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

mf240

frazzledhome wrote: »

Same as you and like you I believe that it costs the same wheather it's crap or not. Might as well make good stuff.

One thing I notice is that it's "too good" for dry cows. It piles weight on if not careful. Buying in Haylage this year for any dries not in forward group

Any view?

I make nice leafy grass silage for milkers.

And then i make stronger stemmy stuff for dry cows.

All bales and stacked seperately. Mightened suit everone though.

I have enough space this year for them all to eat at once so can restrict it a bit if i want. Or even give them straw once a week .

Mehaffey1

Greengrass1 wrote: »

http://www.farmersjournal.ie/us-dairy-co-us-dairy-co-op-to-introduce-quota-system-199400/

Since it's a co-op will the producer not simply buy more shares to increase production or are they a different business model?

Got all liners changed in the parlour in under 2 hours, good craic with three people at it instead of slaving away alone.

mahoney_j

frazzledhome wrote: »

2-3 hrs

Took 3.5 hours including tea and cake!!,passed anyway 97% overall .just a small thing to follow up on gaps in doors in dairy to be filled in .and yes he asked about my isolation pen ,we were at back of yard and he asked where itvwas ,it was at other end of yard and he said well check it later ,luckily he didn't as there's timber in it !!!,

Dawggone

mahoney_j wrote: »

Took 3.5 hours including tea and cake!!,

Hash cake??

kevthegaff

freedominacup wrote: »

Dar 31 had a cure. Using bluestone and formalin. You need lincomycin spray. Powerhose feet and spray on linco. Someone could well tell you to out it in footbath but you'd want plenty of headroom in the od ac to use it that way.

Is Incoming spray the same as alymisin?

freedominacup

kevthegaff wrote: »

Is Incoming spray the same as alymisin?

No comes as a powder in one of those containers that you'd get the powdered antibiotics for pneumonia. You have to make the solution yourself. We usually spray it on with knapsack. Haven't had any outbreak here this winter. Don't like even mentioning that as it's probably only around the corner. Linco will cure it but you're into a long cycle of footbathing. The more work you do over the summer with footbathing the less work you'll have to do over the winter.

White Clover

freedominacup wrote: »

No comes as a powder in one of those containers that you'd get the powdered antibiotics for pneumonia. You have to make the solution yourself. We usually spray it on with knapsack. Haven't had any outbreak here this winter. Don't like even mentioning that as it's probably only around the corner. Linco will cure it but you're into a long cycle of footbathing. The more work you do over the summer with footbathing the less work you'll have to do over the winter.

Good advice there free but I might add that results are much better when the linco or other good gels are used after all the rotten stuff has been cut out.

1.Knife work
2.Gel + bandage
3.bandages off
4.footbath

trixi2011

White Clover wrote: »

Good advice there free but I might add that results are much better when the linco or other good gels are used after all the rotten stuff has been cut out.

1.Knife work
2.Gel + bandage
3.bandages off
4.footbath

Used use badages but 2 vets and a hoof trimming lead me to believe they are the wort possible thing to use

White Clover

trixi2011 wrote: »

Used use badages but 2 vets and a hoof trimming lead me to believe they are the wort possible thing to use

I couldn't agree with that but whatever works for you I guess.

freedominacup

White Clover wrote: »

Good advice there free but I might add that results are much better when the linco or other good gels are used after all the rotten stuff has been cut out.

1.Knife work
2.Gel + bandage
3.bandages off
4.footbath

We'd generally be on it long before there was rotten stuff. You'd see the hair standing up where the claws join front and back plus the general uneasiness in the herd. When it hits here a lot of cows would show symptoms at the same time. Wash feet spray for a couple of milkings. Keeping feet cleaned and hardened over summer makes a huge difference.

Greengrass1

Starting a job on parlour next wk.
Majority be done by ourselves.
Had planned to go new but just can't afford it atm.
12 units I'd still happily run 15 rows through it any way if we had to.

She'll be bog basic. A mirror image of what we have atm just bigger pipes

Buford T. Justice XIX

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Starting a job on parlour next wk.
Majority be done by ourselves.
Had planned to go new but just can't afford it atm.
12 units I'd still happily run 15 rows through it any way if we had to.

She'll be bog basic. A mirror image of what we have atm just bigger pipes

At least things are quiet atm on the farm:pac:

Timmaay

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At least things are quiet atm on the farm:pac:

Had the joy of the parlour build dragging the whole way through the spring here last year, but on hindsight totally worth it ha.

whelan2

Busy morning here, few calves born, one of the units in milking parlour wouldnt wash and machine man had a look, manky crap uner a diaphragm, tbc has been 10 for ages but thermo was 950 last week so hope this is the problem. 2 angus bulls decided they dont like each other any more and bet the daylights out of each other over night, seperated them and gave them both a few injections. They look a bit shook. OPW guys are cleaning the river and they came up for a chat:rolleyes: they were showing me the rules they have to work by, crazy stuff. Heading off to take some soil samples in a bit.

Greengrass1

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At least things are quiet atm on the farm:pac:

Lol quietest time of the yr to be at it sure.

kevthegaff

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Lol quietest time of the yr to be at it sure.

Done it myself before, hassle but whatever saves u time.worth it!

Milked out

kevthegaff wrote: »

Done it myself before, hassle but whatever saves u time.worth it!

Dairymaster came here, I milked in old plant in morning they pulled out old plant and put in new plant and I milked the cows at 10 that night, had some job to get the feckers in with the new mangers up. 14 lads there, dunno how they work like that, angle grinders, welders etc working practically on top of each other. Still they got the job done.

frazzledhome

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At least things are quiet atm on the farm:pac:

Lol

keep going

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Starting a job on parlour next wk.
Majority be done by ourselves.
Had planned to go new but just can't afford it atm.
12 units I'd still happily run 15 rows through it any way if we had to.

She'll be bog basic. A mirror image of what we have atm just bigger pipes

I presume you are only putting bigger pipes on the new section and letting old section the same.best of luck, did it last year and it tough going

Buford T. Justice XIX

I finally got a few of the late weanlings off to the mart today.

WOW!

2xAA heifers 170kgs......435 each
2xFR bulls 217kgs.....402 each
2xAA bulls 218kgs.....532 each
1xAA bull 205ks.......470

I feel like I won the freaking lottery:eek:

cosatron

finally convinced the auld lad to do a silage sample. now the round bales look good, smell good and there is no waste and the cows are thriving and the results came back at dry matter 34% and DMD 64%, my question is does the high dry matter counteract the low DMD. Cows performance to date is excellent, as in, we're a low maintenance spring calving herd, 16 calved milking 25l 4.1 bf and 3.21 pr. on 6 kgs of dusty Dan O'Connor nuts a day.

mahoney_j

cosatron wrote: »

finally convinced the auld lad to do a silage sample. now the round bales look good, smell good and there is no waste and the cows are thriving and the results came back at dry matter 34% and DMD 64%, my question is does the high dry matter counteract the low DMD. Cows performance to date is excellent, as in, we're a low maintenance spring calving herd, 16 calved milking 25l 4.1 bf and 3.21 pr. on 6 kgs of dusty Dan O'Connor nuts a day.

Dusty doc nuts ,things still same there so.left 5 years ago because of that and won't be going back

Greengrass1

keep going wrote: »

I presume you are only putting bigger pipes on the new section and letting old section the same.best of luck, did it last year and it tough going

3 inch pipe going in KP.
What's on ours at is only 1 inch. Which is a PIA at peak. Have to stop milking after 5 rows to cure the froath

tanko

mahoney_j wrote: »

Dusty doc nuts ,things still same there so.left 5 years ago because of that and won't be going back

Why is it that nuts are very dusty sometimes, what exactly are the mill not doing properly?

mahoney_j

tanko wrote: »

Why is it that nuts are very dusty sometimes, what exactly are the mill not doing properly?

Mill problem and ingridents I think ,I can honestly say since I switched to roches I've never had a dusty load

Timmaay

Finally got my profit monitor done out for 2015. Just working out that imported feed (between nuts for cows and replacement, maize silage, and grass silage) works out at 7c/l, with the dairy nuts taking up 4c of that. Only the milking block here, with was stocked at 2.65 on average across the year last yr, cows delivered 5600l and 430kgMS, 12% autumn calving. I know the overall SR is high enough so I will always need to buy fodder, however with feed costs at 7c/l I think it's definitely too high, where does it stack up among the rest of yas?

Brown Podzol

Timmaay wrote: »

Finally got my profit monitor done out for 2015. Just working out that imported feed (between nuts for cows and replacement, maize silage, and grass silage) works out at 7c/l, with the dairy nuts taking up 4c of that. Only the milking block here, with was stocked at 2.65 on average across the year last yr, cows delivered 5600l and 430kgMS, 12% autumn calving. I know the overall SR is high enough so I will always need to buy fodder, however with feed costs at 7c/l I think it's definitely too high, where does it stack up among the rest of yas?

At your stocking rate it does seem high. How much grass are you growing? Your fert bill and lease bill should be lower as a result of buying in forage. Also your contractor bill should be lower assuming that silage was cost in the pit. All costs should be assessed in conjunction with their impact on other costs.

Deepsouthwest

Timmaay wrote: »

Finally got my profit monitor done out for 2015. Just working out that imported feed (between nuts for cows and replacement, maize silage, and grass silage) works out at 7c/l, with the dairy nuts taking up 4c of that. Only the milking block here, with was stocked at 2.65 on average across the year last yr, cows delivered 5600l and 430kgMS, 12% autumn calving. I know the overall SR is high enough so I will always need to buy fodder, however with feed costs at 7c/l I think it's definitely too high, where does it stack up among the rest of yas?

Meal is 2.11c/l here for 15, well down on previous yrs, no bought in forage in 15'(have a pit of maize bought in 14',but still not fed, will open it nxt wk).
Fert is 4.96c/l dairy enterprise, or just over 6c/l wholefarm, about average over the last few yrs.
Stocked around 2.7 wholefarm, and 3.3 MP.
I'd totally agree with RTC, a lot of these costs balance each other, and where they're all added up it looks like we're not gonna make much money this yr!

Mehaffey1

New worker started on the farm, this'll be the third kiwi with no real previous experience, think I should apply to be a tutor soon lol.

Question here, is there anyway I can calculate how much extra area to allocate for a herd if I'm pre grazing mowing instead of grazing? Low bodyweight F/Js allocated 17Kgdm per day on pasture only?

Timmaay

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Meal is 2.11c/l here for 15, well down on previous yrs, no bought in forage in 15'(have a pit of maize bought in 14',but still not fed, will open it nxt wk).
Fert is 4.96c/l dairy enterprise, or just over 6c/l wholefarm, about average over the last few yrs.
Stocked around 2.7 wholefarm, and 3.3 MP.
I'd totally agree with RTC, a lot of these costs balance each other, and where they're all added up it looks like we're not gonna make money this yr!

Fert works out at 2.76c, contractor 1.9c and zero rent costs, so yeh I guess that helps balance things out. I ain't going to say what my cost of production costs before salary, tax and capital/deprecation is, other than no major weather events, combined with a 12% increase in output to help dilute costs has dropped my costs down a reasonable amount on 2014. Milk price didn't fall off a cliff until after June also, however 2016 will be a totally different year, and I'll be trying hard to shave them 0.25c/l savings wherever I can. Going back to the feed, we will in fairness hopefully hold over a decent amount until next year so should escape with less bought in fodder (Then again the overall SR heading for 2.9 this year). I got 8acres of maize which is too much for me (Or is it, Brown you use an acre for every 6cows??), I'm ditching almost all of the autumn calvers next winter, so thinking of getting 5acres of maize, and putting it in the front of the pit only and have it all fed out by late Jan when the late calvers should be going dry. I really need to be that bit quicker to pull meal from the cows when they are flying it on grass also, as the 4c on nuts, or 820kg/cow is too high for the yields we are getting.

And Brown agrinet tells me we averaged 9.41tons/Ha last year, I know my calibration is definitely out though, I'd guess we are up in the 12s, soil fertility is work in progress still however.