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

whelan2

have one fresh calved cow gave 46 litres yesterday, i think the ibr vaccine was well needed here, a good few more giving around 40 litres. Milk urea jumped to 39 the other day when 18% nuts came in

Milked out

Timmaay wrote: »

Your obviously stocked very high? Grass flying it here, probably the best summer/autumn here for growth in many many years, will hopefully keep the cows out until close to Dec if weather allows.

2.6 on milking block at the moment, will be up to 3 again by end of Oct with fresh calvers. the wet ground has grown very little since last grazing. Haunted this week is coming dry as it's allowing me back into 9 acres I couldn't get into last round. Solids may take a hit but should get spring herd to clean it out alright. Heifers and dry cows will be first to be housed but they're not on milking block. Weather will determine everything but will prob have everything in by mid nov

Dawggone

Taking out a few strong paddocks.
Bad part is I'm back in the saddle again...:(

visatorro

Dawggone wrote:

Taking out a few strong paddocks. Bad part is I'm back in the saddle again...

you love it!!

Dawggone

visatorro wrote: »

you love it!!

Phuck no!
Too many hours done on them with the last 45yrs.
Have to take between 40 and 70 phone calls per day on top of that...:(

RightTurnClyde

Dawggone wrote: »

Taking out a few strong paddocks.
Bad part is I'm back in the saddle again...:(

No shortage of clover there Dawg. Are you encouraging it in the sward or is it growing in spite of you.

kowtow

Dawggone wrote:

Phuck no! Too many hours done on them with the last 45yrs. Have to take between 40 and 70 phone calls per day on top of that...

Jeez those premium rate chat lines must rake in the cash...

Dawggone

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

No shortage of clover there Dawg. Are you encouraging it in the sward or is it growing in spite of you.

The weather encourages it Clyde.

I do plant it AND I do need it because on an allowance of 61unitsN/acre it's good husbandry.
That sward is 10kg/acre Abergain and 3kg/acre white clover.


Nitrate restrictions: coming to a country near you soon...:)

Greengrass1

Dawggone wrote: »

The weather encourages it Clyde.

I do plant it AND I do need it because on an allowance of 61unitsN/acre it's good husbandry.
That sward is 10kg/acre Abergain and 3kg/acre white clover.


Nitrate restrictions: coming to a country near you soon...:)

Any issue with bloat on thst much clover?

Dawggone

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Any issue with bloat on thst much clover?

Never on pasture Gg, but when housed I've killed young stock.
I think they get used to it as all pasture is heavy on clover.

frazzledhome

Guys talking of 5-6 kg for fresh calved cows
Would ye do this in spring when cows going straight to grass?
If silage bales are good quality (same as grass) and probably 40% dm why the need for so much meal.

All cows on 1.5 kg of 12% here will change to 2 kg of 16% once cows are housed for calved and stale cows

mahoney_j

frazzledhome wrote: »

Guys talking of 5-6 kg for fresh calved cows
Would ye do this in spring when cows going straight to grass?
If silage bales are good quality (same as grass) and probably 40% dm why the need for so much meal.

All cows on 1.5 kg of 12% here will change to 2 kg of 16% once cows are housed for calved and stale cows

On 4 min here in spring even with grass and v good wraps .big problem is very little have top drawer silage at40% plus dm to offer milking cows .4/5 kg meal def needed for fresh calves currently at grass and at least that once housed unless silage 80 pints Dmd .iirc you feed 6 kg to cows u milked through winter last year??.grass has very little punch on its own currently for a fresh calved cow

Greengrass1

Half the winter milkers cakved in last 7 days. Only due to start today
Lol

Milked out

It all depends on silage quality and what type of yields you will be feeding for. Never had 40% dm silage here maybe the odd few bales over 30% but predominantly pit fed here between 25 to 30% dm circa 14% p and 72+dmd. Haven't tested silage yet but will be a massive difference between 1st and 2nd cut as it was so wet down here later in summer. When results get back will make up diet for 30L fresh and 20L stale and top cows up and drop down individually then if very different from average.
Don't want to go hol v crossbred again with my cow which is holstein if she doesn't get enough in not only will milk drop but body condition also.that extra kg or 2 of dm from the meal can make all the difference in allowing u to do that Maybe if the silage was as good as yers I could try it but not this year anyway will prob be looking at 5 kg anyway

Buford T. Justice XIX

We had a shareholder meeting last night and I thought I would throw up a few figures from it.

Kerry supply is up 10% from last year.
63% of milk under 200 scc, 3% over 400scc which is down from 6%.
93% less than 50 tbc.
97% less than 1000 thermoduric.
Jan to June supply up 1.2% in Europe, Ireland up 8.6%.
14,000 tonnes in intervention, only 300 tonnes of that from Ireland. Intervention price used to be 26c and is now at 21.5c.
Rabobank talking some recovery in the 2nd half of 2016.
Russia has cleared some importers to recommence exports there soon.

There is a big announcement expected later in the year/early next year on 'the future of the co-ops shareholding in Kerry Group'. That announcement is going to be interesting because, currently, the board can bring the shareholding down to 10% with no vote needed but a vote of A and B shareholders will be needed for any more of a spinout.

So the announcement will probably mean a full conversion but that's still under discussion, apparently. Also, a drop to below 10% will mean the loss of 3 directors from the board, ie, all farmer directors gone and we will be left with a faceless entity deciding milk price and processing direction. Not sure I am in favour of that but, if it goes to a vote, it will be carried easily.

RightTurnClyde

The last paragraph is what going to cause the most head scratching in the next few years.
http://bit.ly/1O1dLYp

whelan2

waiting on vet for a cow that calved on sunday, not really eating and doesnt look great.

PMU

Bufort,how many of those farmer directors are in favour of a full spinout.? Given that the co-op is just a holding company for plc shares it seems pointless to continue with it. kerry agribuisness is the trading part of the plc. A large release of plc shares would boost the Kerry share price as well as putting money in farmers pockets. as a ex supplier I would be in favour of a full spinout

PMU

talking about the faceless entity ; its hard enough to separate most co-op`s price from world price anyway

frazzledhome

PMU wrote: »

talking about the faceless entity ; its hard enough to separate most co-op`s price from world price anyway

All bar 1 as far as I can see

visatorro

whelan2 wrote:

waiting on vet for a cow that calved on sunday, not really eating and doesnt look great.

vet sort her out?

whelan2

visatorro wrote: »

vet sort her out?

Pneumonia. Stomach is fine. Was afraid she might have displaced something after calving. Marbocyl and metacam. He said of a local farmer who lost 3 cows the other morning with tetany and had 5 others down with it, so be careful

orm0nd

whelan2 wrote: »

Pneumonia. Stomach is fine. Was afraid she might have displaced something after calving. Marbocyl and metacam. He said of a local farmer who lost 3 cows the other morning with tetany and had 5 others down with it, so be careful

heard tetany is widespread, even in spring calvers

(glad the cow is ok)

whelan2

orm0nd wrote: »

heard tetany is widespread, even in spring calvers

(glad the cow is ok)

He made a comment about some lads possibly scrimping on feed /calmag with a low milk price,debts etc

Buford T. Justice XIX

PMU wrote: »

Bufort,how many of those farmer directors are in favour of a full spinout.? Given that the co-op is just a holding company for plc shares it seems pointless to continue with it. kerry agribuisness is the trading part of the plc. A large release of plc shares would boost the Kerry share price as well as putting money in farmers pockets. as a ex supplier I would be in favour of a full spinout

There is a huge difference in opinion between wet and dry shareholders.

Dry shareholders want to access the value of the shares that they in some way helped build and they want it now.

There is also the gray market for co-op shares that exists atm. Currently, co-op shares are trading for in excess of 250euro while the book value of those shares in c.400 euro. Those that want to sell aren't getting full market value for their shares, which is unfair. I would be in favour of a market opening up to sell back to the co-op at market value, to be paid from the dividends from the plc, and the shares cancelled. This could be done at regular intervals and the price increased/decreased depending on plc share value until the market finishes. This would allow those selling to get proper prices, the remaining shareholders to get increased value for their shares while losing potentially a lot/all of their dividends for a few years. While the dividend would mean a hit in cash flow, it would result in an increased value on the remaining shares.

Wet shareholders would like in some degree of access the value also but they also have an eye open for what happens when there is no farmer directors on the board. While the farmer directors have to have the future of the company as their first responsibility, there is a certain comfort in having 'one of our own' at the top table when decisions are being made even if the decisions would generally be the same regardless of who sits in the chair.

And further out, what happens when/if there is a bid put in for Kerry Group that's accepted? If the new owners don't want to be involved in processing milk, will we then be left with the onus of buying back our plant and equipment for top dollar with, probably, questionable management left in place(definitely none of the better managers will be left) and starting from scratch to find markets? None of this will matter to the dry shareholders but, as a wet shareholder, the future direction of the company would be uppermost in my mind to ensure the viability of my farm.

There is a buyback option in place atm, iirc, but I don't know if that is a longterm option.

For me, it's a matter of what philosophy you believe in. I would be a huge fan of co-operatives and the benefits they bring to both their owners and suppliers. I would have been against to going public first day but I do recognise the benefits that the increased value of the company has brought me and other farmers. I would still be of the opinion that it is better to own your own equipment and get paid slightly less than to get something extra in price without having the responsibility of maintenance and investing in plant and equipment.

This post is way longer than I expected, apologies for that, but I hope this explains why I will be voting no to any new spinout.

mahoney_j

whelan2 wrote: »

He made a comment about some lads possibly scrimping on feed /calmag with a low milk price,debts etc

It's happening here too ,meal is cheap when u start loosing cows to tetany .

Deepsouthwest

orm0nd wrote: »

heard tetany is widespread, even in spring calvers

(glad the cow is ok)

Tetany in spring calvers especially during this fine spell sounds strange.
Lost a cow here as well, second calver, slipped in the collecting yard over the wkend, put her down yesterday.

whelan2

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Tetany in spring calvers especially during this fine spell sounds strange.
Lost a cow here as well, second calver, slipped in the collecting yard over the wkend, put her down yesterday.

nights are cold enough, also a bit of lush grass around. Have lost sucklers to tetany at this time of year before

Milked out

Is it high potash in ground. Can't remember a case of tetany here, touch would

Milked out

First autumn calver will calve in next 24 hours id say, due the 7th Oct. Mtz cow in calf to lwr. Cow due same day no springing at all yet, deu cow in calf to phc