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

jaymla627

blackdog1 wrote: »

You needed soya bean meal in your diet. I guarantee it was low in protein. Averaged 3.4 p for winter. Mastitis is a problem. You have to spray your cubicles once a week and make sure your using a good teat dip. Also you wouldn't want to be carrying any crazy high scc cows. Winter milking is not that much harder if everything goes smooth but it's a nightmare when things go wrong.

Totally agree re soya bean meal, high pro soya bean meal goes into all the nuts I feed here, changed feed suppliers this year over it as they reckoned palm kernel/cotton seed where great substitutes for soya, you'll pay for it though the 16% nut I'm using at the minute is coming in at 265 blown in with 14% high pro soya bean meal in it, can source another 16% nut from same supplier for 240 but palm kernel is used instead of soya

Dawggone

mf240 wrote: »

Jaysus dawg, don't jinx it

Feck, just did didn't I !!

visatorro

Waffletraktor wrote: »

Ahhh, casual is 10.50£/hr + accomodation here upto 100/wk then bed
Fulltime salaried to 2.5k/hrs/yr +perks

Talking to a south African dude recently, 20 euro a week will pay a good worker.

whelan2

Dawggone wrote: »

Went out this morning to the maternity paddock and four calves...could only find three that had calved...scanner man must have missed one with twins.

Don't know when we last used the jack. Just go out before milking and gather fresh calvers. Don't have a stomach tube either...

What do you think of outdoor calving?

Dawggone

whelan2 wrote: »

What do you think of outdoor calving?

It's the Dawgs...:)

Seriously though, we calve outdoors for about 9mts a year, and if the cows health and bcs is right, no bother whatsoever.
Never ever go looking at them (unless scanned with twins so brought indoors as one usually breach). As I said we don't have a stomach tube...if cow health is right, calf health will be right.

Hardest part of calving outdoors is catching the little feckers. Even at 5 or 6 hours old they can be lively.
Given a choice, outdoors calving is a no brainer.

Dawggone

visatorro wrote: »

Talking to a south African dude recently, 20 euro a week will pay a good worker.

Interesting.

kevthegaff

Dawggone wrote:

5% peracetic acid solution sprayed on before cups on. The fumes from the acid have the added benefit of fly repellence. If you really want rid of flies spray 20% solution on parlor before cows enter...

Dawggone wrote:

Edit. Spray on solution until runoff and don't wipe or wash off. Won't burn teats.

I'm interested, do u use post spray dawg? is it good for scc?

Waffletraktor

visatorro wrote: »

Talking to a south African dude recently, 20 euro a week will pay a good worker.

Cant say im much into slavery.
Cant see how could pay much less here tbh.
Folk bemoan the 1-2% when 80% of the world would dream of the oppurtunities the average westerner takes for granted.

Dawggone

kevthegaff wrote: »

I'm interested, do u use post spray dawg? is it good for scc?

Post dip. Dip I use lacks viscosity and can't be sprayed. Has fly repellent.

I think that scc is a product of laziness and lack of diligence. No offence to you or anyone here.
Hols are genetically weak on scc and need special care. Therefore one needs to be anal about hygiene, both in parlor and cubicles.

visatorro

Dawggone wrote: »

Interesting.

Interesting conversation about land type and systems and that. He had to hire a security company to drive around farm to ward off intruders.
Explaining the different 'cultures'.

Dawggone

visatorro wrote: »

Interesting conversation about land type and systems and that. He had to hire a security company to drive around farm to ward off intruders.
Explaining the different 'cultures'.

Don't know much about SAfrica. Was in Jo'burg once for a weekend.
"South from the Limpopo" by that great Waterford Lady, Dervla Murphy, well worth a read.

Mooooo

Dawggone wrote: »

Waffletraktor wrote: »

Ahhh, casual is 10.50 /hr + accomodation here upto 100/wk then bed
Fulltime salaried to 2.5k/hrs/yr +perks

If a worker does over 35hrs in a week I've to give them a day off the following week, with pay. Nice isn't it...

Would it be cheaper for you to have enough staff to do shifts limited to 35 hrs a week instead of less doing more hours? I guess the extra hol pay, etc. Would cancel any savings

kowtow

Waffletraktor wrote:

Cant say im much into slavery. Cant see how could pay much less here tbh. Folk bemoan the 1-2% when 80% of the world would dream of the oppurtunities the average westerner takes for granted.

Its all relative.

And low local wages don't mean a low standard of living.

I remember a receptionist that I used to pay $150 a month to constantly complaining about her own lazy maid.

freedominacup

Putting on the mower now. Third cut. Contractor coming to bale on Wed. There was some wild talk about reopening pits but I knocked that on the head. Life's too short and the hardy bucks are back in school since Thursday.

And just to keep it interesting tb test in the morning.

kowtow

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I came across this and thought a few might be interested:)

The Core and Seasonal Microbiota of Raw Bovine Milk in Tanker Trucks and the Impact of Transfer to a Milk Processing Facility





http://mbio.asm.org/content/7/4/e00836-16.full

If I read that correctly pasteurisation is busier dealing with the bacteria incurred in the trucks and processing facilities than it is the bacteria which is present at the farm dairy - - it's not the farm that customers have to be protected against, but the industrial farm processing facility.

Mooooo

Mower coming here today as well. Will.workout as a very light third cut. Don't like baling too.late as a week of wet and cold could bring growth crashing back here but the recent weather has it all coming at once again, story of the summer. Baling top of silage field as cows have to walk on road to get to that and council are "resurfacing" with chips so will at least keep the cows off it for a few weeks till the school traffic might harden it a bit. Could cut heavier covers but they are closer to parlour and I have lads covering for me at the end of the week so.will use those paddocks for.them

Dawggone

Mooooo wrote: »

Would it be cheaper for you to have enough staff to do shifts limited to 35 hrs a week instead of less doing more hours? I guess the extra hol pay, etc. Would cancel any savings

Very rarely that any (French) staff do more than 35hrs per week here.

Mooooo

I know this is different to a general farm working day but a pharma plant I did work.experience in in Dublin had its shift workers set up at, Mon to Thurs earlies, days, or lates all 8 hour shifts with wkends being 12 hour shifts earlies or lates. So you'd be on a month ofor each shift but assuming nobody out etc each person was working 36 hours a week. Was wondering why the health service for example couldn't do that instead of having overworked nurses etc working group long hours on overtime. Would save in the weekly wage bill by cutting overtime buy cost in the ancillaries for the extra staff but would be better overall. Obviously unions etc may not like it either but surely there is a cheaper way around it. Agency staff seems to be their route bu that's not ideal either.

kevthegaff

Dawggone wrote:

Post dip. Dip I use lacks viscosity and can't be sprayed. Has fly repellent.

Dip teats individually with iodine? Pre spray with peracetic acid? Mine is hovering around 200..

pedigree 6

kevthegaff wrote: »

Dip teats individually with iodine? Pre spray with peracetic acid? Mine is hovering around 200..

Not really wanting to promote one product over another but I pre and post spray mine with lactic acid and salicylic acid based product. Also rinse clusters before putting on the next cow even if no dirt showing with water, always and don't touch teats with hands, never (if can help it). I don't wear gloves, should but don't. Too many milkers just rush the job of milking and allow bacteria to spread.

Last cell count was 84 up from 58 before that.
Last thermo was 50.

Good blog here explaining it.


http://www.grasslandagro.ie/how-to-control-high-cell-counts-in-your-herd/

pedigree 6

And my super duper teat sprayer ---



Spray front of front teats and front of back teats with lance in front of cow's leg and then the back of four teats with lance between her two legs - 100% coverage. None of that circular motion that teagasc say.:p

Waffletraktor

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11701598
Must be something dodgy or can folks be this careless?

whelan2

Waffletraktor wrote: »

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11701598
Must be something dodgy or can folks be this careless?

The theft was first noticed in late August but could have taken place earlier :eek:

pedigree 6

Waffletraktor wrote: »

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11701598
Must be something dodgy or can folks be this careless?

My first reaction was - Ha!

Then I read the article and when they started mentioning shareholders and then office staff.

Now no offence to yourself or dawggone but if this is the future of farming it ain't pretty.

For these type of farms to be run properly you need an honest manager who is focused on efficiency and happy staff who feel they are getting well paid.
If you don't have that big problems start.

Also the term "skin in the game" originated from nz dairy farms to keep staff/workers interested in what they're doing.

Waffletraktor

pedigree 6 wrote: »

My first reaction was - Ha!

Then I read the article and when they started mentioning shareholders and then office staff.

Now no offence to yourself or dawggone but if this is the future of farming it ain't pretty.

For these type of farms to be run properly you need an honest manager who is focused on efficiency and happy staff who feel they are getting well paid.
If you don't have that big problems start.

Also the term "skin in the game" originated from nz dairy farms to keep staff/workers interested in what they're doing.

No offence taken, you are very much so correct.
My boss had a seemingly similar attitude thinking he had the right management compay in. Over 20 years accounts a forensic accountant found more than a couple 100k that was stolen via things like getting an invoice from an electrician with an extra grand tagged on over the agreed quote that "vanished" or enough "plough parts being bought to plough the farm every month of the year" on invoices to dealers. Never mind running the farm into the ground and managing to lose money after a complete breakdown in weed control in the final year that eventually rang alarm bells.

pedigree 6

Waffletraktor wrote: »

No offence taken, you are very much so correct.
My boss had a seemingly similar attitude thinking he had the right management compay in. Over 20 years accounts a forensic accountant found more than a couple 100k that was stolen via things like getting an invoice from an electrician with an extra grand tagged on over the agreed quote that "vanished" or enough "plough parts being bought to plough the farm every month of the year" on invoices to dealers. Never mind running the farm into the ground and managing to lose money after a complete breakdown in weed control in the final year that eventually rang alarm bells.

My father often tells a story that he used to do a bit of work for the local (former) estate landlords. The foreman there had a bit of a drink problem and the landlord was up in Dublin or England fairly often.
The foreman would tell the lads what to do and then feKk off down the pub bringing medicines or whatever to sell down there.

Anyway one day they were getting their grub up on the loft and one fella who had a bit of a stutter said "where's my seat gone,it was here yesterday and now it's gone." It was a bag of corn and yer man had the bag of corn gone and sold in the pub.

visatorro

Completely unsubstantiated rumours floated lately of a long serving manager cooking the books. A silent partner/owner in a business wouldn't want to be too silent at all really.

pedigree 6

Waffletraktor wrote: »

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11701598
Must be something dodgy or can folks be this careless?

There's a few scenarios that could have happened ---

a) cows were stolen and are either being milked on another farm. In which case processor should wonder or have access like here to icbf data on cow numbers on farm and start to wonder where this new milk is coming from.
Although according to reports out there, I don't think the costs add up even with free cows atm.

b) cows were stolen and ended up in a factory. In which case this should test their dept of ag and their checks and balances.

c) cows have ended up in a hole somewhere. Depends what they are insured for.

Insurance also applies to A and B.

It's a test for the police and dept of ag out there. Easily solved -- haul in the farm workers who milk the cows and put them over the hot coals to see who they rat out.

Stupidest story I've ever heard.:P

trixi2011

With some of the clowns working on farms over there I can see how this could happen. When away winter grazing it would be hard enough to notice Some cows missing from a large mob. Someone would of spotted that the feed allocation was changing.

whelan2

Problems with milk tank again today, its a joke at this stage.