Dairy chit chat II

White Clover · 06-07-2017 09:39PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

28' steel reinforcing 9' thick. About 5 tonne each. Cows and quad only traffic on them. Farm machinery not allowed on cow roads.

When you say machinery not allowed, I presume you mean heavy gear like silage trailers/wagons and slurry tanks/dung spreaders? Everything else OK?

alps · 06-07-2017 09:40PM

the_blue_oval wrote: »

Wondering the same here. would have put covers at a bit less than what they were saying in moorepark. Cut and weigh here when doing grass walk and my eye normally wouldn't be too far off what the scales says, so was wondering whether I was off or were they over-estimating...

What did you guys give in the plot cover competition?

Went for 790, 1350, and 1980....

€1000 should be on by early next week🤣

alps · 06-07-2017 09:42PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

What have you grown to date?
9.5 tonne as of today here, looking like a record breaker.

I recon we may have even been underestimating covers when I saw covers in Moorepark on Tuesday

7.83 to date, and still moving on at 94/day....

charolais0153 · 06-07-2017 10:59PM

White Clover wrote: »

When you say machinery not allowed, I presume you mean heavy gear like silage trailers/wagons and slurry tanks/dung spreaders? Everything else OK?

Only cows and quad he said

mahoney_j · 06-07-2017 11:14PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Had plenty of protein with the spring grass

Obviously not as you've admted you go virtually no milk or solids gain with the maize results U posted .you spent a lot of money on expensive feed for little or no return

kowtow · 06-07-2017 11:35PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I recon we may have even been underestimating covers when I saw covers in Moorepark on Tuesday

I thought the grass measuring demo at Moore Park was great this year, maybe it's the practical experience of not doing it right since which made me pay more attention, or that I knew better this time what I was looking at.

Particularly liked the fist measuring trick - aim for three (?) fists of grass when pulled out by the root. Each fist is supposedly 500kg/dm

Would that correspond to 10cm measurement from the ground approximately?

yosemitesam1 · 07-07-2017 07:16AM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Had plenty of protein with the spring grass

That could have been where the problem was, in the region of 90+% of grass protein comes available to rumen microbes fairly rapidly after it's eaten. If there's no use for it it's pissed away at a cost to the animal.
There could then have been a slight protein deficit at other parts of the day...

mahoney_j · 07-07-2017 07:28AM

yosemitesam1 wrote: »

That could have been where the problem was, in the region of 90+% of grass protein comes available to rumen microbes fairly rapidly after it's eaten. If there's no use for it it's pissed away at a cost to the animal.
There could then have been a slight protein deficit at other parts of the day...

Protein quality and how good a cow will be to process it namely pdia and pdin

C0N0R · 07-07-2017 08:45AM

stanflt wrote: »

That couldn't be right if they only peaked at 28

My herd still doing over 28 here with no autumn cows dried off yet- some doing less than 15 admit idly

But sure I'm prob over feeding them anyway - still getting 5kg average

I fail to see how it couldn't be right, I was always taught that a cow will easily produce over a lactation 200 times what she peaks at and a well managed cow will produce 220 times, that puts GG's cows at 216 times peak milk.

whelan2 · 07-07-2017 08:55AM

Dried off first of the Autumn calvers this morning. Less cows to milk this evening. Vaccinated everything for ibr yesterday

yosemitesam1 · 07-07-2017 09:28AM

C0N0R wrote: »

I fail to see how it couldn't be right, I was always taught that a cow will easily produce over a lactation 200 times what she peaks at and a well managed cow will produce 220 times, that puts GG's cows at 216 times peak milk.

That figure of over 200 came from tmr diets, the lactation curve here falls off faster than other eu countries presumably due to cows not always being fed properly on grass.

GrasstoMilk · 07-07-2017 09:28AM

mahoney_j wrote: »

Obviously not as you've admted you go virtually no milk or solids gain with the maize results U posted .you spent a lot of money on expensive feed for little or no return

Was doing it no different than any other person feeding maize at grass. I had tested grass aswell and it was in high 20s for protein

mahoney_j · 07-07-2017 09:41AM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Was doing it no different than any other person feeding maize at grass. I had tested grass aswell and it was in high 20s for protein

Something def up tho that I got no response ,springvgrass high 20s for protein??.not picking holes but something def not right that u saw little to no response with maize as u described

Mooooo · 07-07-2017 10:14AM

Where they in at night out by day? One lad in the group kept feeding his maize just to use it up and still fed a balancer with it even when they were at grass, he didn't have enough to reclamp the cows milked well but spring rotation plan was effected.perhaps yosemitesam has a point re the timing as opposed to a tmr. Did they hold condition better compared to previous years, that's the big thing when in a tmr great to keep condition on milking cows. If using it this spring perhaps try a different meal and put it tru wagon with maize. When buying in feed it compares rel well cost wise with silage but managing it to minimise waste can be a balls alrite esp in an exceptional spring for grass.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-07-2017 10:30AM

Mooooo wrote: »

Where they in at night out by day? One lad in the group kept feeding his maize just to use it up and still fed a balancer with it even when they were at grass, he didn't have enough to reclamp the cows milked well but spring rotation plan was effected.perhaps yosemitesam has a point re the timing as opposed to a tmr. Did they hold condition better compared to previous years, that's the big thing when in a tmr great to keep condition on milking cows. If using it this spring perhaps try a different meal and put it tru wagon with maize. When buying in feed it compares rel well cost wise with silage but managing it to minimise waste can be a balls alrite esp in an exceptional spring for grass.

THE DEVILS WHEELBARROW as I heard a lad call it lately:pac:

Mooooo · 07-07-2017 10:41AM

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

THE DEVILS WHEELBARROW as I heard a lad call it lately:pac:

What I call it when the shear bolt goes and I'm piking thru 4 tonne of mix wouldn't be repeatable

GrasstoMilk · 07-07-2017 11:04AM

Mooooo wrote: »

Where they in at night out by day? One lad in the group kept feeding his maize just to use it up and still fed a balancer with it even when they were at grass, he didn't have enough to reclamp the cows milked well but spring rotation plan was effected.perhaps yosemitesam has a point re the timing as opposed to a tmr. Did they hold condition better compared to previous years, that's the big thing when in a tmr great to keep condition on milking cows. If using it this spring perhaps try a different meal and put it tru wagon with maize. When buying in feed it compares rel well cost wise with silage but managing it to minimise waste can be a balls alrite esp in an exceptional spring for grass.

They were in fir a week the time I started feeding it and then we went back to grass full time and I was buffering with it. They were getting it before both milkings if I remember rightly. It did keep cows very content with the on/off grazing but I could say I got very little extra milk for it

yosemitesam1 · 07-07-2017 12:17PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

They were in fir a week the time I started feeding it and then we went back to grass full time and I was buffering with it. They were getting it before both milkings if I remember rightly. It did keep cows very content with the on/off grazing but I could say I got very little extra milk for it

I'd day you only were feeding to give about 7-800g milk protein until grass intakes had risen to over 12kg.
How would that compare to what you saw in the tank?

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-07-2017 05:08PM

Ground very dry here. Starting to get worried now.

Mooooo · 07-07-2017 05:12PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

They were in fir a week the time I started feeding it and then we went back to grass full time and I was buffering with it. They were getting it before both milkings if I remember rightly. It did keep cows very content with the on/off grazing but I could say I got very little extra milk for it

Not sure so, if you have to buy in it's prob better to buffer with than bought in silage anyway as wouldn't effect solids as much, is it possible they were eating more maize and less grass than you thought and then overall p a bit low. Depending on price a bit of soya would work well with it

Mooooo · 07-07-2017 05:16PM

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Ground very dry here. Starting to get worried now.

Don't like saying it but could do with a drop here too just to kick things on a bit. Putting a share of 18.6.12 out this round. Last round grass quality was poor but have a share of aftergrass coming, after taking the hit in the tank tho already p dropped below 3.5 first time in 2 months

mf240 · 07-07-2017 05:18PM

Even peaty land is getting very dry.

Those hot days with strong wind , would dry the dung inside a donkey

Timmaay · 07-07-2017 07:18PM

Anyone used bales of wholecrop? How do they keep, would rats and mice destroy them? I've 10ac of maize growing already, but just got offered a significant amount of wholecrop, which I'll get at a very favourable price as it has to come outa the field asap and no buyer lined up. Rock and a hard place for the chap with it, but hard to know if it's worth my while bothering with it.

blackdog1 · 07-07-2017 07:27PM

Timmaay wrote:

Anyone used bales of wholecrop? How do they keep, would rats and mice destroy them? I've 10ac of maize growing already, but just got offered a significant amount of wholecrop, which I'll get at a very favourable price as it has to come outa the field asap and no buyer lined up. Rock and a hard place for the chap with it, but hard to know if it's worth my while bothering with it.

I'd say you'd be fine round bailing it but you would need a big cover from the likes of maizetech to stop birds and it would want to go all the way to the ground and be pinned to stop rats.

Mooooo · 07-07-2017 07:34PM

Could you make a narrow clamp anywhere with it, against an outside wall of a silo or something? Would be much cheaper

the_blue_oval · 07-07-2017 07:41PM

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Ground very dry here. Starting to get worried now.

Growth rate dropped to low 30s here over the weekend.. silage gone in, could badly do with a few days of rain

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-07-2017 07:42PM

Mooooo wrote: »

Could you make a narrow clamp anywhere with it, against an outside wall of a silo or something? Would be much cheaper

+1 on this. And fire a bit of grass on top.

I'd be reluctant to bale wholecrop unless it's still green, tbh. The guy with the robots down my way has done it though and was happy with it if you want to DM him about it.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-07-2017 07:44PM

the_blue_oval wrote: »

Growth rate dropped to low 30s here over the weekend.. silage gone in, could badly do with a few days of rain

There's a bit forecast for here tomorrow afternoon and spreading across the country as well iirc.

mahoney_j · 07-07-2017 07:45PM

Timmaay wrote: »

Anyone used bales of wholecrop? How do they keep, would rats and mice destroy them? I've 10ac of maize growing already, but just got offered a significant amount of wholecrop, which I'll get at a very favourable price as it has to come outa the field asap and no buyer lined up. Rock and a hard place for the chap with it, but hard to know if it's worth my while bothering with it.

Steer clear of bales ,vermin will love them ,there will be lots of grain loss and what grains u do have will not be cracked just whole and pass through rumen

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-07-2017 08:23PM

Happy man today, the long awaited track machine landed into the yard this afternoon to start a bit of drainage tomorrow. It shouldn't take long hopefully, only 300m or so of drains and a bit of clearing of the old drains.

Dairy chit chat II

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