How to feed cows?

Seven years into my CFA and we finally have some decent infrastructure. For this winter I will get by with the machinery I have but looking forward to next winter I'm still struggling to work out the best way to physically feed silages to the cows.

This is the layout we nearly have now.
IMG_20211102_175342.jpg


I've never had a clamp before this year so the cows were just on round bales fed in rings in the feed yard. There is room, just, for 2 X 200 foot troughs in the feed yard and there are two sheds each with a 200foot feed face onto a central passage.

Current machinery is two loader tractors and a straw blower.
IMG_20211101_120457.jpg
IMG_20211101_124906.jpg
IMG_20211101_110144.jpg


I have a number of ideas for the simplest way to move forage from the clamps to the cows. I'd like to get rid of the rings because they don't offer enough feed space and they're a pain to push around and scrape around. The two parallel troughs won't leave enough room between them for a tractor or handler to turn 90 degrees to drop silage in.

Ideas please
 

Stuart1

Member
Are you looking to add blend to the silage or just straight forages? Does your straw blower feed put silage? I’ve seen videos of some straw blowers compatible with silage also.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
for spring calving if want to find a way to feed blocks 3x a week
I’ve visited a farm in Hereford, the Leen, where they fed blocks behind cow pow barriers. Gelli Aur also do similar, many hours to fill , but many days between fills, probably £££ now though.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
Forage box has been my thought but they're generally quite small/old and knackered. I didn't start feeding from the new clamps until this weekend and it just felt so pointless double handling the silage to move it only a few metres
Blue sky thinking, a bucket wheel excavator attached to a conveyor belt that your cows can eat off! :cool:
 

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
I’ve visited a farm in Hereford, the Leen, where they fed blocks behind cow pow barriers. Gelli Aur also do similar, many hours to fill , but many days between fills, probably £££ now though.

Think they had switched to a big shear grab last time I was there. Block cutters are as fickle as a forage box parked in the rain.
 
My Keenan is still available, certainly not small and knackered!
Mixer wagon is certainly not ruled out. The great thing about bales was anyone could put out a dozen bales and the cows would get the right amount of silage. There are three of us who feed now and I think/know that the amount they are given daily by counting grab fulls is quite variable. I quite like the idea of someone with weigh cells.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
Mixer wagon is certainly not ruled out. The great thing about bales was anyone could put out a dozen bales and the cows would get the right amount of silage. There are three of us who feed now and I think/know that the amount they are given daily by counting grab fulls is quite variable. I quite like the idea of someone with weigh cells.
Plenty of cheap ones about, mate bought an immaculate twin auger tub, 24 cube, £12k.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top