who's got their cows out?

Headless chicken · Oct 25, 2015

Splitpin said:
Turnout here is mid to the end of April if we're lucky. Ground is just too wet until you have longer days

Extremely dry farm here. Could still be grazing now if we chose to but until we put more tracks in it's hard to access all over our grass and with wanting to tighten the block we come in early and turn out early

Sid · Oct 25, 2015

So nice to hear that alot of cows still out and milking on feed that by some farmers ideas is for lying on only!?

Splitpin · Oct 25, 2015

Thing is every farm is different. I make full use of my grazing but I still buffer all summer. I have 60 acres of grazing ground and it lies very wet. We have tracks to access in all and try and make full use of it but this time of year it's just not possible.

RWG Contracts · Oct 25, 2015

Dad's still got his out, well they have access to the field, ours are lazy though especially the young ones, they'd rather eat out of trough, fill there face in outer parlour feeder then go sleep in a cubicle

Tarw Coch · Oct 25, 2015

Still out here day and night but have access back in at nights and eating two thirds of winter silage. Had planned to keep them in last night after an awfull forecast but didnt have much rain after all. Will stay out untill we get decent rain, now looking like wednesday when they will stay in nights. Days will depend on weather after that but heifers will need to come home in a couple of weeks so cows in then and they can finish the grass off. Hopefully some of them will be out till christmas weather depending.

Ducati899 · Oct 25, 2015

lazy farmer said:
I wonder how close your farm is to ours! Perhaps(he mentions with a tin hat on) a few railway sleeper tracks would help your situation.Its been an amazing growing season in the vale. seems a shame to miss out on that low cost DM. friends have had grass samples done recently showing ME between 11.5 and 12 and proteins in the mid twenties and DM around 19% brilliant feed really

Hmm where abouts are you? I'm not far from Shaftesbury

bigw · Oct 25, 2015

I would love to still have our cows out but we are seriously wet! We do still have youngstock and some cows and calves out but will likely house most of them this week.

lazy farmer · Oct 25, 2015

Ducati899 said:
Hmm where abouts are you? I'm not far from Shaftesbury

we are 7 miles west of shaftebury

roboticherdsman · Oct 25, 2015

Our's still out but kept coming back in to feed and I'd love to have some feeding trailers to encourage the cows to go through the yards to the robots to get to the other side to save time standing around on concrete. Grass are ok-ish in some places but they get their fill from the silage and maize well.

sidjon · Oct 25, 2015

lazy farmer said:
we are 7 miles west of shaftebury

God's country then!!!

Ducati899 · Oct 25, 2015

lazy farmer said:
we are 7 miles west of shaftebury

Not very far at all from me then

Splitpin · Oct 25, 2015

lazy farmer said:
we are 7 miles west of shaftebury

So is that on the chalk

lazy farmer · Oct 25, 2015

Splitpin said:
So is that on the chalk

god no! good old heavy blackmore vale clay

jondear · Oct 25, 2015

Cow tracks have made the difference to us being able to utilise the late grass without knackering other fields to get to it .Fortunately we are in catchment sensitive farming which has got a lot done which other wise wouldn't have never been afforded And yes we will have to put up one of these bloody signs I suppose!

simplesimon · Oct 25, 2015

jondear said:
Cow tracks have made the difference to us being able to utilise the late grass without knackering other fields to get to it .Fortunately we are in catchment sensitive farming which has got a lot done which other wise wouldn't have never been afforded And yes we will have to put up one of these bloody signs I suppose!

good to hear you got help with putting in your cow tracks but without the catchment money they would of still paid themselves off much faster than most purchases on dairy farms. good cow tracks are essential on any dairy farm in my view.

jerseycowsman · Oct 25, 2015

lazy farmer said:
we have at least 3 weeks left by day and about 18 nights keep having to push out the end date as grass hasn't given up growing quite yet. cows getting about 3kgDM maize silage before afternoon milking.
no need for a torch here(yet) cows still coming home pretty well on the batchlatch

What's the batchlatch?

Irish NZ · Oct 25, 2015

jerseycowsman said:
What's the batchlatch?

The future. A spring gate release timer.

I haven't got cows in the morning in a bout 8 or 10 weeks.

Princess Pooper · Oct 25, 2015

Irish NZ said:
The future. A spring gate release timer.

I haven't got cows in the morning in a bout 8 or 10 weeks.

if only..... ours have to cross the public lane!

We haven't had the 'wet summer' that so many have complained about... nearest reading I can find is about 12 miles away and it gives total for the YEAR of 435 mm that's about 15".

jerseycowsman · Oct 25, 2015

Irish NZ said:
The future. A spring gate release timer.

I haven't got cows in the morning in a bout 8 or 10 weeks.

Where do you get them, the batch latch?

simplesimon · Oct 25, 2015

jerseycowsman said:
Where do you get them, the batch latch?

kiwi kit.

who's got their cows out?

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