what we're going to go with on first round. Thinking about 15-10-10 at a bag and a half. If not a bag of urea. I think having the bag p&k on early has something to be said for it.

Purchased any 15 10 10 yet free? Gave grass some shot here last yr. Going same again this ye

whelan2

Dawggone wrote: »

Had a good few tons of maize here that was 15+yrs in the pit and it was excellent quality when we eventually got to it. Maybe like a good wine....

cousins had a silage pit with spuds mixed through the silage, they only got to use it in 2013 after about 4/5 years , it was great stuff

Dawggone

whelan2 wrote: »

cousins had a silage pit with spuds mixed through the silage, they only got to use it in 2013 after about 4/5 years , it was great stuff

If anything is pitted in good condition and well sealed it should last indefinitely.
I used to pit spuds but
gave up. Cows loved them and they kinda looked roasted/cooked when fed out.

Dawggone

freedominacup wrote: »

Feed has to adjusted daily. And the same person needs to be allocating grass and adjusting feed. .

+1. Excellent post.
The above advice nails it.

freedominacup

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Purchased any 15 10 10 yet free? Gave grass some shot here last yr. Going same again this ye

Nothing yet. Did you use It on first round last year? I didn't check the diary but I think we went with 15-10-10 then urea then ASN.

Greengrass1

freedominacup wrote: »

Nothing yet. Did you use It on first round last year? I didn't check the diary but I think we went with 15-10-10 then urea then ASN.

Yeah first round. Lads in Moore park last wk thought it was a grest idea but only the N in it would be a lot more vulnerable than urea at this time of yr

trixi2011

Going with urea with sulfur for the first round trying to strech the budget to allow second round of dap but cant see it happening times are fair tight

blackdog1

Won't be letting the cows out for another week. Cows holding well and are doing 4.34 f and 3.43p. As soon as it starts dropping out they go. Winter/spring herd.

Deepsouthwest

freedominacup wrote: »

Dropped from 3.45-3.5% pr to our first test under 3.3 since the early nineties. Obviously intakes weren't high enough. You need them to graze but you don't want production losses. They need to get their conc allocation so therefore in as much as possible you don't want any tmr left in feed passage. Takes a few days to get it right esp when calving kicks off and numbers changing daily. Add to this that grass not really as good as the forage it's replacing yet....

A lot of balls to keep juggling. Feed has to adjusted daily. And the same person needs to be allocating grass and adjusting feed. Have to make provision in the morning for the day they'll be forced in early with bad weather. My preference is to leave out until evening milking if possible.

First pr test under 3.3 for the last 25 yrs is incredible going. I think last yr was the first yr I didn't dip under 3.3 in late March ever, always dips here around that time.
Ur yearly average for protein must be through the roof now if it's been consistently that good for nearly 3 decades. Is this hol or xbred herd?

freedominacup

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

First pr test under 3.3 for the last 25 yrs is incredible going. I think last yr was the first yr I didn't dip under 3.3 in late March ever, always dips here around that time.
Ur yearly average for protein must be through the roof now if it's been consistently that good for nearly 3 decades. Is this hol or xbred herd?

Average is 3.5-3.6. Always winter milking so always a few with high solids going into the tank. Maize starch important for solids either from silage or conc. No great high peak of solids with a ho herd. Max pr in Oct/Nov was around 3.9, I'm certain we never broke 4%. Low pr, high starch and plenty of digestible fibre from early Apr to late June in meal and don't be shy about feeding enough. Even fairly light cows have a dim requirement of over 20kg. If everything is in her favour a cow can take in 18kg on spring grass according to teagasc. How many days in an average Apr is everything in the cows favour on your farm. Even on those days her min conc requirement will be 2kg. Low pr in milk is usually a sign of a lack of energy in the diet.

frazzledhome

freedominacup wrote: »

Average is 3.5-3.6. Always winter milking so always a few with high solids going into the tank. Maize starch important for solids either from silage or conc. No great high peak of solids with a ho herd. Max pr in Oct/Nov was around 3.9, I'm certain we never broke 4%. Low pr, high starch and plenty of digestible fibre from early Apr to late June in meal and don't be shy about feeding enough. Even fairly light cows have a dim requirement of over 20kg. If everything is in her favour a cow can take in 18kg on spring grass according to teagasc. How many days in an average Apr is everything in the cows favour on your farm. Even on those days her min conc requirement will be 2kg. Low pr in milk is usually a sign of a lack of energy in the diet.

Free, you've hit the nail on the head. It's a simple as that. A cow should never have less to eat today than the day before.

What's your average pro for the year? We are the same as you no massive peak but very steady all year

Deepsouthwest

freedominacup wrote: »

Average is 3.5-3.6. Always winter milking so always a few with high solids going into the tank. Maize starch important for solids either from silage or conc. No great high peak of solids with a ho herd. Max pr in Oct/Nov was around 3.9, I'm certain we never broke 4%. Low pr, high starch and plenty of digestible fibre from early Apr to late June in meal and don't be shy about feeding enough. Even fairly light cows have a dim requirement of over 20kg. If everything is in her favour a cow can take in 18kg on spring grass according to teagasc. How many days in an average Apr is everything in the cows favour on your farm. Even on those days her min conc requirement will be 2kg. Low pr in milk is usually a sign of a lack of energy in the diet.

My dip in late March/early April is probably linked to two things, mean calving date here is around 10/14 feb, so a high % of cows are around 6 wks calved, near peaking in litres, and too much average quality silage still in the diet at night as I'm either finishing first round or starting second, which is normally squeaky bum time around here!
Didn't happen last yr, so hopefully I'm managing my way out of it. It was particularly bad in early April 14, I remember it dropped it to 3.07,and two days later I had the coop Spring walk in my place, it was no fun trying to explain that one!
The obvious solution is too cut SR or push back mean calving date but pr averaged 3.69 here last yr, which I was pretty happy with.
And finally u asked how many days in April are all conditions perfect for cows on my farm? Normally v v few!

freedominacup

frazzledhome wrote: »

Free, you've hit the nail on the head. It's a simple as that. A cow should never have less to eat today than the day before.

What's your average pro for the year? We are the same as you no massive peak but very steady all year

3.5% approx. 3.52 or something on deliveries for 2014. Solids up to Sept '15 were 391kg. We supplied around another 1250-1300l per cow from end of Sept to year end at around 8% solids so should pan out at close to 500kg for the year from approx 1000kg of meal. This was with a foot resting on the brakes for the first three months and 45% heifers.

Have to get some of the passengers shifted. The carryover girls are wrecking the ci and dragging The average kgs down quite a bit. I'd have to thank yourself, stan and mj for showing me the error of my ways regarding 305 day yields. I was hitting off in the wrong direction on that when we got back in. Two distinct calving blocks established but i let myself be talked into extending into Apr this year which I'm sure I'm going to regret. There might be one or two very good young cows in the Apr group with a decent excuse who might be allowed to slip to the Autumn but bull out this year on the 4th of July.

freedominacup

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

My dip in late March/early April is probably linked to two things, mean calving date here is around 10/14 feb, so a high % of cows are around 6 wks calved, near peaking in litres, and too much average quality silage still in the diet at night as I'm either finishing first round or starting second, which is normally squeaky bum time around here!
Didn't happen last yr, so hopefully I'm managing my way out of it. It was particularly bad in early April 14, I remember it dropped it to 3.07,and two days later I had the coop Spring walk in my place, it was no fun trying to explain that one!
The obvious solution is too cut SR or push back mean calving date but pr averaged 3.69 here last yr, which I was pretty happy with.
And finally u asked how many days in April are all conditions perfect for cows on my farm? Normally v v few!

Make better silage. Don't buy off the shelf concentrates. Silage cutting cost €65/acre here last year. Three cuts taken in the same time period as most would take two. No extra N compared to two cuts. Poor quality third cut is 72dmd. The cost of putting tonnes in the pit is the same but quality far higher.

Milked out

freedominacup wrote: »

Make better silage. Don't buy off the shelf concentrates. Silage cutting cost €65/acre here last year. Three cuts taken in the same time period as most would take two. No extra N compared to two cuts. Poor quality third cut is 72dmd. The cost of putting tonnes in the pit is the same but quality far higher.

What average dates would first and third cuts be taken roughly? ground conditions early on would be difficult here to get fert out and ground grazed in time particularly in one field which makes up half the silage ground, then again we barely got the second cut out of it and that was in July. My issue I think is when I bale it's done as much to tidy up paddocks as take surplus so a lot of our bales wouldn't be near the quality of some of ye guys, perhaps a sign I'm baling a round too late..

Dawggone

Had to milk 2 herds this morning....
Someone is *FIRED*!!

leg wax

eldest lad was feeding calves on teats and calf just dropped dead, half twin bull .i thought things were going too good :mad:.

blackdog1

Dawggone wrote: »

Had to milk 2 herds this morning....
Someone is *FIRED*!!

That's the one thing about being the boss your the only one who is dependable. Farmers I worked for while training had a polish lad and out a nowhere just packed up and was gone.