Outwintering empty dairy cows?

Agrian Brian

Hi all,

have a couple of empty dairy cows I'm going to hang onto til next year and was just wondering about the possibilities of outwintering them on a rough, rocky section of grassland I have and feeding them baled silage? Sound doable? Wouldn't be breaking any department rules would I by not having them housed?

Timmaay

Agrian Brian wrote: »

Hi all,

have a couple of empty dairy cows I'm going to hang onto til next year and was just wondering about the possibilities of outwintering them on a rough, rocky section of grassland I have and feeding them baled silage? Sound doable? Wouldn't be breaking any department rules would I by not having them housed?

Once on paper you have the winter accommodation, and necessary slurry storage, even if they never get to see that shed all winter. And no runoff into rivers etc where they are being outwintered.

rangler1

As long as it's not a sacrifice paddock that they are on

You'll incur penalties for the following
''Evidence of sand dunes and/or grassland being
overgrazed or otherwise used resulting in erosion
§ Evidence of rutting or poaching damage to
permanent pasture caused by machinery or animals
§ Evidence of severe poaching leading to soil erosion
particularly around supplementary feeding points and
sacrifice paddocks''

kowtow

rangler1 wrote: »

As long as it's not a sacrifice paddock that they are on

You'll incur penalties for the following
''Evidence of sand dunes and/or grassland being
overgrazed or otherwise used resulting in erosion
§ Evidence of rutting or poaching damage to
permanent pasture caused by machinery or animals
§ Evidence of severe poaching leading to soil erosion
particularly around supplementary feeding points and
sacrifice paddocks''

What about getting them to plough up a paddock ready for harrowing and a spring reseed?

Thus saving diesel & roundup.

Buford T. Justice XIX

kowtow wrote: »

What about getting them to plough up a paddock ready for harrowing and a spring reseed?

Thus saving diesel & roundup.

Nope.

There must be a cover crop on land over winter. Cattle can be outwintered at very low stocking rates (1LU/Ha?) and with minimal damage to the sward. If the sward is torn to shreds, you will be liable for breaking the regulations on keeping land in good environmental condition.


Animals can be out wintered on welfare grounds, see your vet for details like lameness etc.

CloughCasey1

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Nope.

There must be a cover crop on land over winter. Cattle can be outwintered at very low stocking rates (1LU/Ha?) and with minimal damage to the sward. If the sward is torn to shreds, you will be liable for breaking the regulations on keeping land in good environmental condition.


Animals can be out wintered on welfare grounds, see your vet for details like lameness etc.

So if you had a paddock to reseed all you need is a letter from vet to say the animals in question got lame indoors and that only other alternative is to feed them out?

blue5000

Poaching around a ring feeder in wet weather will be your biggest problem if you are inspected OP.

How many are there and how much ground will they have, is it sheltered? A dry lie would be good.

charolais0153

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

So if you had a paddock to reseed all you need is a letter from vet to say the animals in question got lame indoors and that only other alternative is to feed them out?

They would say you have to spread them over all your available land I'd say

CloughCasey1

charolais0153 wrote: »

They would say you have to spread them over all your available land I'd say

Sure you wouldnt want to poach all the land!

rangler1

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Sure you wouldnt want to poach all the land!

That's the mindset we're dealing with, don't know how the lads strip grazing rape and baled silage fare in a cross compliance

PMU

sell `em

davidk1394

Did it hear the last 2 years to clear off over grown areas but had a hard core area where they could eat silage and some meal. Did a great job clearing off the area but brought them in after Christmas as the weather turned to shìte.

rangler1

davidk1394 wrote: »

Did it hear the last 2 years to clear off over grown areas but had a hard core area where they could eat silage and some meal. Did a great job clearing off the area but brought them in after Christmas as the weather turned to shìte.

The depatment told us at an information meetingthat they didn't approve of wintering on gravel because the pollution goes straight down to the water table......they didn't approve of feeding areas at all really

davidk1394

rangler1 wrote: »

The depatment told us at an information meetingthat they didn't approve of wintering on gravel because the pollution goes straight down to the water table......they didn't approve of feeding areas at all really

I suppose some people's version of out wintering is having cattle up to their belly's in mud. If you do it right and the animals have good shelter they are as happy out doors rather than in doors

rangler1

davidk1394 wrote: »

I suppose some people's version of out wintering is having cattle up to their belly's in mud. If you do it right and the animals have good shelter they are as happy out doors rather than in doors

A neighbour got a cross compliance penalty for a feeder on an old roadway, a dirty yard'll get you a penalty now if you don't have a tank off it,
Anyway its just a heads up

CloughCasey1

Seen this on agriland
http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/category/beef/

rangler1

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Seen this on agriland
http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/category/beef/

One animal to the hectare is probably alright, as said in the article, along with frequent moving of the feeder......as long as they're not poaching.
On your previous point, I wouldn't like to be presenting a cert from the vet for a dozen lame cattle.....you wouldn't be long till you'd get an animal welfare inspection as well.
I've only ever had to take three cattle out of the sheds for lameness in 30 years.....shed holds 160 cattle

Tail painter

Agrian Brian wrote: »

Hi all,

have a couple of empty dairy cows I'm going to hang onto til next year and was just wondering about the possibilities of outwintering them on a rough, rocky section of grassland I have and feeding them baled silage? Sound doable? Wouldn't be breaking any department rules would I by not having them housed?

If it is 'a couple' of cows, feeding baled silage could be wasteful as a bale will last them 10 days. It will probably go off before it is finished. What about a bit of hay with no feeder? There would be less poaching

jimini0

Tail painter wrote: »

If it is 'a couple' of cows, feeding baled silage could be wasteful as a bale will last them 10 days. It will probably go off before it is finished. What about a bit of hay with no feeder? There would be less poaching

Could you get a lorry load of 2inch down and level it in field and place round feeder on that or is that against the rules too?

Sam Kade

rangler1 wrote: »

That's the mindset we're dealing with, don't know how the lads strip grazing rape and baled silage fare in a cross compliance

I got the Irish dairy farmer annual 2017 for Christmas, they have an article on a new entrant dairy farmer in west Cork. He has been outwintering dairy cows since 2011 on fodder beet. They are strip grazed with a back fence, 167 outwintered this year. Most of his land is rented and some blocks have winter housing which he used during very wet weather. I wonder how he would fare in an inspection with no lie back while grazing fodder beet with large numbers? I thought that one rule of the nitrates directive was that you couldn't out winter dairy cows, even though it is a fairly stupid rule that you can out winter suckler cows but not dairy cows or did they change that rule since?