- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Great to hear you're close to moving into the farmhouse now Sam 
That bank looks good considering how it was back in September.
That bank looks good considering how it was back in September.
Our Journey
- Thread starter Samcowman
- Start date
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Great thread @Samcowman look forward to hearing about the place when I see you next!
In a couple of weeks isn’t it?
Reminds me have an update to do now we have internet, well a dongle it’s a long process getting internet sorted out in the sticks.
last calf was born the other day, a pedigree bull looks decent at this age so fingers crossed he goes on well and can go to work somewhere in the future. The dams calf from last year has just made the cut as a bulling heifer for this year so he should be good enough to register.
we have had a lot of rain like everyone else. This is the water coming downhill off of one of the tracks. We have a hedge line to put across the bottom of the steepest part of the slope the track is in the try and alleviate this problem a bit.
More fencing this is splitting a 25 acre pasture field in half to help manage grazing better. Used a couple of clipex eco strainers here and found them easy to put up myself and seem pretty strong I can then run the poly wire off of either side when I have enough time to set the water up properly. That will have to wait until after TB testing. Part 1 is next week with all the youngstock on the main holding and the cows a couple of weeks later. Then the calf holding after that.
this was today finally the sun is out and it was definitely a shorts day. These autumn R1s are coming towards the end of their first rotation. This permanent pasture field was bale grazed lightly in October. They are on 0.2ha/day for the 60 of them. It could probably do with being taken a bit tighter but without any cows to follow them and I don’t want to make them eat all of the brown grass in the bottom it’s a compromise but they do seem to be doing a decent enough job. A twice a day shift would probably be better for trampling but with ground conditions to get to this one travelling there once a day is enough.
this wasn’t from today but is a decent fence line photo showing the above field.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Nice to see some sunshine, it's been so dreary down here that I have gone searching the internet for it.
I reckon you're all over it, Sam, really if you're doing nonselective grazing then what they actually leave in the paddocks is only ever that, at the density you're using to achieve it.
The more we let "that grass height thing" simply be what it is, the more and further we can see
Contrasted with selective grazing, what we leave behind makes a significant difference to what's there when we get back in a few weeks, because in the grand scheme of things, that's tomorrow!
My advice is to let them eat each pasture and each plant to whatever level they think is "right" and see what you need to adjust next time
I’d say this level is right for this stock class and this paddock. They are definitely being non selective eating all the docks. And with a decent recovery before next grazing should start to get on top of the docks here.
It will be interesting to see what their growth rate is at TB test next week. Weighed a bunch of spring R2s yesterday which had been out for 2 months through some fairly rough wet weather at times and taking into account their turnout transition and they had done 0.9 but if we had a rate for the last month when it has improved it would be higher I would think
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Funny thing, transitioning, I really don't see it making nearly as much of an impact when you're going onto grass as going away from grass?
0.9 is great, consider that all a dairy heifer needs to reach her targets is about 0.68kg/day or so (with a smaller cow and low birthweight calf combo).
I personally think that almost detuning their "peak gain" to spread it over more months works out better - unless you have a really flexible stocking rate of course. Trying to make progress in that area
0.9 is great, consider that all a dairy heifer needs to reach her targets is about 0.68kg/day or so (with a smaller cow and low birthweight calf combo).
I personally think that almost detuning their "peak gain" to spread it over more months works out better - unless you have a really flexible stocking rate of course. Trying to make progress in that area
- Location
- somerset
we are grazing long grass at the moment, would have been cut, in a couple of weeks, the theory being, the large residual, of 'stemmy' grass, will help protect the soil from to much damage, looks to be working.
Would have kept them in for a few more days, they were loudly complaining about that idea !
funny about them eating docks, ours now will. Presumably there is 'something' in docks, that they need/like. Just wish they had found it years ago.
Would have kept them in for a few more days, they were loudly complaining about that idea !
funny about them eating docks, ours now will. Presumably there is 'something' in docks, that they need/like. Just wish they had found it years ago.
awkward
Member
- Location
- kerry ireland
Docks, said to be high in iodine
Tb test in the youngsters clear last week which was a replied with a few stores to go this week.
with farm assurance ‘audit’ on Monday we have some finished heifers ready and a couple of cull cows to go as well. The autumn R2 heifers averaged just over 1kg in the past couple of months which we are pleased with. They have changed grazing blocks to near the buildings so they are handy for drafting and moved into a herbal ley with 45 days recovery.
with farm assurance ‘audit’ on Monday we have some finished heifers ready and a couple of cull cows to go as well. The autumn R2 heifers averaged just over 1kg in the past couple of months which we are pleased with. They have changed grazing blocks to near the buildings so they are handy for drafting and moved into a herbal ley with 45 days recovery.
Attachments
That posted without me realising!!! Dung scores were a bit loose on the first break for these girls at 0.15ha/day so I have tightened them to 0.1 gutfill at move has dropped a touch but dung scores are better which should give about 36 days in this field but in reality it will be longer as some will be drafted out the next couple of weeks.
So this happened the other day totally out of the blue. The line is where the cross fence was. To me it’s a sign that this bunch have reached a point where they are satisfied with what they have and aren’t grazing under the fence for that but more but they are still impacting the rest of the paddock well. Weighed to draft them for the abbatoir today and gains are still comfortably over 1kg/day. It’s good to get some finished animals off farm as well as having some calves going although they are about a week late due to still being messed around by a previously reliable customer.
The cows and calves are on this half of a permanent pasture field which has barely been grazed this year apart from a brief foray by this group whilst I was getting the middle dividing fence up. This field will pay us back now after being grazed hard by sheep last year then bake grazed in the winter. The second picture is the grass down the bottom of the slope. Would be nice to move some of that fertility up the slope to the ridge.
It’s a bit sad to see these girls go having reared them up from baby calves all the way to finishing now off of just grass not having been housed since turnout 15 months ago it’s promising that this system has seemed to work. This time at least.
As for needing some rain that is correct but we have plans in place. As you can see the cows have got probably a months grazing in just this field so they will be fine. The finishing headers group is reducing in size as they come fit but they will be moving tomorrow into a herbal ley field we were going to silage but the first alleyway in their current field isn’t recovered despite having a month since grazing. They will return to that when it is ready. The autumn R1s which now has our suckler calves which were born in December with them after we weaned them to give the hard working dairy heifers a rest so they can get caught by the bull. Will graze a field we were going to make hay from but there’s not the biggest crop there after it only being shut up after the cows and calves came off it late. For us it’s better to keep grazing ahead of them than cut it and create your own drought and have to feed grub back to them straight away. The quality in their field won’t be the highest but we will manage them so they take the best of it and leave the rougher stuff behind preferably on the ground but it’s not rhe end of the world if not.
The cows and calves are on this half of a permanent pasture field which has barely been grazed this year apart from a brief foray by this group whilst I was getting the middle dividing fence up. This field will pay us back now after being grazed hard by sheep last year then bake grazed in the winter. The second picture is the grass down the bottom of the slope. Would be nice to move some of that fertility up the slope to the ridge.
It’s a bit sad to see these girls go having reared them up from baby calves all the way to finishing now off of just grass not having been housed since turnout 15 months ago it’s promising that this system has seemed to work. This time at least.
As for needing some rain that is correct but we have plans in place. As you can see the cows have got probably a months grazing in just this field so they will be fine. The finishing headers group is reducing in size as they come fit but they will be moving tomorrow into a herbal ley field we were going to silage but the first alleyway in their current field isn’t recovered despite having a month since grazing. They will return to that when it is ready. The autumn R1s which now has our suckler calves which were born in December with them after we weaned them to give the hard working dairy heifers a rest so they can get caught by the bull. Will graze a field we were going to make hay from but there’s not the biggest crop there after it only being shut up after the cows and calves came off it late. For us it’s better to keep grazing ahead of them than cut it and create your own drought and have to feed grub back to them straight away. The quality in their field won’t be the highest but we will manage them so they take the best of it and leave the rougher stuff behind preferably on the ground but it’s not rhe end of the world if not.
- Location
- sw scotland
If I saw all that hay on the ground I would cry, especially if I may be short for winter. Cattle standing on hay is a red line for me.
- Location
- sw scotland
If I saw all that hay on the ground I would cry, especially if I may be short for winter. Cattle standing on hay is a red line for me.