Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

mf240 · 23-08-2020 8:18pm

blackdog1 wrote: »

I remember reading a teagasc booklet in my advisors office and it was about breeding the perfect cow. In each scenario they had the cows on 300 kg meal. So they have been advocating this for feeding cows very little for years and as a result these type of cows don't respond to feeding in hard weather conditions. I don't think many people want to be feeding cows all year round at all. I know I don't god I was sick of the diet feeder after the drought in 2018 but my cows responded and pulled me through. Grass is a great cheap protein source and we should have cows that utilise this no doubt but not cows that won't respond to feed.... I want a low maintenance cow that Milks well on 1-1.2 tonne but if things get hairy I can increase this and get a response.

Very easy feed a dry cow in fairness

:pac:

straight · 23-08-2020 8:38pm

I try to give about 1 ton per cow per year but with the weather I'd say I usually go over it. I must add it up this year to check for sure. What is the best thing to buffer cows with in the shoulders of the year. I'm thinking of getting 5 acres of maize contract grown next year. Getting them to grass in spring is more my problem when they're tired of silage. I've heard of lads using brewers grain or beet too.

Grueller · 23-08-2020 8:49pm

straight wrote: »

I try to give about 1 ton per cow per year but with the weather I'd say I usually go over it. I must add it up this year to check for sure. What is the best thing to buffer cows with in the shoulders of the year. I'm thinking of getting 5 acres of maize contract grown next year. Getting them to grass in spring is more my problem when they're tired of silage. I've heard of lads using brewers grain or beet too.

How would you handle 5 acres of maize? Is a pit economical at that scale? Can it be baled effectively?

straight · 23-08-2020 8:52pm

Grueller wrote: »

How would you handle 5 acres of maize? Is a pit economical at that scale? Can it be baled effectively?

A small clamp I guess. Will cost about 5 thousand plus about 200 per acre for the contractor. It would be about 5 trailer loads I'm told. You can clamp brewers grain too but that's more protein than energy I believe.

jaymla627 · 23-08-2020 8:59pm

straight wrote: »

I try to give about 1 ton per cow per year but with the weather I'd say I usually go over it. I must add it up this year to check for sure. What is the best thing to buffer cows with in the shoulders of the year. I'm thinking of getting 5 acres of maize contract grown next year. Getting them to grass in spring is more my problem when they're tired of silage. I've heard of lads using brewers grain or beet too.

Clamped chopped beet with oat hulls this year, super feed and keeps really well, savage stuff for buffering at grass as the beet provides the energy and oat hulls the fibre, with grass the protein....
Mix at a rate of 3.5kgs of beet to 1kgs of oat hulls, works out around 60 euro a ton fresh weight in the clamp

mahoney_j · 23-08-2020 10:11pm

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

I think Stan might have misrepresented Teagasc a bit in his post. I've never come across a piece of Teagasc advice saying to not feed cows so I'd be interested in seeing it.

What Teagasc have advised is to grow and utilise more grass before going down a heavy feeding route. The average grass grown in Ireland is something like 7t DM/ha and utilised is nearer 6t. Beef, on average, would be below that and Dairy probably nearer 8t and utilising around 7t.

That's why they're promoting the Grass10 project, to get farmers growing 10t DM/ha and moving the number of grazings up towards 10/paddock/year.

I'd say for over 80% of farmers, the direction would be the right one, replacing expensive bought in feeds with cheaper homegrown feeds of similar or better quality with all the equipment needed to do that already in place on farms.

AGree re tegasc saging not to feed cows BUT there unbelievably conservative with the advice grass is a great but limited food source that only dose so much the 18!kgdm intake is also not sufficiently going to cater fully for a cows daily need the same stuff is been churned out yeaRly with little to no changes there take on early spring n and building covers at back end are highly flawed but still they come out with it yearly

K.G. · 24-08-2020 10:22am

Grueller wrote: »

How would you handle 5 acres of maize? Is a pit economical at that scale? Can it be baled effectively?

Lads near here sell maize in bales,very handy when you need it

straight · 24-08-2020 1:12pm

K.G. wrote: »

Lads near here sell maize in bales,very handy when you need it

Expensive though.

Panch18 · 24-08-2020 1:40pm

straight wrote: »

Expensive though.

Would it be 75 euro a bale or something in that bracket?

whelan2 · 24-08-2020 1:51pm

Anyone scan their cows or heifers yet?

Mooooo · 24-08-2020 2:40pm

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone scan their cows or heifers yet?

Next week here. Bull out since July 31st and 8 out of 124 have come in not counting 3 cull cow's still milking. With the bad weather if the last week may well be more who didn't show signs of heat. If it finishes that way it would be slightly better than expected but still too many April calvers

K.G. · 24-08-2020 4:58pm

Panch18 wrote: »

Would it be 75 euro a bale or something in that bracket?

Something around that,the fella in our group bought because grass and silage was scarce one spring.from what remenber it was just cheaper than ration but it was better than sh#te bales

GrasstoMilk · 24-08-2020 5:14pm

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone scan their cows or heifers yet?

Yes, 3/40 heifers empty after 9 wks ai, shane 3 nice heifers. Going to let off a friesan bull from our own herd here with them next year to minimize those if possible
12% in cows after 11 weeks breeding
Close on 90% incalf with first 6 weeks breeding, would have preferred a few less empty but most were going to be April calvers and a few cows I wouldnt be mad about

tismesoitis · 24-08-2020 6:18pm

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone scan their cows or heifers yet?

1 out of 19 heifers empty and 1 out of 70 milkers empty. All 1st calvers so no planned culls. 13 weeks breeding 78% in 6 weeks. Happy out not a bad 1st season in dairy

older by the day · 24-08-2020 7:57pm

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

mahoney_j · 24-08-2020 8:02pm

older by the day wrote: »

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

Left em out to a well sheltered paddock got silage this evening before milking

alps · 24-08-2020 8:05pm

older by the day wrote: »

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

There's no cold...

Wildsurfer · 24-08-2020 8:39pm

older by the day wrote: »

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

Was a good dry day so ground should take it. Have fence up so they wont be walking over grazed area for tomorrows grazing. They survived Ellen and tonight wont be as bad. As mentioned the fact its mild makes a big difference

RedPeppers · 24-08-2020 8:49pm

older by the day wrote: »

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

Will bring cows in here before dark, they will have their bellies full. No shelter where they are so no point leaving them out.

cosatron · 24-08-2020 9:00pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

1 out of 19 heifers empty and 1 out of 70 milkers empty. All 1st calvers so no planned culls. 13 weeks breeding 78% in 6 weeks. Happy out not a bad 1st season in dairy

Fair play. How did you find your first year, there is never a dull moment and just remember you have to do it all again next year

Timmaay · 24-08-2020 9:25pm

Grueller wrote: »

How would you handle 5 acres of maize? Is a pit economical at that scale? Can it be baled effectively?

Personally I wouldn't bother my arse with only 5ac, I grow 10-13ac here most years, of that maybe 9ac goes to the milkers from Nov to end of march, and rest feed to dry cows, if your growing and pitting a crop its the same workload for 3ac as it is 30ac, and around here (East Coast), maize works out as competitive if not even cheaper than 1st cut, and most certainly cheaper than the equivalent of trying to grow a 3 or 4 grass cut system.

tismesoitis · 24-08-2020 9:32pm

RedPeppers wrote: »

Will bring cows in here before dark, they will have their bellies full. No shelter where they are so no point leaving them out.

Same as that. Just brought them in there now. Shelter on the wrong side of the paddock so thinking they aswel in than out. Regardless how it is in the morning they'll get out until at least 1 oclock

straight · 24-08-2020 9:36pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't bother my arse with only 5ac, I grow 10-13ac here most years, of that maybe 9ac goes to the milkers from Nov to end of march, and rest feed to dry cows, if your growing and pitting a crop its the same workload for 3ac as it is 30ac, and around here (East Coast), maize works out as competitive if not even cheaper than 1st cut, and most certainly cheaper than the equivalent of trying to grow a 3 or 4 grass cut system.

Is there effluent out of a maize pit. I was going to put it into an old slurry pit. Do you balance the maize with anything or just mix it in with silage?

tismesoitis · 24-08-2020 9:37pm

cosatron wrote: »

Fair play. How did you find your first year, there is never a dull moment and just remember you have to do it all again next year

Found it grand once i got all the heifers settled into the parlor. Was tough to start with but to be honest was expecting worse. Coming from steel workshops and building sites i can honestly say milking cows is a great way of making a living. Have seen more of the kids this year than any other...helped by covid of courseðŸ€”

straight · 24-08-2020 9:38pm

older by the day wrote: »

Anyone leaving the cows in tonight. 30 ml. Forecast for tonight

Don't even have all the sheds powerwashed yet. I couldn't be giving them the habit of it myself.

Timmaay · 24-08-2020 9:54pm

straight wrote: »

Is there effluent out of a maize pit. I was going to put it into an old slurry pit. Do you balance the maize with anything or just mix it in with silage?

Very little runoff from maize. If there is it was cut far too green (which some contractors do so as the crop weights better sold per ton). Roughly feed 1/3 wet weight at most of the roughage diet in maize, if cows at grass also the overall diet protein won't be too far off, if only grass silage alongside the maize you'll probably need to feed more protein, either high p nut or you can throw a bag of soya along the feed face. No diet feeder here, wouldn't be the worst idea for me, but an added complication that isn't anywhere on the priority list yet at all.

Base price · 24-08-2020 10:15pm

straight wrote: »

A small clamp I guess. Will cost about 5 thousand plus about 200 per acre for the contractor. It would be about 5 trailer loads I'm told. You can clamp brewers grain too but that's more protein than energy I believe.

We sometimes buy it in during the off season (summer) to finish cull cows and bulls although we seldom finish bulls anymore. We clamp it and spread wheaten straw with either citrus or beet pulp nuts on top. Delivery guy reverses up and tips the load. We then spread and tamp it with the back actor of the digger and cover it the same as silage. Rats will be a problem though so you need to have good rodent prevention in place before you get it delivered. Delivery can hit and miss and not guaranteed although the order has been confirmed :mad:

kevthegaff · 25-08-2020 8:45am

I've taken off the fert spreader for the last 10 days, I'd imagine it's a waste atm especially on high ground?

Mooooo · 25-08-2020 9:09am

Have a fair bit of ground to do but it would want to dry up. If the ground is dry ish and nonrsin on the way I'd chance it. Thurs looking bad again

Buford T. Justice XIX · 25-08-2020 10:06am

Mooooo wrote: »

Have a fair bit of ground to do but it would want to dry up. If the ground is dry ish and nonrsin on the way I'd chance it. Thurs

More rain forecast for Thursday.

Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

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