The Grass Measuring Thread

greenfield21

Would feeding more meal take it down just for now.

yosemitesam1

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It is 12.5% calcium which is an acid netralizing agent. Urea is an acid calcium should neutralize it in gut before it enters the bloodstream.

Calcium does nothing in the rumen, it's too close to neutral to dissolve it. It dissolves only when it gets to the stomach due to lower pH.


Urea doesn't cause the problem, it's ammonia/nitrate that causes problems. Reducing or slowing the release of nitrogen is what helps

freedominacup

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

IIRC urea is slightly basic, but close to neutral.
Liquid urea doesn’t corrode metal and has a “soapy” feel to it...

I’d think that the calcium is to settle the rumen. (?)

There was a post here the winter before last about this. I don't remember the details but high pr levels attributed to high N levels in forage hoover up calcium affecting digestion and cause a self replicating cycle that causes the scouts associated with forage like this. It's an acidic reaction from memory so the lime has two effects. Buffering and providing extra calcium to replace what's being hoovered up. We fed 200g/hd/day for the past two springs/early summer and no more loose dung.

See Yosemitesams post above. I think he may have been the poster I was thinking of. I'd appreciate any corrections to anything I've posted above.

yosemitesam1

freedominacup wrote: »

There was a post here the winter before last about this. I don't remember the details but high pr levels attributed to high N levels in forage hoover up calcium affecting digestion and cause a self replicating cycle that causes the scouts associated with forage like this. It's an acidic reaction from memory so the lime has two effects. Buffering and providing extra calcium to replace what's being hoovered up. We fed 200g/hd/day for the past two springs/early summer and no more loose dung.

See Yosemitesams post above. I think he may have been the poster I was thinking of. I'd appreciate any corrections to anything I've posted above.

I think high levels of n in the lower gut causes the scutters and would reduce other mineral absorption. The calcium changes fermentation in the gut (by reducing p availability for bacteria which need a lot of p relative to ca) which slows things down and balances off some of the effects of the excess n.
In high starch diets ca leads to more starch digestion, I am assuming due to making it harder for bacteria to break it down first.

freedominacup

Warren Buffett said something in reply to the saying about a riding tide lifting all boats along the lines of seeing who was swimming with no clothes on when the tide goes out. Something similar happening with paddocks in an opposite direction atm. The rising tide is definitely exposing the poor swimmers. In one instance I have a fairly fresh reseed across the roadway from a thirty plus yr old ley and the thirty yr old ley is beating the pants off the fresher ground. There could be a dozen reasons why but every paddock was starting from the same point. Zero growth, zero covers and no fert for 6-7 weeks. If you're not grass measuring in a fairly detailed way you should be able to see things you mightened otherwise notice over the next week.

boggerman1

Don't measure grass here but have been out every other day checking the progress of paddocks.all growing fairly even to such an extent that I'm planning on pulling out silage by the weekend if things stay the way they are.the paddocks that were done last Friday week with the trailing shoe have really responded well

mahoney_j

boggerman1 wrote: »

Don't measure grass here but have been out every other day checking the progress of paddocks.all growing fairly even to such an extent that I'm planning on pulling out silage by the weekend if things stay the way they are.the paddocks that were done last Friday week with the trailing shoe have really responded well

Gr of 52 here up to Friday but noticeably crashed again since ,more rain badly needed

whelan2

yosemitesam1 wrote: »

Calcium does nothing in the rumen, it's too close to neutral to dissolve it. It dissolves only when it gets to the stomach due to lower pH.


Urea doesn't cause the problem, it's ammonia/nitrate that causes problems. Reducing or slowing the release of nitrogen is what helps

Milk urea went up higher over the weekend. Back down to 42 for yesterday's collection. Spoke with someone today and I'm increasing the nuts in parlour to at least 5kg to reduce intake in the fields. Testing the grass won't make anything any clearer as we don't know how much is stored in the ground. Next load of nuts will have novotan in it and will be 14 %or lower. He said I'm not the only one ringing him about it today. He's putting it down to crazy growth rates at the minute

yosemitesam1

whelan2 wrote: »

Milk urea went up higher over the weekend. Back down to 42 for yesterday's collection. Spoke with someone today and I'm increasing the nuts in parlour to at least 5kg to reduce intake in the fields. Testing the grass won't make anything any clearer as we don't know how much is stored in the ground. Next load of nuts will have novotan in it and will be 14 %or lower. He said I'm not the only one ringing him about it today. He's putting it down to crazy growth rates at the minute

Access to straw/silage might be of benefit also, a big burst of n hitting them in one go if they go out hungry is what I'd be afraid of.


Ryegrass soaks up all the n it can, dumps it into the leaves and only thinks about making proteins after, so probably another week at least before it starts to stabilize or come back down

Gawddawggonnit

whelan2 wrote: »

Milk urea went up higher over the weekend. Back down to 42 for yesterday's collection. Spoke with someone today and I'm increasing the nuts in parlour to at least 5kg to reduce intake in the fields. Testing the grass won't make anything any clearer as we don't know how much is stored in the ground. Next load of nuts will have novotan in it and will be 14 %or lower. He said I'm not the only one ringing him about it today. He's putting it down to crazy growth rates at the minute

There’s an artic of Valo’herbe (the link I posted) arriving in Rosslare on Thursday.

Pm and I’ll see can some be delivered to you, if you’re interested.

Don’t know and have never used Novotan, but it seems to have a different MO than Valo’herbe.

whelan2

Milk urea down to 33

simx

whelan2 wrote: »

Milk urea down to 33

Gone from 33 to 41 here

whelan2

simx wrote: »

Gone from 33 to 41 here

mine maxed at 60 :eek:

visatorro

21 atm, peaked @ 44

whelan2

visatorro wrote: »

21 atm, peaked @ 44

I'm winning so far :cool:

Buford T. Justice XIX

I don't know what a tracker mortgage is:pac:
Kerry don't do Milk Urea's but, if they did, they'd be the best Milk Urea's:rolleyes:


Tbh, I wouldn't mind the occasional reading but no plans that I've heard of to test.

Mooooo

Finally got some here last ones in order are 34 30 40 24 and 7 for Aug 1st.

Wildsurfer

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I don't know what a tracker mortgage is:pac:
Kerry don't do Milk Urea's but, if they did, they'd be the best Milk Urea's:rolleyes:


Tbh, I wouldn't mind the occasional reading but no plans that I've heard of to test.

Either do Dairygold. But sur its only another thing to be worrying about like the lads here, what we don't know won't hurt us!

Mooooo

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Either do Dairygold. But sur its only another thing to be worrying about like the lads here, what we don't know won't hurt us!

If you ring your milk advisor they can put it so it is txt out to you

whelan2

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Either do Dairygold. But sur its only another thing to be worrying about like the lads here, what we don't know won't hurt us!

Ye. Sometimes you're better off not knowing

Keepgrowing

AFC 850 here. We got a massive hit from the 38mm of rain we got. Growth 60 in the last 4 days but has slowed significantly so we’re back in with pulp.

Offered a farm with standing hay on it last week as the elderly owner can’t graze it. It’s 140 ac with 12 sucklers on it. Moved all our incalf heifers there yesterday. We’ve set it up to be block grazed. This will allow us to cut silage from their usual ground if it would bloody only rain. Walked the heifer ground yesterday and it’s totally parched for the want of rain.

freedominacup

Keepgrowing wrote: »

AFC 850 here. We got a massive hit from the 38mm of rain we got. Growth 60 in the last 4 days but has slowed significantly so we’re back in with pulp.

Offered a farm with standing hay on it last week as the elderly owner can’t graze it. It’s 140 ac with 12 sucklers on it. Moved all our incalf heifers there yesterday. We’ve set it up to be block grazed. This will allow us to cut silage from their usual ground if it would bloody only rain. Walked the heifer ground yesterday and it’s totally parched for the want of rain.

We're steeped around here by the sound of things. Got a downpour on Thurs morning before dawn and gook a while for the sun to come out and place is soaked atm. No downpours just misty drizzly day that you'd hate if the weather was generally poor. Keeping things moving.

whelan2

Reading in the journal that the Greenfield farm will be down 20 to 25% on milk supply this year. Surely most farms won't be that much down?

mahoney_j

whelan2 wrote: »

Reading in the journal that the Greenfield farm will be down 20 to 25% on milk supply this year. Surely most farms won't be that much down?

Most wont with all extra feed going in

whelan2

mahoney_j wrote: »

Most wont with all extra feed going in

That's what I was thinking

mahoney_j

whelan2 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking

Spring totally fooked then I’d say beteween all the confusion the time of the snow and slow grass growth farm never really had a chance this year also cow type and the ability to convert it to milk and solids at appreciable rates would be an issue and just to note that’s not a dig nor anything else sinister before someone jumps on it just a fact

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

Spring totally fooked then I’d say beteween all the confusion the time of the snow and slow grass growth farm never really had a chance this year also cow type and the ability to convert it to milk and solids at appreciable rates would be an issue and just to note that’s not a dig nor anything else sinister before someone jumps on it just a fact

The new farm manager is going about things a different way. That farm will be at different level with him behind the wheel

freedominacup

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

The new farm manager is going about things a different way. That farm will be at different level with him behind the wheel

How do you mean? One thing that struck me lately about that place is the level of staff turnover.

visatorro

GrasstoMilk wrote:

The new farm manager is going about things a different way. That farm will be at different level with him behind the wheel

Read his posts on another platform. He seems fairly open, just wondering what exactly he can do differently? Are his hands not tied to the way the project is run?

jaymla627

visatorro wrote: »

Read his posts on another platform. He seems fairly open, just wondering what exactly he can do differently? Are his hands not tied to the way the project is run?

Maybe he might get feeders in the parlour, expecting lads to shovel nearly two tons of nuts into cows daily during certain periods of the year is bananas