I'd say scan and coil at this stage. Bolus if you want but prob pre breeding is the time for that back in April. Scratch cards are handy as well this time of year to catch em
To be honest I’d say most farmers already in derogation up to those measures you pointed out would have had all those measures in place already as they are best practice.
Any farmer stocked heavily on MP is measuring grass with years most likely and if you were too you’d see how doable 3cows/ha is instead of pointing it out as madness a day or two ago on here. Most farmers in derogation would probably carry a stocking rate like that on MP and have support blocks for silage/heifers.
I said same at dg grassroots meeting but got no hearing whatsoever. although the boardman chairing the meeting has no brain anyway
You’re 100% right about consumers not caring.
Do any of us know where the fish we eat come from? Or do many of us check the pack to see whether the fish is from QA farm? Etc.
I’m guessing most consumers are the same when it comes to milk, meat, veg.
Not best practice according to me. I do measure grass, I just don't agree with forcing people to measure it and record it that don't want to. I never said 3 cows/Ha was not doable. I said it is not sustainable in the current regulatory environment.
cant speak for the other co-ops but you and I know that Kerry couldnt give a damn about milk supplies.... if supplies dried up in the morning it wouldnt bother them...
They're milk processing facilities are bought and paid for years ago afaik, the likes of tirlain with half a billion odd euro of debt on the otherhand different kettle of fish
It’s pretty much a tick the box exercise though plenty fellas “measuring grass” for derogation…if you know what I mean…
Your assuming they won't cap allowable stocking rate on milking platform, that's what will hit hardest, especially if a farmer ponies up 400 plus for extra ground on a long term lease then gets caught out
Would be highly surprised if a cap on stocking rate of milking platform was introduced as it would have to be EU wide and given the indoor systems on the continent find it hard to see they’d implement such a measure.
Capping a sr on milk platform is my big concern …..it would finish a hell of a lot of us you can have a high sr on one block and use support blocks to grow silage ,crops etc and transfer slurry beteween. Those blocks …..all these things been proposed are going to drive intensification through better genetics and better feeding of cows ….we have to protect our income to survive …..the grass to milk model is great when grass grows but weather extremes are driving us to feed more when weather puts grass to **** …..which is happening more and more
Just be careful not to be a busy fool buying inputs and running around like a headless chicken all for the benefit of others. Might be better off with a lower stocking rate and less work, less inputs.
Well we know Kerry's milk processing facilities are already paid for but without milk they are worthless. Was it 800 million they expected the CoOp to pay for it 2 years ago.
Listening to that shite about my system for years ….not blessed with my land in one block or a huge ammount of it ….I wouldn’t survive and do what I have done to now both in farming and personally if I followed the Tegasc low cost blueprint ….I’ll continue as I have
Factory in Listowel is in dire need of an upgrade. Kerry plc trying to get out of processing and leave the refurbishment of to the new owners.
Not too many lads following that blueprint I'd say now. I'm middle of the road myself but more likely to go higher input than lower. Have the outside block now for maize and might plant it next year or the year after. Would really help me in the spring time. Sure I could grow it for one year anyway and see how it goes. Trying to see if I can get on better with higher quality bales next spring.
Their mainly housed herds with all slurry produced been applied back onto crops etc, their isnt a milking platform per say at all really, when you see how the nature restoration law was nearly rammed through, the EU are fit for anything at this stage
Agree with you there that’s kind of what I was getting at it would be the end of dairy production across a lot of the continent we are unique here in Ireland at the fact we predominantly graze our milking herds.
It wouldn't matter to 99% of mainland European herds, its a uniquely Irish problem, theirs no derogation in most eu counties their all farming under 170kg/ha bar one our two exceptions...
At 3.6/ha here and have mown enough out of it to carry up to 4/ha if I wasn't too lazy to buffer feed it back.
But what is a milking platform. A zero grazer means anything within a 10 mile radius can be part of one.
Farmers don’t seem to have any comprehension of the meaning of the word Derogation. It’s certainly not an entitlement to create and spread as much organic manure on their land as they wish.
My twitter timeline is poisoned by Irish farmers crying about how they’ll go to the wall if the derogation is dropped to 220. What utter bullsh1t.
Utter cowsh1t more like. I seem to be the only one preparing to farm at 170. Time will tell who the fools are I guess.
It's defined as land adjacent to the milking parlour.
Glyphosate is under derogation too.
Could easily swap in glyphosate for organic manure in that post.
Water Directive applies to all farms too
What's the rules and regulations re water directive, who enforces it?
Don't think the industry here is helping itself either by claiming on the one hand the virtues of "Grass to milk", yet insisting on a derogation regime that indoor producers on the continent can only dream of.🤨
Its a target the state has to meet by 2030 - applies across the board to all potential water quality pressures. In the case of Ag it will be enforced by a combination of CCs, EPA and possibly also come under a specialized unit in DAFM
