All things Dairy

[Wesley]

Blimey, this grazing lark seems pretty complicated & expensive. Tracks everywhere, water pipes & troughs dotted all over the farm. Plus you still need sheds to bring them back in & the other stuff that goes with it. Then theres plate meters etc. Next you’ll say you have silage clamps to feed them when they’re in & to buffer them if things dry out & you run out of grass…

 

[Farmer Keith]

Blimey, this grazing lark seems pretty complicated & expensive. Tracks everywhere, water pipes & troughs dotted all over the farm. Plus you still need sheds to bring them back in & the other stuff that goes with it. Then theres plate meters etc. Next you’ll say you have silage clamps to feed them when they’re in & to buffer them if things dry out & you run out of grass…

Don’t forget you need slurry storage to cover you from mid September till mid Jan even though you have no stock inside for half of that window.

 

[In the pit]

Blimey, this grazing lark seems pretty complicated & expensive. Tracks everywhere, water pipes & troughs dotted all over the farm. Plus you still need sheds to bring them back in & the other stuff that goes with it. Then theres plate meters etc. Next you’ll say you have silage clamps to feed them when they’re in & to buffer them if things dry out & you run out of grass…

Ran a herd and cows were only in a shed for 2 weeks of the year,just long enough to bag up and calve

 

[yin ewe]

Ran a herd and cows were only in a shed for 2 weeks of the year,just long enough to bag up and calve

Not an option everywhere in the country, you have to work with whatever system suits your farm.

 

[In the pit]

A lot of grass to go at

 

[Wesley]

Ran a herd and cows were only in a shed for 2 weeks of the year,just long enough to bag up and calve

Bit of a waste of a shed. Might as well keep then in a bit longer & get some extra milk

 

[In the pit]

Bit of a waste of a shed. Might as well keep then in a bit longer & get some extra milk

Yes and incur a huge jump in costs and miss out on the best food you can give to a cow ,GRASS

 

[Martyn]

Moving incalf heifers after having a miserable day of rain. Suddenly they seam to be growing and dawning on me more work this autumn🫣 total mix some jersey X, some pure BF and some pure Holstein, all seam to be coping ok outwintered.

 

[sidjon]

Ours grew 2.1 kgs dm per day over last 3 months
Key to getting cows out early is having the right infrastructure ,,tracks with multiple gateways. Always make sure cows run out of food and go out hungry ,then once full up they’ll lie down ,then as they get up to wander round bring them back in and onto a new break tommorrow
Never ever put sheep any where near your grazing land as they’ll just keep nibbling the grass and poach the surface and grass roots will get compromised

Is that not a typo of 2.1kg?

 

[In the pit]

Is that not a typo of 2.1kg?

2.1 over 107 days
Probaly 10 times that now

 

[sidjon]

2.1 over 107 days
Probaly 10 times that now

That seems too low, for winter average, our worst year was 5kgdm/day and would be not on boy's ground at 850ft up, just thought you'd be pushing 15kg to 20kg like some on the coastal farms.

 

[In the pit]

That seems too low, for winter average, our worst year was 5kgdm/day and would be not on boy's ground at 850ft up, just thought you'd be pushing 15kg to 20kg like some on the coastal farms.

I wonder if it’s saturated in water. I’ve been emptying rain gauge every other day

 

[Scholsey]

I wonder if it’s saturated in water. I’ve been emptying rain gauge every other day

My old chap said he thinks it’s as wet as it’s ever been here. Hardly had a dry week since June, standing water where it’s usually free draining. Going to take a long time to correct the damage done by the last few months.

 

[sidjon]

I wonder if it’s saturated in water. I’ve been emptying rain gauge every other day

Not on the costal farms with less than 28 inches in a normal year, which are grazing well into thier 1st round( maybe different this year, going to grass sample next week wonder if it's that much different for normal, which for us in March is between 16 and 19 dm )

 

[Kiss]

Yes and incur a huge jump in costs and miss out on the best food you can give to a cow ,GRASS

It’s not the best, it’s just the cheapest!

 

[Wesley]

It’s not the best, it’s just the cheapest!

Its better when you mix a bit of maize & some evil soya with it

 

[easy farming]

It’s not the best, it’s just the cheapest!

Do they pay you more for your milk if you feed them something better?

 

[Kiss]

Do they pay you more for your milk if you feed them something better?

No I feed as much grass as I can been out full time since first week of February,

- I’m not doubting the economics of it!

Its better when you mix a bit of maize & some evil soya with it

Only if the soya has a special ticket

 

[In the pit]

2 nd day at grass ,,this time last year they had been out 6 weeks

 

[Wesley]

Do they pay you more for your milk if you feed them something better?

No, but they pay you more if you send more litres.