Once feed to yield is in place- I only buffer when there’s not enough grass or when milk price is strong
Question directed at me?
Profile of the herd? I don’t really understand the question. All cows are offloaded to factory at end of production. Whether that’s because not in-calf or health issues, they’re burgers. Cull cow sales returned €1800 on average last year…you’d nearly get 2 ich for the price of a cull cow. If you’ve a herd producing 9000L with good solids why be concerned about how much fodder she consumes?
Cubicles would be large already to accommodate large Holsteins. I’ve been concentrating on only buying ‘medium’ sized cows with a few years now. Cows are noticeably smaller and I’d like to keep it that way.
I’ve no idea Jay. I think that if you import from another country into Ireland the factories absolutely fla you on price when killing them.
The vast majority of ich here go to Morocco and Algeria. They must come from herds that haven’t had any disease issues with 5yrs, and they mustn’t be more that 5mts in calf.
Just to add, the reason that I’m thinking of producing my own replacements again is that there’s been such an exodus from dairying here, the availability is bound to fall. They’re predicting that France will have to import milk to meet demand within 3yrs.
Yeah for you, by profile just mean when do you determine end of production, a healthy cow may be empty and still milk away fine if milking all year round so what yield would be low enough for you to give her the road etc? On the cow with 9k litres and good solids you've kinda answered thet yourself, the "medium" sized cow you have can do what those larger cows are doing so no need to change, the larger cow would eat more and so they are currently more efficient, saving feed costs, and possibly easier managed
Would young stock and outdoor fodder crops aid in the tillage rotation or would the numbers be too small to bother with the effort?
That's a fact about the imported stock and the factories riding lads on them.
Sold an imported polled holstein bull in the mart last year. Had bought him in Germany.
Got about half what an Irish cull bull would have made. Was sorry to see him go but we got 3 years out of him, still quiet and left some lovely heifers.
Cows are dried off 60 days before calving or when they hit 16L…whatever comes first. If not in-calf they’re burgers when they hit 16L.
The one and only reason I want smaller cows is because I reckon they’ve better feet. No science behind that whatsoever only my quare brain.
No. Why bother?
Was just wondering if there would be any advantage in soil fertility or organic matter. Not a tillage man so only asked as I don't know
Size doesn’t have any impact on management..feed ‘‘em and keep them going in-calf, otherwise factory.
I’ve 18 crossbreds here. 16 are Holstein x Swedish red. Good cows, good mobility and health. Also have 2 holxbb!! (Long story…bought cows in-calf to BB, so you can guess the rest) and they’re every bit as good as the Swede cross.
I couldn’t care less about how much fodder a cow consumes once she holds her own in the herd. The BB cross may have some merit…😀
Firstly no fences. Secondly I wouldn’t like poaching ground etc. Normally I’d have lots of acres of cover crops available for grazing but open country with no fences doesn’t help.
I know this lad. Originally Dutch but here 25yrs. Started with very little. Now has his own farm. About 20km from me.
https://youtu.be/X0MbjZ19zYY?si=z3hoqZB5La8fR6-m
These Hol heifers are bawling every time I appear in the yard. The cousin said he was only giving them 1kg meal so I'm giving them the same.
It must be a while since he checked his weighing scales 😂
They'll take feeding anyway, that's for sure!
Jesus grass will you give over. your going to be doing twice the buffering of any of us at least. in a poor or dry year your going to be doing more than that high yielding cows don't need that much extra once you can have enough quality grass on farm. It's not very complicated you know.
are all the shed structures done in timber. He has great cows.
Would you say the same for a moderately stocked spring calving middle band herd with little to no buffering bar in exceptional periods?
Higher yielding herds will always require a higher level of management no matter what way you dress it up.
A good operator near me milks a couple of pedigree Angus, with his herd of pedigree cows. He runs a closed herd. So keep any ped Angus bull calve for breeding
I have a good a few Monti crosses tho they are 3/4 Friesian now. I was actually going keeping a bull I geo tested
I would I don't buffer feed my cows only in exceptional exceptional circumstances why would I 🤔 once a cow is bred properly and correctly (I'm talking about the functionality of the cow) no matter the cow she should be able to produce to her full potential off grass and meal. I've no other choice I've grass silage in my yard and that's it nothing else. the rest comes in on a lorry.I don't have the ground or labour for growing crops of anything . 1.4 ton fed last year that's it
There's actually very little difference between the higher end middle band cows and the higher band looking after wise. A thing I've said before but will repeat is that a very large amount of the Holstein bulls used in this country going back over 30 years should never ever have been brought into the country near mind used on cows
This has come in handy again today around the farm
if you know you know!
Really strong trade for milking cows in Carnaross today- sale avg 2200 for fresh cows
y
I wouldn’t say I am. We were full time grass on second rotation in the 1st week of April last year when no one else was and we’re stocked a fair bit higher than the majority
going forward I’d expect milking cows to be on a full grass diet from late Feb /early March but a portion of it will be zero grazed grass instead of silage
my reason for buffering is to maintain a stocking rate. Has very little to do with trying to push cow production, it was more to push production /ha.
guys I know fairly well with hols start calving Christmas Day so they can feed them indoors while they’re peaking in March while they’re being ai’d. Wouldn’t be stocked nearly as high as me and graze outs are shocking. Cows be waiting at the gap at 1pm
difference with us is I make sure we get the graze outs from the start of the year and the cows continue it for the year.
There’s an Awful lot of underutilisation going on with grass to project cow yields in my opinion
Would you be better off not getting the z grazer and cutting sr to a level which will sustain the cows ……those extra cows bumping sr sound like there just producing marginal milk ……for more work and expense
Nope I’ve done the figures lots of times.
Money in it because we’re getting the milk solids. If we were down at 500 kgs of milk solids it wouldn’t pay whatsoever
For me now it’s a matter of trying to reduce the cost of what the cows are eating and not let the milk solids slip
My good sweet Jesus us all I can say to that.
Reducing sr a bit ….and sparing the time and expense of a z grazer and all it entails still better option …..and far easier
Don’t worry yourself over me lad, I’ll be fine
It's not you I'm worried about 🙄🙄🙄for God's sake calving cows Christmas week even I think that's torture
At those high 570kgms per cow you must have a heap of cows doing 750kg ms plus- why don’t you put up a few pics of your best performing animals please
