VIDEO: Holstein Friesian cow sells for over €1.82m
https://thatsfarming.com/farming-news/holstein-friesian-cow/
Jaysus I own a king doc
Theirs 40 embryo pregnancies of hers included in the sale price I was reading makes the amount seem not as bonkers for a single cow
why would you want to breed a yoke like that
Shaky hand putting them in...
Ring taaffe asap and get her ready for carnaross
What would ye use to get the milk up on a mediocre herd of crossbreds and smaller cows that are still tough for the hills. Herd here are very fertile.
Give them meal
They get it
Likes of a Lawson Larry fr6217 or altalawson fr7589 across the board do a good job
Hi folks, just wondering here if anyone milks once a day all year round? Any thoughts or experiences?
There's an opportunity next door due to unfortunate circumstances and the OAD entered my head. Only around 50 cows is all that would be milked.
Yes milking oad here, into our fourth season at it..Happy enough given our situation at home, we are definitely leaving money behind but it beats drystock hands down and is quite sustainable for us.
Are you milking already or what are your reasons for thinking oad?
Couple of lads milking once a day around here and they are happy out at it.
I'm not but we did milk a small amount of cows until a few years ago. I don't have much of a grá for the sucklers or drystock.
With the family life here it would need to be once a day if at all. I don't think the scale would justify twice a day as cannot jeopardise the off farm job.
We are milking at similar scale as that and I work full time off farm, my father is early 70s and does a fair chunk of the work still, I'm not sure it would be feasible without him for me to still work off farm 5 days a week. I'm still involved in sport etc, if that was gone I might manage but then you bring up the question is it worth that.
Would you be leasing the farm, does it join your own land? Have you any experience with cows? I think oad isn't as forgiving especially around scc, mastitis and also grassland management.
Takes a bit of time mahoney...unfortunately. but big strides in a couple of generations. takes for ever then to breed out the smaller imperfections.......talking very much from experience.
The rule is one generations breeding to cause a fault and generally ten plus to breed it completely out
Kev the myth of having to forgo fertility for milk is just that a myth. Now given your circumstances you do need to be careful with what you do but my advice is to search the country for fella who specialises in bull selection. And you will be delighted with the results
Right jasus
Looking for 700kgs plus ms delivered here as a benchmark, a butty little high ebi dolly won't get you their
That's one of this years frazzled calved heifers she'll easily do 8k litres in her first lactation, unless farming 100's of owned acres now going forward with environmental stocking rates constraints what cows your allowed to milk will have to be producing the goods
We're fairly similar so in lifestyle though I don't play the sport! Coaching etc.
Leasing an existing small dairy farm adjoining us is what's newly possible. Im experienced with cows and milking alright but not for a few years now and I know things move on.
What type of cow do you have? And do you mind if I ask what kind of MS does she deliver?
Going on his figures here and from ICBF I’d be looking at other options
Anyone with a dairymaster tank. The cover for washing at the outlet is a pain in the hole for popping off, no matter how the clamps are adjusted. Have a knack with a small drum to keep it closed but if there's a different driver or whatever tank isn't washed then. Anyone change clamps or do anything to it?
How much meal are you planning on putting in to get 700kg average. I usually have my cows on 4kg up until aftergrass. I cut them back to three this year and I'm disappointed with the results. You need to feed them in the parlour if your looking for good cleanouts in the field.
At 700 your into buffer feeding all year …2/2.5 t meal plus. And longer calving spread ….no bother if u don’t mind it and if done right can be profitable
I spent months doing homework on milking 50-60 cows. I ended up not going ahead but will look at it again in 2024 when I’ve access to more ground.
I could be wrong but TAD looked the most straightforward way to start off, then graduate back to OAD
Looks like she is working hard for you, paying her way.
BTW I see in this weeks journal Moorepark have dropped to 16 litres, 1.5 Kgs solids. And this is what we are supposed to aspire to.
Still doing 26 Litres here on 2 Kgs meal.
OK I wish I could get a bit of land to rent beside me..what would total area be accessible around the parlour.? Would you consider going full time dairy if you had the scale.?
At the end of day milking cows isn't rocket science either so wouldn't worry about that, interest an openess to learn far more important than experience.
We have a very traditional black and white herd originally mostly British friesan, run of the mill herd father Would never have concentrated on milk really. About 50/50 holstein now been using the dreaded high ebi bulls for last few years. They did around 375kgs Ms last year, will be in around the same this year maybe a shade more.400kg plus easily achievable I think.Good jex will do 425-450kgs oad easy enough..but I get good money for calves and cull cows so slow to make the change, but a few jersets are tempting.
I'm doing more than that oad
The reasons here were I didn't feel we could reach the scale for me to leave work..ie I don't see a future long term sub about 80 cows..father was unwilling to take a step back and lease land out, drystock is waste of time from what anyone tells you, cows and facilities were there to keep milking..tad was unsustainable so we said we'd give it a go.
I thought long and hard about going off and leasing a farm to milk on and use home farm for heifers, but there were what seemed like possibilities of getting land adjoining home farm, but they are not available now. I suppose I hadn't the nerve either being honest.
Your missing the single most important aspect about this bull, he is/was one of the top proven holstein bulls for health traits/pl, its what my whole breeding strategy is based on here, using immunity plus semex bulls and wws bulls with high dwp, its my number one criteria for bull selection, after that positive dpr, plus for milk good solids and type..
His pl (productive life)score is 6.6, yamaska is 2.4, granted he is negative on dpr but his high pl and health traits point to cows that will last but might take a extra service
