Dairy chit chat II

freedominacup

jaymla627 wrote: »

Just two thousand litres at the minute, need to put in a new bulk tank next year and toying with idea of a outdoor tank and leaving 6000 litre tank in place to be used to put chilled water through plate cooler and use this tank as a reserve also with it plumbed into wash down pump to pump water to troughs

Mjs solution is the only one though I'm not sold on the loop. Inch and a half plus is the bore you need. Reserves are pointless unless your spring hasn't got the flow to meet peak demand. If your well can match peak demand getting the infrastructure to match it is straightforward.

Imo there's a lot of snakeoil salesmen out there offering complicated solutions to simple problems like water infrastructure and paddock layouts and as usual have no conscience at all when parting suckers from their cash.

rangler1

whelan2 wrote: »

Grass growing here. Heavy land loves this weather. I will enjoy it while it lasts as we will probably be back to muck and scutter soon enough

Grass forging ahead here too, really fortunate that I decided to lease some of the farm, supply exceeding demand at the moment

Wildsurfer

Jeez just read MT's forecast, a blocking high for foreseeable future, only a Squibble fri if we're lucky!

GrasstoMilk

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Jeez just read MT's forecast, a blocking high for foreseeable future, only a Squibble fri if we're lucky!

The old rhyme of oak before ash most definitely is accurate. Oak was well out here this year before Ash and that's supposed to mean a dry summer. Last number of years they both have been out around the same time but the Ash being a good week before the oak..

No grass worth talking about here. Feeding strong. Have silage ground closed up on milk block but couldn't let cows in on it. It's nearing 3000 covers.
I grazed 10 acres of stuff at 1600 that I had to graze a few weeks back that was intended for 1st cut silage wouldn't be able to cut it yet with fert not due out of it till end of the month

Timmaay

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

The old rhyme of oak before ash most definitely is accurate. Oak was well out here this year before Ash and that's supposed to mean a dry summer. Last number of years they both have been out around the same time but the Ash being a good week before the oak..

No grass worth talking about here. Feeding strong. Have silage ground closed up on milk block but couldn't let cows in on it. It's nearing 3000 covers.
I grazed 10 acres of stuff at 1600 that I had to graze a few weeks back that was intended for 1st cut silage wouldn't be able to cut it yet with fert not due out of it till end of the month

You have the same problem as me lol, ya shouldn't be aiming to cut heavy crops of 1st cut off the milking block at all. Will be all bales/excess paddocks here next year, only reason I closed up for 1st cut was I had to put all the drystock on the rented land to clean it out, so lower Sr last 2months on the milking block. Can ya not cut the silage ground now?

pedigree 6

Timmaay wrote: »

You have the same problem as me lol, ya shouldn't be aiming to cut heavy crops of 1st cut off the milking block at all. Will be all bales/excess paddocks here next year, only reason I closed up for 1st cut was I had to put all the drystock on the rented land to clean it out, so lower Sr last 2months on the milking block. Can ya not cut the silage ground now?

For all the ones advocating cutting now.
Would it not be better have a big bulk of mediocre silage for the dry period than be run out of silage?

mahoney_j

pedigree 6 wrote: »

For all the ones advocating cutting now.
Would it not be better have a big bulk of mediocre silage for the dry period than be run out of silage?

No cut now and getvwuality ,a lot easier manage with less good silage than a pit of crap .real knife edge stuff ifcrain comes at end of week grass will bust out of ground

GrasstoMilk

Timmaay wrote: »

You have the same problem as me lol, ya shouldn't be aiming to cut heavy crops of 1st cut off the milking block at all. Will be all bales/excess paddocks here next year, only reason I closed up for 1st cut was I had to put all the drystock on the rented land to clean it out, so lower Sr last 2months on the milking block. Can ya not cut the silage ground now?

I need dry cow silage. Still have 40 good bales from last year. Now is the one chance you have of gathering the winters fodder. 69:70 dmd stuff is even too good for my dry cows. Why would I be making 79/80 dmd stuff for them and having to put straw through it because I don't have enough silage.
I'll get lots of bales when growth picks back up

freedominacup

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

. Why would I be making 79/80 dmd stuff for them

So that you don't suffer in bad weather next March and so that they will continue to milk well when grass quality deteriorates in the back end. My silage is bulking away just as much as yours is but my first cut is saved in perfect order. There's no argument in favour of crap silage. In your case where you make your own what difference does it make cost wise at all to get X number of bales whether you are making 5 or 10 bales to the acre? It's not like your light cut of quality silage is subsidising your neighbour making a big pit of sh1te three weeks later for the same price per acre with a precision chop contractor.

Mooooo

pedigree 6 wrote: »

For all the ones advocating cutting now.
Would it not be better have a big bulk of mediocre silage for the dry period than be run out of silage?

Cut now and take a second cut as well then in 6 to 8 weeks, have higher bulk and quality, cows may well be milk MF on it in the back end or next march

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

I need dry cow silage. Still have 40 good bales from last year. Now is the one chance you have of gathering the winters fodder. 69:70 dmd stuff is even too good for my dry cows. Why would I be making 79/80 dmd stuff for them and having to put straw through it because I don't have enough silage.
I'll get lots of bales when growth picks back up

Missing the point baling silage for me is about managing grass ,69/70 is minimum for dry cows ,ideally 70+.by baling high quality silage your keeping top quality grass for cows and also silage which will stretch further so be it if u have to add straw ,your in big tillage country so should be no issue as u also have diet feeder by leaving silage to bulk your basically making a bad situation worse as regrowths will. E slower

mahoney_j

freedominacup wrote: »

So that you don't suffer in bad weather next March and so that they will continue to milk well when grass quality deteriorates

On the money as always free ,

leg wax

i would always try and make quality as i can always buy ****e.

Timmaay

leg wax wrote: »

i would always try and make quality as i can always buy ****e.

That's what I'm thinking also, say buying a standing 1st cut 15ac field at say, 250e/ac 3750euros, if your flatout buffer feeding say 6kg bought meal at 25c/kg, for the next 6wks to 100cows, because you have zero grass in front of you, the mealbill will come to nearly 7k!

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

I need dry cow silage. Still have 40 good bales from last year. Now is the one chance you have of gathering the winters fodder. 69:70 dmd stuff is even too good for my dry cows. Why would I be making 79/80 dmd stuff for them and having to put straw through it because I don't have enough silage.
I'll get lots of bales when growth picks back up

U must of had some stash of 80 dmd bales to feed all autumn calvers and buffer through spring and still have 40 left ,if u can make that amount of that silage why make crap ??

yewtree

just after looking at weather on met eireann on the 5 day weather forecast, rain seems to be coming on thursday and friday definitely for the west anyway. rang contractor to knock the first cut this evening should be good quality anyway.
looks like my brief shortage of grass on milking platform will be over fairly quickly.

freedominacup

yewtree wrote: »

just after looking at weather on met eireann on the 5 day weather forecast, rain seems to be coming on thursday and friday definitely for the west anyway. rang contractor to knock the first cut this evening should be good quality anyway.
looks like my brief shortage of grass on milking platform will be over fairly quickly.

If it comes the way it's being forecast it'll make some year. Cut that silage Tim and get the fert out.

3 the square

Any one know how much clearall in 10 liters of water ???

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

U must of had some stash of 80 dmd bales to feed all autumn calvers and buffer through spring and still have 40 left ,if u can make that amount of that silage why make crap ??

Why would I make real good silage for my drys when they are already in super condition at drying. Therr boderline fat when they get near calving.
I have land set aside for milkers bales and then I have silage set aside for drys.
Giving dry cows straw is diluting there energy intake.

How about I give you a bowl of porridge in the morning and then nothing but crackers till tomorrow morning.
You wouldn't have much energy, would you?

Again I'll say it. I have good bales for milkers and average silage for my drys. Who at most need to put on half a condition score between drying off and calving.
It's working for us here and we'll continue to do it this way

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Why would I make real good silage for my drys when they are already in super condition at drying. Therr boderline fat when they get near calving.
I have land set aside for milkers bales and then I have silage set aside for drys.
Giving dry cows straw is diluting there energy intake.

How about I give you a bowl of porridge in the morning and then nothing but crackers till tomorrow morning.
You wouldn't have much energy, would you?

Again I'll say it. I have good bales for milkers and average silage for my drys. Who at most need to put on half a condition score between drying off and calving.
It's working for us here and we'll continue to do it this way

Your missing the whole point which I havnt time to go into all about grassland management ,also missing the point re straw with good silage there's a big benefit

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

Your missing the whole point which I havnt time to go into all about grassland management ,also missing the point re straw with good silage there's a big benefit

Your not grasping my point either. I am well able to make lots of good quality silage, I do not need 80dmd stuff for dry cows. Majority of the area my cows graze will get cut once every year. 3 bales to the acre on it and I have the bales for the milkers. I have fed no silage since late Feb because I had so much grass to get through, which is why I have those good bales. I always get a pinch here every year and every year it happens at a different time.

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Your not grasping my point either. I am well able to make lots of good quality silage, I do not need 80dmd stuff for dry cows. Majority of the area my cows graze will get cut once every year. 3 bales to the acre on it and I have the bales for the milkers. I have fed no silage since late Feb because I had so much grass to get through, which is why I have those good bales. I always get a pinch here every year and every year it happens at a different time.

How much 80 dmd silage do u make ??,honest answer and dose itvtest 80 dmd ,very little people in country make any decent amount of silage at that level I only had 2 lots of bales totalling 95 bales which tested at that most were 72/78 with worst lot 68

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

How much 80 dmd silage do u make ??,honest answer and dose itvtest 80 dmd ,very little people in country make any decent amount of silage at that level I only had 2 lots of bales totalling 95 bales which tested at that most were 72/78 with worst lot 68

I made 160 bales of silage off paddocks and ground that was specifically let up for milkers silage. Advisor tested 6 bales from the stack that came in from 76-80. I still class that as my 80 dmd silage stack and they milk well when ever there on them. I've been feeding for last few days and there holding well at 27.5 litres still

Buford T. Justice XIX

At the risk of starting WWIII, I'll add a link from Dr. John Roche on supplements on grass.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/advice/92338064/john-roche-pasture-is-an-excellent-feed-unless-you-mismanage-it

yewtree

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At the risk of starting WWIII, I'll add a link from Dr. John Roche on supplements on grass.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/advice/92338064/john-roche-pasture-is-an-excellent-feed-unless-you-mismanage-it

Reading it today interesting enough read. It's the grass substitution and the subsequent loss in Grass quality where most lads fall down.

freedominacup

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At the risk of starting WWIII, I'll add a link from Dr. John Roche on supplements on grass.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/advice/92338064/john-roche-pasture-is-an-excellent-feed-unless-you-mismanage-it

Teagasc wouldn't want this one getting around at all. As far as they're concerned 100mj of energy from concentrates is only capable of producing half as much milk as 100mj of energy from grass. That article flys in the face of all their research in the subject.

Mooooo

The issue is the dm intake I guess, lads measuring in the group have some of the herds eating 21 kg dm of grass along with 3 kg meal and excellent cleanouts, perfect conditions everything is fine but wet weather or harsh winds blowing and cows go for shelter and don't get as much in. When he says the only difference is cow dm intakes between US and nz cows and the fact cows are working for grazing doesn't quite add up as to test that properly would be to swap cows in each system I assume and see how they do. Nearly all the research he quoted was his own also? Not saying he's wrong but the discussion would need more input I guess

yewtree

freedominacup wrote: »

Teagasc wouldn't want this one getting around at all. As far as they're concerned 100mj of energy from concentrates is only capable of producing half as much milk as 100mj of energy from grass. That article flys in the face of all their research in the subject.

I have never heard that, energy is energy surely doesn't matter where it comes from, I thought it largely agreed with Teagasc stuff I have heard particularly around substitution of grass.

pedigree 6

Mooooo wrote: »

The issue is the dm intake I guess, lads measuring in the group have some of the herds eating 21 kg dm of grass along with 3 kg meal and excellent cleanouts, perfect conditions everything is fine but wet weather or harsh winds blowing and cows go for shelter and don't get as much in. When he says the only difference is cow dm intakes between US and nz cows and the fact cows are working for grazing doesn't quite add up as to test that properly would be to swap cows in each system I assume and see how they do. Nearly all the research he quoted was his own also? Not saying he's wrong but the discussion would need more input I guess

That's a better post than I could do.:)
It all comes down to body shape of the cow too.
The best cow for grazing and milking and going back incalf imo is a wide rumped, big bellied, capacious and not too tall cow.

freedominacup

yewtree wrote: »

I have never heard that, energy is energy surely doesn't matter where it comes from, I thought it largely agreed with Teagasc stuff I have heard particularly around substitution of grass.

It agrees with teagasc on grass and substitution and I wouldn't be arguing against those findings but I have had arguments on more than one occasion with teagasc reps on the return from concentrates. More than once they have claimed that 1kg of meal will not give more than 1litre of milk based on their research.