Dairy Chitchat 3

Mooooo · 30-09-2019 11:25am

mahoney_j wrote: »

Getting wet here too but ground conditions a non issue .....for now .took different approach to autumn covers here last 2 years gone away from tegasc advise of there target covers etc which I feel are too high especially in a wet back end ,grazing 16/1800 cover max ,even with small buffer in no issue with clean outs and growth rates remaining high .with high covers both clean outs and regrowths would suffer

Have covers around 2000 here on heavy ground I can't get into. Had a growth of over 70 last week which for the last week of September is exceptional I think. Stocked a bit lower than other years. First year calving all spring too so will prob adjust late summer / autumn management.

alps · 30-09-2019 1:52pm

Mooooo wrote: »

Have covers around 2000 here on heavy ground I can't get into. Had a growth of over 70 last week which for the last week of September is exceptional I think. Stocked a bit lower than other years. First year calving all spring too so will prob adjust late summer / autumn management.

The most difficult decision of all is when to start extending rotation. I don't think there's any fixed date. I reckon it's a growth rate decision rather than a date one. While a farm is growing 70, more than 24 days is heading for trouble. Our forecast predictions now, re grass growth are pretty dependable, and a decision to extend rotation can easily be identified a week out from reducing rates say down to 50s and 40s, and buffering then can easily get that rot. out to 30/35.

The mortal sin I reckon is buffering to extend rotation and ending up with covers that are too high...hold the buffer and use it only when growth will no longer exceed demand and pgy starts to drop below 2000..

Decisions as to when to start extending the round and the decision of when to start closing should not be made until well after the event...

GrasstoMilk · 30-09-2019 2:09pm

Anyone know anything about the new johnes scheme or where I can get information?

whelan2 · 30-09-2019 2:20pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Anyone know anything about the new johnes scheme or where I can get information?

Your vet should know or ahi have a johnes section 0719671928

GrasstoMilk · 30-09-2019 3:32pm

whelan2 wrote: »

Your vet should know or ahi have a johnes section 0719671928

Had a quick look through the johnes section on the ahi website.
Which way of resting if testing is better? Milk or blood?.

whelan2 · 30-09-2019 5:54pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Had a quick look through the johnes section on the ahi website.
Which way of resting if testing is better? Milk or blood?.

I blood at tb test. I dont think any way is 100 % accurate. It also depends if you have tb tested recently.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 30-09-2019 6:30pm

whelan2 wrote: »

I blood at tb test. I dont think any way is 100 % accurate. It also depends if you have tb tested recently.

Or tested within 3 months, I think.

GrasstoMilk · 30-09-2019 8:37pm

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

Or tested within 3 months, I think.

Does the TB test affect It? We tested in march

whelan2 · 30-09-2019 8:39pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Does the TB test affect It? We tested in march

You'll be grand so. Do you milk record? Might be easier to test then

GrasstoMilk · 30-09-2019 8:41pm

whelan2 wrote: »

You'll be grand so. Do you milk record? Might be easier to test then

Did one last week. Was going to be my last one for the year.
I'd say my vet would love me if I said I wanted to blood all the cows at testing, he was delighted when the brucellosis test went

whelan2 · 30-09-2019 8:44pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Did one last week. Was going to be my last one for the year.
I'd say my vet would love me if I said I wanted to blood all the cows at testing, he was delighted when the brucellosis test went

It doesn't take that much longer to do them

Buford T. Justice XIX · 30-09-2019 9:50pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Did one last week. Was going to be my last one for the year.
I'd say my vet would love me if I said I wanted to blood all the cows at testing, he was delighted when the brucellosis test went

If you're doing it through milk recording, you'd want to be telling them soon. We did ours with blood the day of the test. Took about an hour longer than normal but the cows are more or less trained for testing at this stage.

Water John · 30-09-2019 9:56pm

Yeah, well trained, if their like my sucklers, the ould ones shove their head down to the ground.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 30-09-2019 10:09pm

Water John wrote: »

Yeah, well trained, if their like my sucklers, the ould ones shove their head down to the ground.

We've either been restricted or contiguous for the last three and a half years so they generally know if they're all kept in the yard after milking, the only way out is through the crush. I drive them in and the vet shuts them up and their heads out the right side.

We've had a good bit of practice:)

Buford T. Justice XIX · 30-09-2019 10:23pm

Speaking of TB, a bit of pressure in the UK to investigate the potential use of TB vaccinations in cattle with more sensitive tests available to differentiate between vaccinated and infected cattle?

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-9-2019-003006_EN.html

Castlekeeper · 30-09-2019 10:30pm

Timmaay wrote: »

1st of October tomorrow! I'm here still topping fields at the min, and haven't thought once about closing up paddocks for the winter! You couldn't ask for a better year weather wise than we have got here.

Its a dfferent world over there, we would be considered to have a decent farm in our area, and I've the heavy land grazed since last week. I had to put the cows in Saturday night, only on off grazing now and I can't see that changing given the forecast. You couldn't put a tractor in amny field now around here now.

Timmaay · 01-10-2019 1:10pm

OK the difference a day makes, that 30 odd mm that fell last 24hrs has defo put the ground into saturation. I left a feed trailer in with the cows corner the field overnight, and they absolutely made sh1t of around it.

Reggie. · 01-10-2019 1:14pm

Timmaay wrote: »

OK the difference a day makes, that 30 odd mm that fell last 24hrs has defo put the ground into saturation. I left a feed trailer in with the cows corner the field overnight, and they absolutely made sh1t of around it.

So much for the drought

Buford T. Justice XIX · 01-10-2019 7:42pm

New thread on cubicle houses from the Journal.
https://twitter.com/WilliamConlon/status/1179094424950837248?s=19

atlantic mist · 01-10-2019 10:36pm

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49891449

the map of the Nitrogen dioxide air pollution is interesting, seems dublin, limerick and cork city are our main culprits

GrasstoMilk · 01-10-2019 10:56pm

Timmaay wrote: »

OK the difference a day makes, that 30 odd mm that fell last 24hrs has defo put the ground into saturation. I left a feed trailer in with the cows corner the field overnight, and they absolutely made sh1t of around it.

No problem with ground conditions here

Keep Sluicing · 01-10-2019 11:19pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

No problem with ground conditions here

Mowed 5 acres of silage here today. Not wanted but grass was outta control

Birdnuts · 02-10-2019 12:36am

atlantic mist wrote: »

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49891449

the map of the Nitrogen dioxide air pollution is interesting, seems dublin, limerick and cork city are our main culprits

You can thank the Green Party for that and their diesel push 10 years ago

visatorro · 02-10-2019 8:21am

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

No problem with ground conditions here

Paddocks ok here but iv alot of work to do on lanes. The most of my current lane is northside of a high ditch. It rarely dries out. Feckin mess

oxjkqg · 02-10-2019 8:59am

U mowed paddocks :L
Barely keeping the moo moo's above water here, tomorrow could be the nail in the coffin.
In a good position grass wise but what generally happens with these big storms is the salt spray just comes in from the Atlantic and burns what grass we have and it melts into the ground.
Fingers crossed it doesn't come as bad.

whelan2 · 02-10-2019 9:02am

How do ye get downer cows out of your cubicle shed? My shed is 10 bays long. At the moment I push the cow out with the automatic scraper. We are deciding whether to gate or concrete the end walls . Assuming I will need access at the end of each passage to get in to get a cow out with loader. What do ye suggest?

Keepgrowing · 02-10-2019 9:20am

whelan2 wrote: »

How do ye get downer cows out of your cubicle shed? My shed is 10 bays long. At the moment I push the cow out with the automatic scraper. We are deciding whether to gate or concrete the end walls . Assuming I will need access at the end of each passage to get in to get a cow out with loader. What do ye suggest?

If it happens during the day we roll cow into an 8’ loader bucket and remove, simply as you need at least one rolling cow and one on loader. If at night a ratchet strap to get out of cubicle and on to a lorry cover which we tow out.

Key thing is we can drive into all passages

Castlekeeper · 02-10-2019 9:33am

whelan2 wrote: »

How do ye get downer cows out of your cubicle shed? My shed is 10 bays long. At the moment I push the cow out with the automatic scraper. We are deciding whether to gate or concrete the end walls . Assuming I will need access at the end of each passage to get in to get a cow out with loader. What do ye suggest?

The scraper sounds a bit rough! A long rope is cheap, and often comes in handy anyway, if you can't get in. We roll them onto a slat mat (Mayo) here and pull any out.

Injuryprone · 02-10-2019 9:50am

whelan2 wrote: »

How do ye get downer cows out of your cubicle shed? My shed is 10 bays long. At the moment I push the cow out with the automatic scraper. We are deciding whether to gate or concrete the end walls . Assuming I will need access at the end of each passage to get in to get a cow out with loader. What do ye suggest?

I use a hip lifter to get them out.

You should definitely leave tractor access at the end of each channel, even if it's just for scraping it out if the power is gone for a day or 2 during the winter

Buford T. Justice XIX · 02-10-2019 10:00am

whelan2 wrote: »

How do ye get downer cows out of your cubicle shed? My shed is 10 bays long. At the moment I push the cow out with the automatic scraper. We are deciding whether to gate or concrete the end walls . Assuming I will need access at the end of each passage to get in to get a cow out with loader. What do ye suggest?

Hip lifter and the Ursus and loader can drive up any of the cubicle passages, luckily.

Dairy Chitchat 3

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