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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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Timmaay

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Reading your post make me feel like a bit of a pseudo farmer. I'm so lucky to be on the ground I'm on. I often cursed in July when parts of the farm shuts down due to drought. Feeding silage in shorts and boots beats feeding in the scutter every time.
Boys ground

+1000 to this.

yewtree

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Reading your post make me feel like a bit of a pseudo farmer. I'm so lucky to be on the ground I'm on. I often cursed in July when parts of the farm shuts down due to drought. Feeding silage in shorts and boots beats feeding in the scutter every time.
Boys ground

I wouldn't have the wettest farm relatively speaking, a few lads in Dg would have been in by night a while now. We might get a dry octobter and all will be forgotton!

Keepgrowing

danjoe wrote: »

Seen a grab at ploughing from biddy attachments,7 1/2' wide very well built big difference in price compared to competitors

You've a handler or a loading shovel I presume.

I bought a 6' Pro Dig at last years ploughing and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Really well built with lots of steel where required. Hardox tines with weld on tips. Mines a shear grab with plastic and net catcher incorporated.

Will carry 1 tonne of pit silage and opens bales for sport. You certainly wouldn't be buying on price but worth every cent and probably more. Don't quote me on that. I'd recommend them even if the salesman was a knob

OverRide

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Reading your post make me feel like a bit of a pseudo farmer. I'm so lucky to be on the ground I'm on. I often cursed in July when parts of the farm shuts down due to drought. Feeding silage in shorts and boots beats feeding in the scutter every time.
Boys ground

Aye,felt the same this morning when reading yewtree's post here in the south east,it hadn't started raining yet and the ground bone dry
Quite wet now but it will blow over,I'm hoping to keep the milkers out here until the end of November or start of December and if there are dry days in January and there's grass,they'll be creeped out for a few days again

All could go south of course,while there's oceans of leafy grass here at the moment,all useable as the ground has no give yet, Butregular frosts and a long wet spell and we'd be in the same boat all too soon

blue5000

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Reading your post make me feel like a bit of a pseudo farmer. I'm so lucky to be on the ground I'm on. I often cursed in July when parts of the farm shuts down due to drought. Feeding silage in shorts and boots beats feeding in the scutter every time.
Boys ground

+1

On limestone gravel here for most of it, cutaway bog is mostly planted. Before nitrates became an issue we were grazing 11 months of the year.
Weanlings still outwintered on kale, plough, till it with a land leveller big difference to housing Oct to April.

awaywithyou

blue5000 wrote: »

+1

On limestone gravel here for most of it, cutaway bog is mostly planted. Before nitrates became an issue we were grazing 11 months of the year.
Weanlings still outwintered on kale, plough, till it with a land leveller big difference to housing Oct to April.

What are growth rates like on kale compared wit silage and nuts and do they have much shade in field they will be grazing the kale?

Actually how important is shade to cattle during winter if there out? A very very well known Angus breeder near me had his cattle grazing kale on the edge of a cliff... with the wild Atlantic Ocean waiting for them if they took a jump... Anyway they seem to get on the finest.... So how important is shade??

blue5000

awaywithyou wrote: »

What are growth rates like on kale compared wit silage and nuts and do they have much shade in field they will be grazing the kale?

Actually how important is shade to cattle during winter if there out? A very very well known Angus breeder near me had his cattle grazing kale on the edge of a cliff... with the wild Atlantic Ocean waiting for them if they took a jump... Anyway they seem to get on the finest.... So how important is shade??

GR around 0.7-0.8 kg on kale and big bale silage. Kale is high in CP. The big advantage that lots of people don't realize is that cattle take off in mid-feb at grass after being out wintered on the kale, whereas if they were housed and let out, they'd be standing under a hedge for a month if weather was rough in feb-march.

One disadvantage with suckler heifers I've noticed is that they are wild, they never really get the close human contact like they would get in a shed for the winter. So I have started housing the heifers and putting the bulls out on the kale, if the bulls are wild they'll be gone at 16 months.

They have a grass lie back, usually it's a paddock that will be ploughed the following year for kale after 1 cut of silage. Constant rain is a problem though, I try divide the lie back area in 3 sections. It usually has high hedges or mature trees around it, or at least on one side.

whelan2

4.66bf and 3.82pr. Record for here

boggerman1

If this weather lasts,we could all qualify for the reduction scheme!

GrasstoMilk

Latest milk results.
16l
4.23p
5.6 bf
2kg meal

whelan2

3 calved today, 11 left. Think the heifers will break me. Very hard to milk for some reason

jaymla627

whelan2 wrote: »

3 calved today, 11 left. Think the heifers will break me. Very hard to milk for some reason

What's bulls are they off, always keep a eye on temperament score here when picking bulls, something that alot of lads pay no attention to at all, then wonder why their heifers are ninjas in the parlour

stretch film

whelan2 wrote: »

3 calved today, 11 left. Think the heifers will break me. Very hard to milk for some reason

Pet hate of mine . Tried udder mint on the fresh calved heifers last couple of years and it seems to help.
Tie them up early here life's too short for plamausing them.
Turn off the ACRs for a while.
Delaval were able to manipulate settings leaving the pulsation running right up to pull off so the heifers especially don't sense they're coming off.

mf240

It's Deffo in the breeding.

The more Holstein type are easier than the British Friesan to train.

Did you try the vice grip on the tail Whelan.

whelan2

ye most of the bitches are br/fr out of a stock bull. Although the worst is a ksk . Have a kick bar on her now. Main problem is parlour is 3 ft centres , too much room. Use jump lead clamp on some of them.

stretch film

whelan2 wrote: »

ye most of the bitches are br/fr out of a stock bull. Although the worst is a ksk . Have a kick bar on her now. Main problem is parlour is 3 ft centres , too much room. Use jump lead clamp on some of them.

If you've staggered throughs and a straight rump rail you could run 2inch piping outside throughs for a while to really tighten them up..

yewtree

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Latest milk results.
16l
4.23p
5.6 bf
2kg meal

Super figures jex herd?

GrasstoMilk

yewtree wrote: »

Super figures jex herd?

Yes mix of ebI and kiwi used last few yrs to put some yield back. Delighted with results

yewtree

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Yes mix of ebI and kiwi used last few yrs to put some yield back. Delighted with results

Lic Bulls? Have a few cows I need to put a bit of yield back into aswell

Timmaay

whelan2 wrote: »

ye most of the bitches are br/fr out of a stock bull. Although the worst is a ksk . Have a kick bar on her now. Main problem is parlour is 3 ft centres , too much room. Use jump lead clamp on some of them.

I've had the "feet up" since June, and should do until about 5th of Feb, and 2bh love nor money wouldn't make me go back autumn calving again ha.

freedominacup

mf240 wrote: »

It's Deffo in the breeding.

Not as much as people think. I've been on three farms with all X-bred this year with dg. Cows quiet as any ho herd. One herd of over 300, another was a new entrant in 2012 milking over 130. How cows and youngstock are handled has a huge bearing.

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

I've had the "feet up" since June, and should do until about 5th of Feb, and 2bh love nor money wouldn't make me go back autumn calving again ha.

Pretty glad of the calves to be selling especially as anc payment hasnt come through yet

mahoney_j

freedominacup wrote: »

Not as much as people think. I've been on three farms with all X-bred this year with dg. Cows quiet as any ho herd. One herd of over 300, another was a new entrant in 2012 milking over 130. How cows and youngstock are handled has a huge bearing.

Big +1 a calm farmer leads to calm cows ,very little trouble with giddy heifers here.i can walk through all my heifers and maidens and they wouldn't bat an eyelid at u and nearly come over for a. Chat

whelan2

mahoney_j wrote: »

Big +1 a calm farmer leads to calm cows ,very little trouble with giddy heifers here.i can walk through all my heifers and maidens and they wouldn't bat an eyelid at u and nearly come over for a. Chat

Mine are the same in the field, have been going through the parlour this few months with dry cows. Normally I get 1 or 2 that kick but this is worse. Normally only calve 10 at this time of year have 18 this time . Got a kick in the stomach this morning, good job I have padding

Mooooo

I'd be in the breed get camp on heifers kicking anyway. They'd follow you around here and lick the coat of ya but when some come to parlour it's a different story. Have seen it in daughters of cows who were the same and two bulls which I've used in the past were rxr and uph, very nervous as heifers so much so I wouldnt use bulls with them in the background whatever the figures

mf240

Cow here are very quite but the breeding is part of it too.

trixi2011

Have found that the friendly pet cows are usually bitchs in the parlour anyone else notice this

whelan2

Going to get a lad to give me a hand in the evenings for this week, wont matter if they are not milked in the morning.

OverRide

Aye good idea,about 2 weeks should settle them down when they know they're not going to get away with dancing and kicking machines off
There are too many of them in one go there
What I do here when on my own is lock up the worst of them in a shed that joins the collecting yard and let them out max two at a time,trying to let them up the middle with cows in between and where possible an extra cow in the round if she can be squeezed in,to bunch them in tight

whelan2

OverRide wrote: »

Aye good idea,about 2 weeks should settle them down when they know they're not going to get away with dancing and kicking machines off
There are too many of them in one go there
What I do here when on my own is lock up the worst of them in a shed that joins the collecting yard and let them out max two at a time,trying to let them up the middle with cows in between and where possible an extra cow in the round if she can be squeezed in,to bunch them in tight

ye I am having 7 or 8 heifers in together. Most of them are ok but it only takes 1 bitch to upset the rest