Have some sown here sown sept 2020 grazed by lambs from dec to feb cut late May and again mid July total 18 bales/acre grazed by calved suckled cows since,cows. Happy with results, one thing it needs is a good supply of P &K +lime
But the sums must seriously stack up now.
For silage ground yes …not really suitable for grazing as it dosnt take much punishment …..unless red/white clover is in and established not going to be much use next year tho
Well with fert head for 1000 euro a ton,red clover anyone
yosemitesam1 wrote: » Adding in more grass species is probably thr best way to wean off some n without really touching production at all. Less and protected urea probably eont do much for reducing n use just the counted emissions
Mooooo wrote: » LESS, protected urea and clover use would be the main ones at the minute. What shinagh throws up may be interesting I suppose as well. Everyone has to do their bit, but It will be those of us in Ag which are likely to be paying the most to do it and expected to happen overnight
yosemitesam1 wrote: » What strategies are being tried?
Gawddawggonnit wrote: » Government measures farmland C levels here and I’ve no idea for how long..Possibly since the ‘0.4’ commitment/target of the Paris Accord. I’ve previously given details on this when discussing N testing to 90cm, if you can recollect? PRG in Irish (dairy) farms has very little ability to sequester C and has a shallow rooting system that is dependent on high levels of fertilisation. Again old ground. If you’re suggesting that Teagascs assertion about cover crops having no place on tillage farms being correct, then I strongly disagree. Their advice to give all N to sbarley once you can see the tramlines (two leaf stage) and then to say that CCs have no benefit after the crop is harvested, is just bullshyte. To crown it they quote results from those tillage farms to justify the ‘loading’ of N on dairy farms...?? FFS. I think that the first, and most pressing, issue to be addressed is water quality. Reducing fert ‘loading’ onto MPs would be a good place to start...it’ll start bringing emissions into line also.
K.G. wrote: » That is already happening on farms around west cork and fellas are trying strategies to reduce nitrogen use but its not a flick of a switch.
Mooooo wrote: » How long have you been measuring carbon sequestration? Is it via farmland or forestry? The carbon sequestration of grassland is overhyped imo. Soil carbon doesn't change a whole pile, drops a lot when tilled particularly standard ploughing takes up to 10 years to get back to where it was if in grass pre ploughing and put back in to grass. Sequestration in tillage ground therefore has higher potential due to losses already caused. Reducing fert use the counting of biogenic methane is prob our better bet We have to work on what can be suitable to our country also, plenty things may work in France that simply won't work here, and vice versa
jaymla627 wrote: » The latest epa maps for my area on the barrow are pretty grim reading, 1000's of cows in the direct vicinity, good deal of tillage to be fair aswell, but id be expecting in my catchment, their is going to be some pretty steep regulations re slurry storage/fertilizer rates, its just a matter of when they enforce it
GrasstoMilk wrote: » But goes exactly against what everyone is saying thats it's all the dairy cows fault Dairy can sort the N run off too
K.G. wrote: » So what is the answer to the situation.
GrasstoMilk wrote: » I'm not denying anything, just that dairy can sort out N and P run off by everyone implementing what we're being asked to.
Gawddawggonnit wrote: » ‘The idea is that the nitrogen saved could be used on home block..’ GMO soya is a personal purchasing choice. Absolutely nobody forcing you to use it.
Gawddawggonnit wrote: » The claim of the tweet is wrong on so many levels... “N *LOADING* onto land doesn’t always = higher N losses to water”. For a state body to come out with a statement like that is staggering. (It’s even worse that they pick another farming system as supposed proof). Are you denying that the MP is a big offender? Seems there’s a new malady in calves called ‘summer scour’...because, ‘we’re a victim of our own success’, or, in other words over fertilisation of grassland. Dairy farming doesn’t ‘cure’ water quality issues, but they could certainly sort out issues inside their farm gate. A lot of bullshyte is being promoted by dairy farmers (and obviously Teagasc) now that the reality of the situation is starting to sink in...the economic importance of dairy to the country etc.
Gawddawggonnit wrote: » Weird tweet that. Almost triumphalist...Teagasc need to do better than going to the heart of sbarley country to make another farming system look ‘less bad’. I would have expected those results.. Short growing season, fert dumped on in a short space of time, with a long time in naked stubble. Easy fix that.
GrasstoMilk wrote: » ..........
K.G. wrote: » What you seem to have missed is that i realise we have to change.i m just looking for ways to adapt gradually and the red clover strikes me as a potential option on that road.clover on the grazing ground presents alot of challenges and is very long term thing.the red clover for silage option seems to me to be more straight foward and 2nd and subsequent cuts could potentially have a higher protein feed and make us less reliant on imported gm soya.just trying to go in the right direction but it seems it does not pass the test.btw tillage days of feeding animal's could be numbered
Gawddawggonnit wrote: » Hmmm. I’d a good chat with a relative yesterday evening. He’s tillage and dairy. He updated me on farming news... He made a very valid point about nitrates. The dogs on the street know that the majority of nitrate leaching comes from the ‘milking platform’, however dairy farmers/Teagasc/Dept are well aware of this and are quite willing to throw all farmers under the nitrates bus. That’s wrong in so many ways. It’s obvious from your post that you’re going to use the old ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ craic, to hold onto the N for the MP. That’s irresponsible of you in fairness. Remember everyone suffers because of the few...
K.G. wrote: » Doing a little research on red clover/italian with a view to putting one particular silage block under it and cutting it 3 to 4 times a year.the idea is that the nitrogen saved could be used on home block and maybe get a higher protein feed in later cuts.looking back here some lads tried it back through the year and wondering how yye got on.
Mooooo wrote: » Some say putting in prg instead of Italian is better as more persistent. I'll see if I can find a mix one crowd were putting in, red and white clover along with prg. No experience myself now
