No need to shoot the messenger. We are running those holstein cows and feeding them properly. But you are misinformed if you think all dairy men are feeding over a ton of meal to their cows. If they were feeding them properly there would't be the drop in milk production last year. We were actually up 10% last year.
Fed ours really well last year. 1.25t meal, maize, whole crop and just about held production. The back end was shite
Out of all the American Holstein bulls available why would you pick Westcoast River, have you looked at his linear, his legs and feet leave a lot to be desired, also tall and frail.
3y.o. MO bull is looking very big for the year ahead, I worry could be hard on the cows, is it a common thing for them to be used only for the first couple years? He was perfect size but this winter put a lot of weight on
It's verified nationally that the average farm in Ireland is feeding over a ton of meal, you where obviously buffering cows with maize/wc in the back-end which held up production, 3-4kgs of nuts and watery grass wasn't enough for the average farm to hold it last backend cows simply weren't getting the dry matter intakes what's so hard to believe
Did you ask him which are the more profitable herds
Point taken.
No, but would assume hungry underfed stock are not profitable. The trick is to feed them well at low cost.
Teagasc man was very proud to tell me his best client ( crossbred )had only fed a ton of meal and what was I at feeding 1.3 tonnes I know his best client he was tubing heifers in early September last year .........
Margin by volume
Ground conditions aren't to bad all things considered
Look lad all systems are profitable but ive seen over the years lads diet feeding holstiens the effort and cost is usually marginally better than those grass men with mongerals
And they only handy cows with great maintenance figures 😂
I'll save them.
When I get myself out first..
Sunny south east. Nice drying here today after a deluge last night
As good a way as any to drain a field, you're sure to get the flow right as well...
Delighted with his daughters here, anyone milking them hasn't a bad word against them, his strong points are great fertility/solids/milk/health traits...
What would your ideal bull be for forum members to use
The wettest part of the farm and I don't even own it.
Ditch drain gone near level with field at a gap between two fields.
#Redrying.
Ah now George wouldn’t do that sort of thing 😇😇😇😇 unless it was someone important, wouldn’t do it for an ordinary Joe soap
Auctionners havent an easy job in a bad trade they do there best i dont think its fair to name a auctionner u have no proof this happened alot of people at mart bid online
Just shows how little you really know, that goes on in most pedigree sales, We say that Tom Wrafter was bidding if someone doesn't accept a really good price and it's obvious that the auctioneer was taking bids from the rafters,
It happens everywhere
We aren't using any North American bulls at the moment, Dutch and German mostly. All polled. Here is on we have lined up for this year.
https://www.ohg-genetic.de/en/spermabullen/sox-red-pp-267323/
She would not be great going up the hill grazing around the rushes.
Great figures. Ain't it hard to believe that the BF/PR figures are so high along with 600kgs of milk
He is from a very good Dutch cow with multiple top bulls in AI
My lad was at a sale yesterday , he was saying to me he couldn't see who was bidding, weren't online bids he said. Happening this years
Who would be bidding anyway
In the short term fellas have barely enough silage for what they have and barely enough cash to survive the spring and have enough to do to mind their calves and try and get them sold.
In the long term nitrates and general regulation changes have made alot of fellas sit back and say what are they at.almost everyone in our group has too many cows on hands at the minute.
There was a wave of eurphoria following quota abolition but that is definitely ebbing now with most people starting to realise that if you want to make any sort of return at milking you have to work bloody hard for it.
saw a lad at the weekend driving a truck in the local st patricks day parade... he has his own herd of cows... but apparently he got a truck licence in the last year or 2 and during the summer he gets in a relief milker and gives a few days driving a truck for a man... wonder what his plan is going forward???
My own "discussion" group is gone to sh1t altogether. There is some great farmers in the group with 40 years experience and very helpful opinions. Teagasc have put in a new "facilitator" and he's the closest thing to a school teacher that I have seen in a long time. He just preaches the gospel and has no practical understanding or knowledge. I find him very hard to listen to. EBI, grass and all the usual stuff........ We all know the theory but it's the practice is the hard part. A farmer or two will give a valid opinion but if it goes against the book then the simple answer is that the farmer is wrong.
Farmer gets 5 euro for fr bull means he didn't look after him, give him colostrum and he underfed him.
Alot of farmers making great money he said the last day. I didn't wait around for him to explain that one to me.
Breed smaller cows and bigger calves, just follow the gospel like. He's a great example of paper never refused ink.
I'm thinking of cancelling my subscription and spending my time elsewhere.
Same here young fella after young fella sitting in the office telling lads grass is king and get out and walk the place.......... i swear if I hear that phrase once more out of one of them I'll do one of them an injury
My good man I haven’t fully named an auctioneer, it was the post I was replying to, and also you mustn’t have stood in too many pedigree sales up and down the country over the years and seen these lads in action and seen how amazing how Tom Rafter turns up at a lot of these sales, as regards proof on numerous occasions have seen the auctioneer say can’t work there on a 2k animal cause he was caught in the chair.
