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Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

Timmaay

24/6/16

Recently we saw three posters close their accounts over disagreements in the dairy threads. While there is a lot of frustration and discontent with current milk prices and the processing industry, the recent tendency for dairy threads to become tit-for-tat arguments isn’t tolerable for those not involved.

All farming sectors go through difficult periods and during such times there may need to be changes in how threads are moderated.

Dairy threads are going to be more closely monitored and subject to stricter moderation for a while.

To that end we won’t tolerate baiting of posters, constantly reviving old arguments, posters with agendas or crusading for a cause.

Whether it’s discussion of the business or politics of the dairy or other sectors, we expect civility and tolerance toward each other and other opinions as diversity of opinion is needed as a source of different ways of looking at a situation.

"The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress." - Joseph Joubert

Also please be aware that what you may post as light-hearted banter can be read totally differently by someone adversely affected by the subject matter and evoke a reaction you hadn’t intended.

The ‘Off-Season’ forum, and its anonymous posting, is available for anyone to chat about their situation.

The Mod Team.

10 away from the 10000 posts! Frazz I think it's fair to say this thread has been a success!

Indeed it was! First thread can be found here- http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056872221

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Mooooo

What meal are you feeding at the moment? If you are going only to be feeding silage before next load of meal perhaps add a half kg of soya to up the p a bit if you can. Is silage good?

freedominacup

Timmaay wrote: »

Cows still going through the little grass I still have too quick at the minute. I'm giving them about 7.5kgdm silage and 2.5meal at the minute, back 1l in the milk this mornings collection. I'll definitely need to bump up the feeding to about 10kg silage, what sort of meal should I be feeding?

I've added around 15% soya to the mix I was using since Apr. Now at around 14% pr. Milk at 23/24l. 3.65 & 3.85, pr and bf. We're plugging the hole day by day. They were a bit overfed yesterday at 4kg dm of silage. Only got bales this evening once I'd seen how they got through today's allocation. Last nights paddock cleaned to the ground. The pre mowing and topping done on the last round at least means paddocks are fresh to the clay so everything is utilisable. I would usually agree with the sheriff re the recreational burning of diesel but it was effective this time.

There is no management system for grassland management only guidelines and too much of the advice in the media and even at dg meetings is historic ie telling you what you did wrong last week/last rotation. You have to play the hand you are being dealt when you get it. Someone telling you what you did wrong afterwards isn't much help. We really should resurrect the grass measuring thread. That really was in the moment. Most posts were "here's where I am today, here's how I'm handling it". Very useful.

kevthegaff

I have to top, pure hassle as some of land can't be baled. Going to up numbers nxt year if possible as stocking rate under 2/hectare. I see one guy nearby with the controlled starvation route, fields are brown with no buffer feed, running into fields and balling like mad, You can't compromise feeding for clean out either.

jaymla627

kevthegaff wrote: »

I have to top, pure hassle as some of land can't be baled. Going to up numbers nxt year if possible as stocking rate under 2/hectare. I see one guy nearby with the controlled starvation route, fields are brown with no buffer feed, running into fields and balling like mad, You can't compromise feeding for clean out either.

You spreading any fert with salt in it like sweet grass, using it here the last 4 rounds and cows are skinning paddocks, even biting at dung-pats, easily eating an extra 150kg/dm ha per grazing from paddocks compared to last year when I was just going with can/urea

mahoney_j

Timmaay wrote: »

Cows still going through the little grass I still have too quick at the minute. I'm giving them about 7.5kgdm silage and 2.5meal at the minute, back 1l in the milk this mornings collection. I'll definitely need to bump up the feeding to about 10kg silage, what sort of meal should I be feeding?

Work off figure of 18/20 kg dm intake that a cow needs daily if there getting 5 kg dm grass then an extra circa 15 kg dm needs to be added through silage and meal to fill gap

Keepgrowing

mahoney_j wrote: »

Work off figure of 18/20 kg dm intake that a cow needs daily if there getting 5 kg dm grass then an extra circa 15 kg dm needs to be added through silage and meal to fill gap

You're correct on 20. Cows here consuming that and more. Ferocious appetites this year

Timmaay

Tough going farming in the Sahara ha

Keepgrowing

Timmaay wrote: »

Tough going farming in the Sahara ha

Don't be a baby, feed them silage it's a lot easier in dry weather than muck and scutter

Buford T. Justice XIX

Timmaay wrote: »

Tough going farming in the Sahara ha

Just close your eyes and think of the burst of growth that'll come when you finally get a good shower of rain:)

freedominacup

Timmaay wrote: »

Tough going farming in the Sahara ha

How did you get until this weekend without putting bales in?

freedominacup

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Just close your eyes and think of the burst of growth that'll come when you finally get a good shower of rain:)

Only sometimes. Didn't really happen in '13 and not at all in '14 around here.

Timmaay

freedominacup wrote: »

How did you get until this weekend without putting bales in?

Very mixed farm here, that sandbank burns up some bit most years, but useful enough to outwinter most years. The few pure clay heavy fields have kept me going the last few weeks. Did a quick grass walk this morning, by now I think I'm largely wasting my time trying to budget out too much the bit of grass that's left as it's burning up and going backwards.

Timmaay

freedominacup wrote: »

Only sometimes. Didn't really happen in '13 and not at all in '14 around here.

What we definitely don't need is an inch of rain tonight, then nothing for the next 3 weeks!

Mooooo

I see in shinagh growth is matching demand at circa 65kgdm but they plan to go in with 4kg baled silage next week if no burst of growth in order to build cover. Stocked high at 3.67lu/ha and they reckon at this stocking rate better to go in early to build cover as too risky to wait till September. Feeding no meal

Brown Podzol

Sr 3.9
Growth 74
Demand 65@ 17 + 3kg meal
Cover cow 230
1.95 kg milk solids.

Cover is the same as last week even though I'm allowing 20 kg dm. Going by the numbers I should be building. Cows are eating more or my measuring is out. Using a digital plate meter. I'll leave well enough alone and see next week what the situation is after the promised rain tomorrow night.

alps

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Sr 3.9
Growth 74
Demand 65@ 17 + 3kg meal
Cover cow 230
1.95 kg milk solids.

Cover is the same as last week even though I'm allowing 20 kg dm. Going by the numbers I should be building. Cows are eating more or my measuring is out. Using a digital plate meter. I'll leave well enough alone and see next week what the situation is after the promised rain tomorrow night.

Cows demand certainly gives the appearance of increasing towards the 20kg, but I just wonder if there is a slight butt in the sward that makes the digital plate meter measure slightly on the high side. I know there are different settings for late season swards but we tend to use the same formula all year round.

Does anyone here change the settings at different times of the year?

jaymla627

Mooooo wrote: »

I see in shinagh growth is matching demand at circa 65kgdm but they plan to go in with 4kg baled silage next week if no burst of growth in order to build cover. Stocked high at 3.67lu/ha and they reckon at this stocking rate better to go in early to build cover as too risky to wait till September. Feeding no meal

Seen on the journal greenfields are in bad bog, 20 bales of silage and 4kgs of meal going in, I wonder how their year end budget is looking now it might want a bit of altering....

visatorro

jaymla627 wrote: »

You spreading any fert with salt in it like sweet grass, using it here the last 4 rounds and cows are skinning paddocks, even biting at dung-pats, easily eating an extra 150kg/dm ha per grazing from paddocks compared to last year when I was just going with can/urea

Didn't Dan Ryan write in the findo a while back about farms being to highly stocked and being forced to graze closer to dung pats. I forget exactly the point he was making but the general jist was that it wasn't good for cow health. Got me thinking that maybe there's something to it,? although I wouldn't be the biggest fan of his writing.

jaymla627

visatorro wrote: »

Didn't Dan Ryan write in the findo a while back about farms being to highly stocked and being forced to graze closer to dung pats. I forget exactly the point he was making but the general jist was that it wasn't good for cow health. Got me thinking that maybe there's something to it,? although I wouldn't be the biggest fan of his writing.

I think his methodology was it lead to cows been exposed to a lot greater worm/fluke burden, my thinking on this cows as calves/maiden heifers are been dosed far to regularly and aren't building up any immunity so when they enter the milking herd and are faced with the worm/fluke burden but aren't been dosed every 3-4 months they are infected...
Haven't dosed calves our in-calf heifers this year and their isn't so much as a cough out of them, don't see any point going in routinely with dosing if its not needed

Brown Podzol

alps wrote: »

Cows demand certainly gives the appearance of increasing towards the 20kg, but I just wonder if there is a slight butt in the sward that makes the digital plate meter measure slightly on the high side. I know there are different settings for late season swards but we tend to use the same formula all year round.

Does anyone here change the settings at different times of the year?

It over estimates very low covers and under estimates high covers especially where the grass is fallen over, like it is now after a good bit of wind the past week. I correct for these allowing between 20 to 100 either way depending.

Mooooo

jaymla627 wrote: »

Mooooo wrote: »

I see in shinagh growth is matching demand at circa 65kgdm but they plan to go in with 4kg baled silage next week if no burst of growth in order to build cover. Stocked high at 3.67lu/ha and they reckon at this stocking rate better to go in early to build cover as too risky to wait till September. Feeding no meal

Seen on the journal greenfields are in bad bog, 20 bales of silage and 4kgs of meal going in, I wonder how their year end budget is looking now it might want a bit of altering....

This drop of rain comes this week it could dig them out, where the rest of us are baling for wet springs and autumns green fields and others need it for drought. I'd hold judgment till year end

alps

Brown Podzol wrote: »

It over estimates very low covers and under estimates high covers especially where the grass is fallen over, like it is now after a good bit of wind the past week. I correct for these allowing between 20 to 100 either way depending.

Gonna be difficult to build covers at 17kg allowance at your SR...what is the plan? You don't have silage ground to come in if I can remember....will you buffer your way to increase or do you think you can make it with GR..?

I also wonder what farm cover those stocked towards 4 can go to...For instance if we take a max pre graze of 2500, then we are looking at a farm cover of about 1100 but it's still only 260/270 per cow...how high do those at the top SR go?

Keepgrowing

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Sr 3.9
Growth 74
Demand 65@ 17 + 3kg meal
Cover cow 230
1.95 kg milk solids.

Cover is the same as last week even though I'm allowing 20 kg dm. Going by the numbers I should be building. Cows are eating more or my measuring is out. Using a digital plate meter. I'll leave well enough alone and see next week what the situation is after the promised rain tomorrow night.

AFC is 900 at those figures. It's going to be a job to build covers at that demand and growth. You need to get to 1200 for your sr as your demand will manage it very well. Only way to do that is with buffer.

I don't think it's doable and recon you need to just nail your closing targets and be shut down by latest 2nd week of November. Quiet honestly you don't even need to hit 1200 just coast them home.

Cover per cow and the wedge is irrelevant from now on its all about AFC and targets.

Fert out now and again early Sept and then it's all about next Feb.

Keepgrowing

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Sr 3.9
Growth 74
Demand 65@ 17 + 3kg meal
Cover cow 230
1.95 kg milk solids.

Cover is the same as last week even though I'm allowing 20 kg dm. Going by the numbers I should be building. Cows are eating more or my measuring is out. Using a digital plate meter. I'll leave well enough alone and see next week what the situation is after the promised rain tomorrow night.

Measuring gets a little distorted from about 3 weeks ago till end of season. Reason is that unless your nailing residuals to 100 EVERY grazing the growth point is rising since heading date.

Timmaay

Keepgrowing wrote: »

AFC is 900 at those figures. It's going to be a job to build covers at that demand and growth. You need to get to 1200 for your sr as your demand will manage it very well. Only way to do that is with buffer.

I don't think it's doable and recon you need to just nail your closing targets and be shut down by latest 2nd week of November. Quiet honestly you don't even need to hit 1200 just coast them home.

Cover per cow and the wedge is irrelevant from now on its all about AFC and targets.

Fert out now and again early Sept and then it's all about next Feb.

Don't have a hope of hitting 1200 here either, however calving not starting till about 7th of Feb, and we tend to always grow like of 5-7 per day across the winter here, so I don't mind closing around 550. Last year I hit that around the 10th of Nov, was actually well timed as the weather turned bad then ha. No reseeding this autumn so hopefully I'll go longer in November this year.

Brown Podzol

alps wrote: »

Gonna be difficult to build covers at 17kg allowance at your SR...what is the plan? You don't have silage ground to come in if I can remember....will you buffer your way to increase or do you think you can make it with GR..?

I also wonder what farm cover those stocked towards 4 can go to...For instance if we take a max pre graze of 2500, then we are looking at a farm cover of about 1100 but it's still only 260/270 per cow...how high do those at the top SR go?

Rather than follow the numbers I go rotation length. 30 days and supplement as necessary. I'll go to 4.5 meal before I'll put in silage. Start closing beginning Oct and fully closed middle Nov.

Keepgrowing

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Rather than follow the numbers I go rotation length. 30 days and supplement as necessary. I'll go to 4.5 meal before I'll put in silage. Start closing beginning Oct and fully closed middle Nov.

Does extra kg of meal actually do anything to build cover or does it just buy extra milk. We're on 2kg here and mulling over wheather more will slow rotation or not?

Keepgrowing

Going through some accounts last night and the drop in meal and Fert price is helping trading ac. Fert is falling weekly.

Have a feeling that any recovery in milk may be slow as grain is on the floor however on the other hand the UK looks to be heading for a milk shortage this winter. So some micro elements may help us for once

Brown Podzol

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Does extra kg of meal actually do anything to build cover or does it just buy extra milk. We're on 2kg here and mulling over wheather more will slow rotation or not?

Went to 3 from 1.5 here 10 days ago in an effort to lift milk p%, was stuck in the mid 350's. It actually went to 4, feed must be weighing heavy or feeders off. P rose, may have risen anyway, but residuals definitely rose. Milk volume stayed the same. Staying at 3 meal and tightened a little on the grass.

Dawggone

Gave this 40mm last week. Waste of time.