Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977997#Comment_122977997

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The above map, and your rambling about animal health, what would the effect be on animal health on the above farms if they went all-in on clover

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The funny thing is all the above research was done by Teagasc, so why aren't they advising farmers in these areas to stay away from using clover our at least identify fields where it won't be suitable,

yewdairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978309#Comment_122978309

If foliar feeding is a silver bullet to nitrogen usage, why isn't all nitrogen applied this way across different farming systems?

I know a few farms using the tow and fert sprayer. Don't seem to be getting any magical results

visatorro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978642#Comment_122978642

Are they using less nitrogen? That's what I was told, same growth less fert…

yewdairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978655#Comment_122978655

I think they are not sure on exact figures. But they had the exact same issues as the rest of us growing grass this year due to weather.

Expensive kit as well over 30k

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978378#Comment_122978378

They hardly understand what it is never mind advise what to do about it

green daries

Ridiculous money for them ...... but all gear is mental money now.

Any how foliar feeding that ginger is practicing is the use of dissolved urea applied using your bog standard sprayer...... i can get you an 800litre tested and guaranteed one for 2400 ... I've only dabbled but your talking as low as 6-8 units per acre.....

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978378#Comment_122978378

I wasn't referring to clover on molybdenum soils - i was talking about using grass mixtures less chemical dependent and more robust in terms of root systems, nutrient content etc. to provide a buffer against more extreme weather and less worm issues, summer scour etc, in stock. The link below makes for interesting/disturbing reading on the level of wormer resistance now present in intensive dairy systems here

https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13620-020-00167-x

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122976713#Comment_122976713

Good quality haulage. A kgs or so of soya hulls depending on how bare they are. Get minerals and vits right for the remaining 6-12 weeks of pregnancy. Watch after they calf for milk fever. Dose for worms I say fluke is not am issue in France.

Gawddawggonnit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977997#Comment_122977997

I plastered grazing platform with Urea and AN this year, and the grass just didn’t grow.
Overall, I never used such little artificial fert due to majority cropping being maize.

Funny year.

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122978642#Comment_122978642

Well the lads foliar spraying are using only a quarter to a third the amount of nitrogen and I dont want to knock another mans product but while the Tow and Fert may be handy for melting the urea it is not the best for applying it due to the spread patter like a splash plate. Ideally it should be applied using a conventional sprayer as it will atomise the spray better and get product onto the underside of the leaf where the stomata can absorb it better.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977285#Comment_122977285

Dosent grow there or people dont grow it there?

K.G.

The big lesson from this year is clovers ability to shag you up.if it dosent grow it wont leave the nitrogen for the next crop as well.before you know it best part of the year gone and you have nothing for your cows.on the spray nitrogen thing i ll wait until i see it working for someone locally to me before i give it a go.no offence to anyone but i tried clover and it hasnt worked so i m going to be very slow to trail something else based on the internet

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979248#Comment_122979248

Teagasc are dead set against Folior sprays, humic acid etc. They did a half arsed trial. Any trials they do need to be funded by an interested body. It's something similar with the swivel slurry spout. It's the same with the advice regarding beef.

I am not sure whether folior will work long term. HoweI know two lads locally usingbit and they are extremely happy. However you need longterm trials. Fertlizer companies are not going to fund Teagasc to carry them out. There main move at present is to try to ban standard urea so as to prevent it use and force us onto PU

Say my name

I'm just after buying a cordless clippers based on farmer experience from another farming forum on the internet.

I clicked and will collect shortly.

Big thrill seeker here.. living dangerously.

yewdairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979307#Comment_122979307

Fairly big statement there about teagasc been against foliar fertilizer. If it had the potential to reduce nitrogen fertilizer by 50% we would hear nothing but foliar.

Reducing fertilizer by 50% would go a huge way to agriculture reaching it's legal binding climate targets and that is a huge focus for teagasc and the department, and to be honest that's all the department are interested in. They don't care what the fertilizer industry think. Some lads get way too into conspiracy theories

Also suggesting that all trials are funded by commercial bodies is nonsense. Most trials are funded by European money or funds like the dairy levie. All their funding streams are published.

Tell us why the study was half assed?

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979553#Comment_122979553

Well we have been doing the foliar for years here and I can assure it works 100%. Have no vested interest, not trying to sell anything to anyone but very concerned about the push to ban normal urea, it could bollox it up for us.

As far as I am concerned it is a no brainer. We are not your airy fairy organic farm, proper commercial dairy, beef and tillage on over 500 acres.

stanflt

using foliar here like ginger tru a sprayer

Working really really well

Works best combined with good slurry management

if a field hasn’t got slurry in the previous 3 months I won’t use foliar

Nothing scientific just works best from experience- the humic folic acid really works a treat on the slurry

Say my name

Who is the company promoting foliar fertiliser?

There is none. Talk about conspiracies but Teagasc have representatives from the fertiliser associations on their boards when advice is being formulated for farmers or proposals are made to the dept of agriculture and government of Ireland.

For teagasc to run trials that a company would have favourable. The company has to stump up money for the research to teagasc. I've heard at least 20k mentioned for a trial.

Why it's not promoted is because any plain urea can be used but the farmer has to dissolve it themselves and teagasc dairy advisors consider dairy farmers haven't got the skillset to use a sprayer. Too much work is cited by advisors against using it. But here we are how many years when it was first mentioned on this forum or independant advisors like Joel Williams giving talks of worldwide experience and there's still some clueless.

I'm going to be crude here but some farmers would like someone to wipe their own backsides.

yosemitesam1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979553#Comment_122979553

I don't think there's been any study at all by teagasc on it which begs the question why not.

They have enough machinery spending the majority of the time idle around the country to do a little bit of testing to build the case for a fully funded investigation if they wanted.

yewdairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979795#Comment_122979795

With the greatest of respect what you are saying about how advice is formulated is completely untrue.

The idea that fertilizer companies are influencing advice to farmers from teagasc is nonsense.

Teagasc have advocated for decades a grass based system to keep costs low, agree or disagree that is a fact. Teagasc are not perfect but they are independent of commercial influence.

Could you explain how feed companies can't influence teagasc. But fertilizer somehow can?

Teagasc consistently argue against high feed costs. The feed industry is a far bigger and profitable sector than fertilizer.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979307#Comment_122979307

Whether teagasc trial it or not makes no difference to me but as i said until i see someone i know and trust using it in my local condtions i aint touching it.on a high proportion of rented land and repayments on owned land i cant afford stuff not to work.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979913#Comment_122979913

With the greatest of respect Yew. There's always a representative of the fertiliser industry on the board of teagasc.

Ten years ago when we had the likes of the farmer boards poster who sat in protested in Dairygold offices it was said of the fertiliser representative.

It hasn't changed since.

Say my name

Liam Wolfe of Grassland Agro is the current fertiliser representative on the 11 person teagasc board...I think there from looking.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979913#Comment_122979913

sorry but Tegasc talk out of both cheeks of there arse on lot of things and yes they are influenced by. Fertiliser companies ….they’ve sat on there arse long enough re foliar ….why….

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979375#Comment_122979375

What did you get

green daries

@yewtree Because they didn't conduct the experiment properly....... you did science upto junior cert.... everyone knows that teagasc are laughing at anyone who is thinking outside the box ........in fact the few I've delt withe the last few years are laughing at us all ......

Siamsa Sessions

Flip the question the other way around: if foliar was being discussed at a Teagasc board meeting, would the fertiliser rep argue for or against it?

yosemitesam1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122980003#Comment_122980003

If you really wanted to influence things you'd take on teagasc lads on your own company board, hire them as consultants in a private capacity and sponsor their events...

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122980099#Comment_122980099

Clipster FarmClipper Akku2. Battery operated with two batteries in box and charger.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122980179#Comment_122980179

it probably has been discussed and u can bet it was voted against ….if foliar was promoted fert companies wouldn’t sell as much ….there bottom line trumps all