Dairy chit chat II

whelan2 · 12-01-2018 11:35AM

Anyone calving yet? Any cows out? Will be starting calving here next week. Grass is mainly under water here at the moment

jaymla627 · 12-01-2018 11:42AM

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone calving yet? Any cows out? Will be starting calving here next week. Grass is mainly under water here at the moment

Have 10 dry cows out strip grazing a "dryish" field not doing to much damage but anymore in that group and they would plough the place

stretch film · 12-01-2018 11:45AM

degetme wrote: »

Agritech dry cow elite was always expensive. I bought all winter requirements early December on the back of advice here on a factory fire.

I bought all in early Dec on advice of my merchant.
Bad form if most had to pick up that info here first.

whelan2 · 12-01-2018 11:48AM

kevthegaff wrote: »

First in 10 yrs havent

What's the reasoning behind not using them this year?

farmersfriend · 12-01-2018 11:51AM

orm0nd wrote: »

wonder that people are giving for pre calver mins.

got a few bags y/day and think I've been jocked

17 a bag delivered, blf in carlow

RedPeppers · 12-01-2018 11:53AM

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone calving yet? Any cows out? Will be starting calving here next week. Grass is mainly under water here at the moment

Had first calf here on 8th cow went about 12 days early fairly small fr bull. As for cows out come back to me around 3rd week of March on that place here is swimming

yewtree · 12-01-2018 12:09PM

RedPeppers wrote: »

Had first calf here on 8th cow went about 12 days early fairly small fr bull. As for cows out come back to me around 3rd week of March on that place here is swimming

Ground is floating here at the moment, still plan to be grazing bt mid feburary. Its amazing how ground dries as days get longer and hopfully weather dried up, cant rain forever!

Timmaay · 12-01-2018 12:15PM

yewtree wrote: »

Ground is floating here at the moment, still plan to be grazing bt mid feburary. Its amazing how ground dries as days get longer and hopfully weather dried up, cant rain forever!

Big amount of standing water in the wetter paddocks, but drier ones doing well, got 10 maiden heifers hogging the calf house for last 2wks and need to turf them back out to get it ready for calving.

alps · 12-01-2018 12:57PM

degetme wrote: »

Agritech dry cow elite was always expensive. I bought all winter requirements early December on the back of advice here on a factory fire.

Are Agritec minerals fed at a 50g rate as opposed to the normal 100g rate of most pre calved minerals.....double the strength so to speak....would account for the apparent expense..

alps · 12-01-2018 01:02PM

Timmaay wrote: »

Big amount of standing water in the wetter paddocks, but drier ones doing well, got 10 maiden heifers hogging the calf house for last 2wks and need to turf them back out to get it ready for calving.

Gave up on the weanlings here on Wednesday and boxed them home...thought we could make it through to the other end. Bunch of 19 of the lightest that we left out when the rest came home 1st of December..you could not pick them out of the group now....

Mooooo · 12-01-2018 02:43PM

Clear in the herd test thank god, may make the jump to spring milk this year now

degetme · 12-01-2018 04:16PM

alps wrote: »

Are Agritec minerals fed at a 50g rate as opposed to the normal 100g rate of most pre calved minerals.....double the strength so to speak....would account for the apparent expense..

100grams

White Clover · 12-01-2018 04:53PM

alps wrote: »

Gave up on the weanlings here on Wednesday and boxed them home...thought we could make it through to the other end. Bunch of 19 of the lightest that we left out when the rest came home 1st of December..you could not pick them out of the group now....

What was dlwg of the weanlings outside?

Keepgrowing · 12-01-2018 06:05PM

Haven't fed pre calving minerals here in the past 4 years. No difference in calving difficulty or retained after birth

degetme · 12-01-2018 06:11PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Haven't fed pre calving minerals here in the past 4 years. No difference in calving difficulty or retained after birth

What made you think there of no benefit

Keepgrowing · 12-01-2018 06:40PM

degetme wrote: »

What made you think there of no benefit

Hadn't fed for years then got nearvous as numbers grew. Started feeding and saw no difference, then as we found no difference stopped.

Cow condition at drying off and no stupid decisions regarding bull selection are major factors in my view

Say my name · 12-01-2018 06:43PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Haven't fed pre calving minerals here in the past 4 years. No difference in calving difficulty or retained after birth

You're spoiled rotten with that land.

I know if I stopped with the minerals here I'd have retained cleanings, lazy calves and harder to go back incalf.
It's for those reasons I started with minerals in the first place.

GrasstoMilk · 12-01-2018 07:58PM

It would depend on your soils mineral status I reckon. We have to feed minerals here in the dry period and as well at breeding. Wheels fall off the wagon otherwise. Get a lot of sub clinical milk fever if we skimp on minerals in the dry period

whelan2 · 12-01-2018 08:08PM

Stopped feeding minerals to the milkers a few years ago and all's ok so far. Still stuck with the pre calving ones though

Buford T. Justice XIX · 12-01-2018 08:21PM

Don't feed any dry cow minerals anymore, all minerals through the water now and blood tested 4x/year. Calving last spring was the easiest it's been for years and only had to jack a few heifers and 2 cows. Only 1 case of cleanings held last year as well and that was a cow that slipped a calf.

Happy out now, it's not cheap but overall have a much easier time calving and bulling that before so that has to count as well.

einn32 · 12-01-2018 08:26PM

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Don't feed any dry cow minerals anymore, all minerals through the water now and blood tested 4x/year. Calving last spring was the easiest it's been for years and only had to jack a few heifers and 2 cows. Only 1 case of cleanings held last year as well and that was a cow that slipped a calf.

Happy out now, it's not cheap but overall have a much easier time calving and bulling that before so that has to count as well.

Sounds like a nice system. How do the blood tests work?

Buford T. Justice XIX · 12-01-2018 09:12PM

einn32 wrote: »

Sounds like a nice system. How do the blood tests work?

I just keep a few extra cows when the vet comes and bloods about 10 animals. I send them off to FBA and get an email a few days later with the results of the bloods. The company I buy from come onto the farm a while after and adjust the mix depending on the results and time of year when they top up the tanks. In fairness there is little adjustment now as most of the levels were sorted in the first 6 months.

I'd like my iodine levels higher than they are and am still fighting that corner here but I think I'll get that sorted after the next samples, hopefully.

Keepgrowing · 12-01-2018 09:27PM

Say my name wrote: »

You're spoiled rotten with that land.

I know if I stopped with the minerals here I'd have retained cleanings, lazy calves and harder to go back incalf.
It's for those reasons I started with minerals in the first place.

I'm well aware of the land I have and feed it as required. Started mineral and trace element analysis in last 3 years. I've spread some zinc in certain areas.

In very early stages of building a picture of what's required at a micro level. I've enlisted the services of a highly regarded agronomist to assist in this.

When we grew tillage with beet in the rotation we paid very close attention to trace elements especially in the sugar beet. I don't think we can grow much more grass but perhaps we could grow as much with less artificial N.

I'm certain that the amount of N lost to ground water here is minimal as we are in the catchment for a water scheme bore hole that's monitored monthly. The N levels are very stable and on the low side of safe limits. I'm copied in on these test results as I feel this back ground info may become valuable in the future.

White Clover · 12-01-2018 09:44PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I'm well aware of the land I have and feed it as required. Started mineral and trace element analysis in last 3 years. I've spread some zinc in certain areas.

In very early stages of building a picture of what's required at a micro level. I've enlisted the services of a highly regarded agronomist to assist in this.

When we grew tillage with beet in the rotation we paid very close attention to trace elements especially in the sugar beet. I don't think we can grow much more grass but perhaps we could grow as much with less artificial N.

I'm certain that the amount of N lost to ground water here is minimal as we are in the catchment for a water scheme bore hole that's monitored monthly. The N levels are very stable and on the low side of safe limits. I'm copied in on these test results as I feel this back ground info may become valuable in the future.

Some very astute actions taken there. Fair play.

Say my name · 12-01-2018 10:10PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I'm well aware of the land I have and feed it as required. Started mineral and trace element analysis in last 3 years. I've spread some zinc in certain areas.

In very early stages of building a picture of what's required at a micro level. I've enlisted the services of a highly regarded agronomist to assist in this.

When we grew tillage with beet in the rotation we paid very close attention to trace elements especially in the sugar beet. I don't think we can grow much more grass but perhaps we could grow as much with less artificial N.

I'm certain that the amount of N lost to ground water here is minimal as we are in the catchment for a water scheme bore hole that's monitored monthly. The N levels are very stable and on the low side of safe limits. I'm copied in on these test results as I feel this back ground info may become valuable in the future.

There's no denying you're on top of your game.

Keepgrowing · 12-01-2018 10:20PM

Say my name wrote: »

There's no denying you're on top of your game.

By Jaysus, I often wonder

Waffletraktor · 12-01-2018 10:25PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

By Jaysus, I often wonder

Was going playing with trace elements part of the want for a decent sprayer? Have ye played around with soil mapping yet?

Keepgrowing · 12-01-2018 10:37PM

Waffletraktor wrote: »

Was going playing with trace elements part of the want for a decent sprayer? Have ye played around with soil mapping yet?

No not as yet. All farm is gps mapped. I have created ph, p and k maps and find them really useful.

We're trying to create a base line of trace elements. I'm not sure what ones to hone in on as priority as I'm uneducated in this area.

By soil mapping are you referring to gps based soil testing coupled with yield monitoring? I think we may have this done to some degree as I mentioned all farm is mapped and divided into aprox 4 ha paddocks and are sampled as such. We were sampling every year and now have a base line.

It's amazing the difference acting on the results can yield so hoping that continued work on micro elements will improve soil health further thus increasing herd performance.

alps · 12-01-2018 11:50PM

Sunday Independent running an article on the 250 wealthiest people in Ireland.....

We're all going to be named now.....

whelan2 · 12-01-2018 11:57PM

alps wrote: »

Sunday Independent running an article on the 250 wealthiest people in Ireland.....

We're all going to be named now.....

Feck

Dairy chit chat II

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