Power and machinery costs
- Thread starter Jdunn55
- Start date
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
Don’t be sorry it’s difficult to understand ,do you have a cow track to your away land ?
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
I've tried to draw it to hopefully help
It's obviously not to scale
The purple is the parlour
The orange is the cubicle shed and feed passages which they walk through to get to grazing
The green are the fields with the acerage inside
The brown is the cow track
The black is the farms driveway
The yellow is the landlords driveway
The blue is the road
Attachments
Front loaded the block hereIf you’re real smart your misses has a baby in the middle of it
Obviously didn’t hold first service here
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
GotchaI've tried to draw it to hopefully help
It's obviously not to scale
The purple is the parlour
The orange is the cubicle shed and feed passages which they walk through to get to grazing
The green are the fields with the acerage inside
The brown is the cow track
The black is the farms driveway
The yellow is the landlords driveway
The blue is the road
Main road? Or single track?
ollie989898
Member
I've seen rolled maize put on top of silage, I even took a photo of it. Might have been for dry cows or something though. Still think you are better to look to maximise the grass.
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Single track
So easy to cross on your own.
Either you've got to work or the cows. Its easier to get the cows to work
Either you've got to work or the cows. Its easier to get the cows to work
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
How do you go about crossing it on your own safely and easily? The last thing I would want is someone in a car not seeing the baler twine and driving straight through it then the cows coming out and buggering off
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
What would I do?
Cut grass or clover on the off ground, round bale it (no string or wrap) stick it in a feed trailer and leave the trailer in the cows overnight paddock. When I could afford one, I'd get a wagon. Or a Double chop
It seems to me that you are in one of the best grass growing areas in the UK but you think your farm can't grow grass.
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
You will be in front not behind they move quickly if there hungry.
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
I hadn't considered zero grazing just on the basis that I cant afford a wagon and didn't think it would work with a baler.
If I can graze those 2 fields across the road I should have more than enough average without needing to do it.
But
If it causes problems crossing the road it could be a backup plan.
I would eventually like to buy a forage wagon anyway to do my own clamp silage.
But one thing at a time and all that
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Why wouldn't it work with a baler? It's just a machine that rolls up grass.
I'd also suggest it might be an idea if you take advice on the type of cows you keep. If you are running a grazing herd on a solids based contract, 700kg B/W cows may not suit the system-better to get cows that suit the system rather than try to make the cows suit the system.
Take a drive around and see what other local Dairy farmers do and what type of cows they keep. If possible join a discussion group-far cheaper to learn from other people's mistakes!
Don't focus on things like litres/cow or margin/cow, what matters is whole farm profit. You might find 180 cross bred cows doing 5000l at 4.5 BF on grass and next to no cake pays better than 150 hungry holsteins pumping out 8000 litres of white water on 2t cake and you running a waiter service 'cos they won't walk to where the grub is. And don't rear replacements 'til you've got money to spare-you pay out for two years before they start paying it back.
I'd also suggest it might be an idea if you take advice on the type of cows you keep. If you are running a grazing herd on a solids based contract, 700kg B/W cows may not suit the system-better to get cows that suit the system rather than try to make the cows suit the system.
Take a drive around and see what other local Dairy farmers do and what type of cows they keep. If possible join a discussion group-far cheaper to learn from other people's mistakes!
Don't focus on things like litres/cow or margin/cow, what matters is whole farm profit. You might find 180 cross bred cows doing 5000l at 4.5 BF on grass and next to no cake pays better than 150 hungry holsteins pumping out 8000 litres of white water on 2t cake and you running a waiter service 'cos they won't walk to where the grub is. And don't rear replacements 'til you've got money to spare-you pay out for two years before they start paying it back.
Last edited:
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
Walk them, sorry but it's a no brainier. I cross 550 over a road 300 days a year and walk 1500m in either direction. It's not an issue.
Buffer feeding grazing cows is making hard work and you won't be able to manage the grassland efficiently. If you want to run a high stocking rate then I would flat rate feed 6kg of cake in the parlour over buffer feeding
Buffer feeding grazing cows is making hard work and you won't be able to manage the grassland efficiently. If you want to run a high stocking rate then I would flat rate feed 6kg of cake in the parlour over buffer feeding
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
I agree but I'm fairly confident the cows should suit the system as the ones I'm buying supply the same contract as me and would be run the same way I would want to run them
The other thing is, i enjoy the pedigree side of things, my passion is the cows, I love looking at pedigrees and seeing favourite cows go up points at classification etc, that's one part I genuinly enjoy and want to pursue and would continue doing even if it didn't pay just because i enjoy it.
The other reason for staying pedigree is tb compensation. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than if you're not pedigree
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Thanks, it's not the work that scares me as such it's more that I thought that was the only option as such.
I've budgeted on 5kg so 6 wouldn't be too much of a stretch, especially as I've budgeted on a cake price of £250/t
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Just to add as well, I think the cows would be closer to 600 rather than 700
In regards to the baler I thought the grass would heat too quickly
From my neighbor's experience yes, zero grazing bales do heat up quickly, intakes go down, waste goes up, blood pressure goes through the roof.
Don't worry about the road - get the cows there.
They're your milk production unit, mower, forager harvester, silage trailer, yard scraper, slurry spreader and bedding machine when they're out grazing.
Where you are is one of the best parts of the World to grow grass so if you can walk your cows to it - well why wouldn't you?