"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Loved the guy who while talking about their cow culling policy said if HE drove over a calf in the paddock then that cow was gone. Puts my three strikes and yer out for lameness into perspective.
Could be a well tight culling policy, ...:unsure:


or it could just be that the calf was lying down with a belly full of milk in the long grass the cow was busy grazing .... and he drives way too fast and is always on the phone ....:facepalm::ROFLMAO:
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
so how to monitor growth rate or crucially, select for slaughter then, with out handling or a system to handle sheep ?
Up a race, put hand on their short ribs has worked since Adam sold his flock... unsure if you "need" to weigh stock to improve the function of your farm ecosystem or whether it's yet another distraction?

Perhaps with enough cultivation and chemical it ceases to matter. That appears to be the motive behind the "we must increase productivity" missive from Beef&Lamb and your AHDB, "increase your work and spending, and we'll tell you more after that"
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Can you give us the main points of their analysis that led them to that conclusion? I'm gearing up to buy some cows but need a push to commit the cash!
I'm guessing that's because it's the cheapest and simplest of all animal proteins to produce?
And the overall resilience of the 'cattle landscape' is a major factor when considering the changing climate, in general terms you can store a heap more water and carbon than with sheep/chickens/mice
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
relatively speaking you're preaching to the converted.:unsure:
of course there's a lot wrong with it all, some will realise / admit to it , even if they don't know what to do about, it and be sides no one can change everything overnight,

surely you realise you cant change the World just like that.:oops: or at least its gonna a take a wee bit longer ,:D

apart from building sites roadbuilding concrete laying etc AD is becoming the big open arsehole around here :censored::banghead:
I thought ad was meant to be wonderful
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
The principle is brilliant. Use waste to create renewable hydrocarbon energy.

Then some fool with an economics background decided that it was even better if you used good land to grow feedstock crops for it :rolleyes::mad:

And here we are, working out our strategy to waste more good grass....
Seems to be working
20191206_212739.jpg

This bit was made bare in the winter but seems full of energy now, it was a patch the cattle f**ked when the snow caught us out
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
The principle is brilliant. Use waste to create renewable hydrocarbon energy.

Then some fool with an economics background decided that it was even better if you used good land to grow feedstock crops for it :rolleyes::mad:
Oddly the place where the meeting was has a big AD plant and while we were inside discussing cows cooking the planet it was good to know the lorries were outside running in and out saving the planet :unsure:
something has gone very wrong :facepalm:
 
I can't understand these folk that start throwing feeding at their stock as soon as the weather turns because the grass is just 'green water'. A fallacy, as the analysis in this article shows.
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
I can't understand these folk that start throwing feeding at their stock as soon as the weather turns because the grass is just 'green water'. A fallacy, as the analysis in this article shows.
Especially 'quality baled silage'
Plenty of water around in the winter without carrying plastic bags of the stuff around their farms, making marks.. wearing out bearings and burning precious fossil fuel..

At least hay is 85%+ DM, plus someone's seed crop, and likely someone's fertiliser too; which is why I'd buy any amount of hay (at the right price) because sheep+beef values support the price of hay.

Multicut slops though, low DM, little viable seed, too wet and pickled to break down on the soil - and highly priced.
That's a ticket to Shitsville IMO, if it's "too valuable to waste" then it has no place around dry stock
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Possibly one of your best posts yet Pete (and your most contentious for the UK). Few here would currently consider winter without silage.
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Were you really? Not so good then(n)

When I did my college day release course we were taught about several types of grasses and their weaknesses and strengths(y)
School of life taught me much more, mainly my old man pointed it out.
But when it comes to ANY pasture course I can think of, it reads like sickstock&forage on TFF - you MUST have PRG, all else should be forcibly controlled

Nothing wrong with that, if you can afford or desire tractor hours, in fact it probably is the favourite grass amongst tractor drivers
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 29 16.3%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

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

  • 1,286
  • 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/
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