Drought

arctictree

Anyone affected by the drought here? I weaned my first batch of lambs at the weekend and the field they are on is getting yellower by the day. Will this affect thrive badly? Have started giving them nuts just to give them something extra.

Green farmer

Some of the land here sits on top of a sand/ gravel field. Lovely and bone dry in the winter for keeping stock out, but in this weather its a lovely yellow colour. You’d swear It’s got a load of roundup on it, if you didn’t know better. Grass slowing big time around the rest of farm. Put out a bag of 18 6 12 on a few paddocks after last grazing two weeks ago and the field hasn’t grown hardly an inch since. Will be tight on grass in another week if things don’t change.

ganmo

water will be my issue soon

AntrimGlens

ganmo wrote: »

water will be my issue soon

We're on heavy enough ground and growth has certainly slowed way off. I've a good supply of water coming off the mountain which is piped to all water troughs in 1" pipe. Last week after sowing fert i disconnected all pipes from drinkers in fields with no stock. I just move the pipes around the fields twice a day and let gravity do the rest. Simple irrigation and the one advantage of never having gotten around to burying the water pipe and having sloping ground and ample water supply i suppose.

wrangler

arctictree wrote: »

Anyone affected by the drought here? I weaned my first batch of lambs at the weekend and the field they are on is getting yellower by the day. Will this affect thrive badly? Have started giving them nuts just to give them something extra.

Yea, lambs need quality grass, but you have to work with what you have.
You're right to go with meals if the grass isn't up to scratch, if lambs stop thriving for any length of time it's hard to get the going again

sheepfarmer92

Burning up here, no grass giing to have to wean this weekend and start feeding lambs, a year of extremes

Lano Lynn

if bord bia is to believed it is going to make lamb inedible:D:D:D

Donegalforever

AntrimGlens wrote: »

We're on heavy enough ground and growth has certainly slowed way off. I've a good supply of water coming off the mountain which is piped to all water troughs in 1" pipe. Last week after sowing fert i disconnected all pipes from drinkers in fields with no stock. I just move the pipes around the fields twice a day and let gravity do the rest. Simple irrigation and the one advantage of never having gotten around to burying the water pipe and having sloping ground and ample water supply i suppose.

You are very luck to have a good "free" supply of water.

Green farmer

Starting to get abit worried now. Anything grazed or topped is turned yellow and hasn’t regrown, running out of grass ahead of them and weather expected to be like this for the next week or so, why’d have though we’d be thinking of meal in July

Western Pomise

Am in Glas so couldn’t top till now....pasture very messy looking with fair grass in parts,long headed out grass and stuff gone to waste in fields as am a bit understocked this year.
Am a bit reluctant to go topping though because there is very little grass growing and there is the saying ‘it takes grass to grow grass’,whenever I do top there will be a lot of straggly grass left on the ground.

charolais0153

Green farmer wrote: »

Starting to get abit worried now. Anything grazed or topped is turned yellow and hasn’t regrown, running out of grass ahead of them and weather expected to be like this for the next week or so, why’d have though we’d be thinking of meal in July

Have you the ewes weaned yet?
Have over 10 acres of aftergrass ahead of 100 odd lambs so they wont run short any time soon hopefully

Green farmer

charolais0153 wrote: »

Have you the ewes weaned yet?
Have over 10 acres of aftergrass ahead of 100 odd lambs so they wont run short any time soon hopefully

Not weaned yet. The range in age from 8-12 weeks, to was trying to leave them another week or two as some just look abit young yet.

charolais0153

Green farmer wrote: »

Not weaned yet. The range in age from 8-12 weeks, to was trying to leave them another week or two as some just look abit young yet.

Ya. Have a few that age ourselves.... Have you creep gates set up to try and give the lambs that bit more?

Lambman

Moved 60 ewes and 96 lambs all later lambs till 16 acres today weaned the rest off the lambs and put them into paddocks as grass here isn't growing and the quality has till be going out off it.... anybody creeping lambs that's weaned? Reluctant till do it here never done it this early before and the grass is there just worried how much good it will do them.

wrangler

Lambman wrote: »

Moved 60 ewes and 96 lambs all later lambs till 16 acres today weaned the rest off the lambs and put them into paddocks as grass here isn't growing and the quality has till be going out off it.... anybody creeping lambs that's weaned? Reluctant till do it here never done it this early before and the grass is there just worried how much good it will do them.

started feeding meal today, grass is not good enough here, we'll give the .5kg/day until rain grows proper grass, hopefully the meal will stretch the grass too

sheepfarmer92

Did the same here, feeding the ram lambs in 2 groups of over 35 kgs and under 35 kgs, ewes tightened up, we are burning very bad here

charolais0153

sheepfarmer92 wrote: »

Did the same here, feeding the ram lambs in 2 groups of over 35 kgs and under 35 kgs, ewes tightened up, we are burning very bad here

Much per head?

sheepfarmer92

charolais0153 wrote: »

Much per head?

Around half a kilo but say 8l end up putting hoppers out and goin ad lib if the grass doesnt take off, going to be an expensive year!

wrangler

sheepfarmer92 wrote: »

Around half a kilo but say 8l end up putting hoppers out and goin ad lib if the grass doesnt take off, going to be an expensive year!

better to be pushing the lambs on now......it'll take a couple of weeks for grass to come even if we get rain

sheepfarmer92

wrangler wrote: »

better to be pushing the lambs on now......it'll take a couple of weeks for grass to come even if we get rain

Definitly, better keep them thriving, had kt meeting here on monday and weighed a good few lambs with advisor, reckon theyre doing 300 to 330 a day off grass up til now, very very pleased with how theyre doing dont want them to stop now

wrangler

sheepfarmer92 wrote: »

Definitly, better keep them thriving, had kt meeting here on monday and weighed a good few lambs with advisor, reckon theyre doing 300 to 330 a day off grass up til now, very very pleased with how theyre doing dont want them to stop now

Lambs are thriving here too but I'm going to run out of grass in a week......probably will have to feed the ewes as well

sheepfarmer92

wrangler wrote: »

Lambs are thriving here too but I'm going to run out of grass in a week......probably will have to feed the ewes as well

Same might have to put hay out with them

davidk1394

Weaning the last of the lambs today and have 50 heading off tomorrow for the factory. Shearing next Wednesday. Keeping the grass for lambs and have them on ration. Sheep getting dried off and will be getting hay

kk.man

Folks all this is equivalent to the the Irish Famine Every single sector of agriculture is affected. The only saving is that the country is less dependant on farming nonethess huge implications.

charolais0153

kk.man wrote: »

Folks all this is equivalent to the the Irish Famine Every single sector of agriculture is affected. The only saving is that the country is less dependant on farming nonethess huge implications.

A fungal disease that effected one plant caused the irish famine not a drought......we could have grand weather until next may and only have a 3 month winter. This is unexpected but not unprecedented....if it can happen, it will.....

kk.man

charolais0153 wrote: »

kk.man wrote: »

Folks all this is equivalent to the the Irish Famine Every single sector of agriculture is affected. The only saving is that the country is less dependant on farming nonethess huge implications.

A fungal disease that effected one plant caused the irish famine not a drought......we could have grand weather until next may and only have a 3 month winter. This is unexpected but not unprecedented....if it can happen, it will.....

I am not talking about the aesthetics between the two. A frerce winter with no spring and a drought summer, fodder reserves very low, tilllage crops under huge pressure and diary men in hardship. Drystock sector in bother on many fronts. I don't care what sort of a winter we get this is a full on crisis.

Green farmer

Let’s be honest, it started raining July last year, didn’t stop until April this year. Was a long hard winter that cost a lot of money to carry stock through. The only thing that kept lads going was the promise of a normal summer to replenish reserves. This hasn’t happened and now we’re experiencing an extraordinary summer. I don’t think it’s a full out crisis, but it is extremely challenging. Never seen people feeding silage in July. It’s truly crazy stuff. I suppose it’s easy for me to say as I’m only a small scale farmer. Glad I ain’t a big dairy lad. The large scale fellows are being completely hammered . Know lads feeding bought in hay with meal and going around the clock with slurry tanks of water around the fields. I hear the mills are stretched abit now, trying to collect outstanding meal bills outs. Hard to feel sympathy for them after they loaded on price increases farmers last April, when the knew we had no other option but to buy it off them.

Country lad

Green farmer wrote: »

Let’s be honest, it started raining July last year, didn’t stop until April this year. Was a long hard winter that cost a lot of money to carry stock through. The only thing that kept lads going was the promise of a normal summer to replenish reserves. This hasn’t happened and now we’re experiencing an extraordinary summer. I don’t think it’s a full out crisis, but it is extremely challenging. Never seen people feeding silage in July. It’s truly crazy stuff. I suppose it’s easy for me to say as I’m only a small scale farmer. Glad I ain’t a big dairy lad. The large scale fellows are being completely hammered . Know lads feeding bought in hay with meal and going around the clock with slurry tanks of water around the fields. I hear the mills are stretched abit now, trying to collect outstanding meal bills outs. Hard to feel sympathy for them after they loaded on price increases farmers last April, when the knew we had no other option but to buy it off them.

Totally agree with you about putting up prices the local mill near me putting up the price of nuts by 10 euro a ton a couple of weeks ago and would.nt be surprised if their gone up even more now

goat2

This is frightening for farming, I am not a farmer, but lived at one time on a farm, and the summer was all about cutting silage and saving hay for the winter, now the first cut is being fed to the animals, and the growth has been stopped due to drought for the second cut, I can see this by just looking at my lawn, not an inch of grass grown in 12 days since last lawn cut, and the water supply for the larger animals, any one living near rivers may have some piece of back up, bad enough that we get bad winters, but we need fodder to keep going on the rough times, hope things improve

early_riser

All the fields burning up bad here. Had to take sheep off one out farm as stream that waters them just about gone dry so have to graze a field that was meant to be cut as a meadow nice grass not gone strong so wont feed the lambs until i have to. Well short of winter feed, not even 50% of bales needed made yet, straw ordered so ok on that front but only enough for bedding and any extra will be impossible to source. Dont want to reduce numbers if possible but def will if the maths dont add up, and hay at 30-35 doesnt make sense to me
Will try source some fodder beet as grown locally. Have a field that was cut 2 weeks ago for hay was hoping to get second cut but no regrowth at all on it and no point spreading fert at min. any ideas what could be done with it to bulk up feed? See lads talking about stitching oats into grass and baling later in year any good for sheep or would i be better going with redstart or something like that?

Green farmer

I haven’t even one bale made yet. It’s all still standing in the field, growth has ground to a halt. Don’t know what quality will be like. If it rains, it could turn inside out in a matter of weeks. An interesting year ahead. What can you do, other then roll with the punches and laugh at the situation ??

Western Pomise

On a lot of farms on west coast from Kerry to Donegal if farmers have a mix of sheep and cattle the Silage would only be coming fit for cutting now as sheep are in the meadows in April.Even crops not cut yet looking light....no bulk in first cuts on a lot of farms.

charolais0153

Western Pomise wrote: »

On a lot of farms on west coast from Kerry to Donegal if farmers have a mix of sheep and cattle the Silage would only be coming fit for cutting now as sheep are in the meadows in April.Even crops not cut yet looking light....no bulk in first cuts on a lot of farms.

Took it up twenty something th of april. Cut it first week of june.. Perfect balance between quality and bulk imo. 9 bales/acre

Lambman

Silage cut a week still no fertiliser or slurry spread on it since as no cover whatsoever taking out 7 acres off bales in next few days and praying I'll have enough regrowth on it till graze the last off the lambs in say a months time.... Wishfull thinking id say.

early_riser

How are people fixed now? Not much rain fell here at all yet fields getting very burnt up and price of hay and silage after soaring in last fortnight most now looking 40 for bales. I have no grass left, all lambs getting nuts now and feeding oats to the early ewes to try flush them. Went through all ewes here and picked out culls and poor performers, 50 going to the factory next week and these wont be replaced this year unless i can make more feed on farm myself which could be difficult given that its the 21st of july and even if it does rain this week and grass recovers it would be into september before i would have a meadow. some year!!

Green farmer

When is it all going to end ? I’ve less grass now then in December and the ground has completely cracked up and grass is yellow. Extraordinary indeed.

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

When is it all going to end ? I’ve less grass now then in December and the ground has completely cracked up and grass is yellow. Extraordinary indeed.

In any year there's feckall growth from august on, only water standing up, so only meal will be fit to flush ewes and fatten lambs, definitely can't afford to have lambs going into the new year this year

Green farmer

wrangler wrote: »

In any year there's feckall growth from august on, only water standing up, so only meal will be fit to flush ewes and fatten lambs, definitely can't afford to have lambs going into the new year this year

Some years you might get a early spring or other years a late autumn, but this year We’re being skinned from both sides. May was probably the only month of good grass growth. Going to be expensive to carry anything this winter as bought in fodder of any description is going to be mad.

Lambman

Sold all the horned ewes I bought in last year for breeding replacements off and won't be replacing them this year as it stands anyway.... I have the grass till carry what lambs are left for at least 2 months maybe more but as wrangler says the grass quality just isn't there so everything will be need till be fed meal. Breaks my heart till sell lambs till factory after the cuts they implemented this past 3 weeks. I don't see the point in me keeping them on till big weights tho and hoping the price rises because it wont. Stuck between a rock and a hard place comes till mind.

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

Some years you might get a early spring or other years a late autumn, but this year We’re being skinned from both sides. May was probably the only month of good grass growth. Going to be expensive to carry anything this winter as bought in fodder of any description is going to be mad.

Yea, I never saw many as light lambs going into the factory even under 17kg, farmers are just moving them to get them out of the way.
We're thinking of just targeting 18 or 19kgs rather than 21 -22, it's just costing too much to put on that extra weight, The problem might be lack of condition, they don't like many fat score 2s, I'd guess I'd have 30 or 40 lambs that'd ko over 18, it'd be a big relief out of 120 lambs and get rid of more ewes as well

early_riser

wrangler wrote: »

Yea, I never saw many as light lambs going into the factory even under 17kg, farmers are just moving them to get them out of the way.
We're thinking of just targeting 18 or 19kgs rather than 21 -22, it's just costing too much to put on that extra weight, The problem might be lack of condition, they don't like many fat score 2s, I'd guess I'd have 30 or 40 lambs that'd ko over 18, it'd be a big relief out of 120 lambs and get rid of more ewes as well

Was thinking of doing the same myself, anything that kill out over 18 get rid, but on the other hand the extra money from the heavier lamb all needed just have to make sure trying to put on the extra is not costing the difference

wrangler

early_riser wrote: »

Was thinking of doing the same myself, anything that kill out over 18 get rid, but on the other hand the extra money from the heavier lamb all needed just have to make sure trying to put on the extra is not costing the difference

Our lambs are puttng on 2kgs/week so probably 1kg DW, They're eating almost a KG/day now at 33c/kg so that's €2.40 which sounds alright but they're also eating grass which is a scarce and dear commodity now......They'll all have to live on meal only in another few days

early_riser

wrangler wrote: »

Our lambs are puttng on 2kgs/week so probably 1kg DW, They're eating almost a KG/day now at 33c/kg so that's €2.40 which sounds alright but they're also eating grass which is a scarce and dear commodity now......They'll all have to live on meal only in another few days

yeah just made it up there meal bill for this week, between oats to ewes and nuts to all lambs, is higher than it was this time six months ago in January!!

Green farmer

The mill put on €10 a tonne into meal early last winter because the minerals factory burnt down in the continent somewhere and another €10 a tonne in March because of some vague reason also. That’s €20 extra since last year. Who’d be betting against them increasing it again on some made up reason if this weather continues, so you cannt rely on them for a steady supply either.

wrangler

early_riser wrote: »

yeah just made it up there meal bill for this week, between oats to ewes and nuts to all lambs, is higher than it was this time six months ago in January!!

conversion rate won't be as good when they're a couple months on it either, Best conversion rate is got in the first few weeks.
Salvage situation from now on