Zero grazing.

Llmmm

Member
We have been feeding a 14% protein nut at 3 to 4kg here the last few years when on the short leafy grass, don’t have a problem getting cows to go in calf. One big problem we do have when feeding short leafy grass is cows getting stomach ulcers. Anyone else have that problem?
Im no expert but would a beetpulp based ration stop cows scouring when zero grazing
 
Would need a high fibre concentrate to balance a lot of fresh lush grass. Sugar beet, soya hulls, wheatfeed or even NIS might help slow them down a bit. Maize gluten might be worth looking at but I am not sure how quickly degraded the fibre in it is or how it would balance your protein.

Avoid large inclusions of rapidly degraded protein like rapemeal.
 

Suckndiesel

Member
Location
Newtownards
Im no expert but would a beetpulp based ration stop cows scouring when zero grazing

Would need a high fibre concentrate to balance a lot of fresh lush grass. Sugar beet, soya hulls, wheatfeed or even NIS might help slow them down a bit. Maize gluten might be worth looking at but I am not sure how quickly degraded the fibre in it is or how it would balance your protein.

Avoid large inclusions of rapidly degraded protein like rapemeal.

Want to keep things as simple as possible, meal is all fed through parlour, have thought about trying the nis and putting it over the top of the grass but not sure how well they’d eat them. Have tried various things from chopped straw over the grass to putting acid buff on it, but still get bother. Used to cut heavier covers and didn’t get any bother then, might have to go back to that but open to ideas!

The 14% summer nut we feed is a high fibre nut for grass
 
Want to keep things as simple as possible, meal is all fed through parlour, have thought about trying the nis and putting it over the top of the grass but not sure how well they’d eat them. Have tried various things from chopped straw over the grass to putting acid buff on it, but still get bother. Used to cut heavier covers and didn’t get any bother then, might have to go back to that but open to ideas!

The 14% summer nut we feed is a high fibre nut for grass

Yes- get your feed supplier to provide a meal with the right stuff in it. Most of them will produce anything you like.
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Want to keep things as simple as possible, meal is all fed through parlour, have thought about trying the nis and putting it over the top of the grass but not sure how well they’d eat them. Have tried various things from chopped straw over the grass to putting acid buff on it, but still get bother. Used to cut heavier covers and didn’t get any bother then, might have to go back to that but open to ideas!

The 14% summer nut we feed is a high fibre nut for grass
Feeding very pokey grass was our main issue, if we give it another go later in the year we will look to cut stemmier grass to keep it in them a little better.
Just a simple grass and cake system in the robot was always our aim but we struggled to achieve it
 

Suckndiesel

Member
Location
Newtownards
Feeding very pokey grass was our main issue, if we give it another go later in the year we will look to cut stemmier grass to keep it in them a little better.
Just a simple grass and cake system in the robot was always our aim but we struggled to achieve it

Would I be right in saying you have quite high yields? Cows milked fine on the stemmier stuff here but milked better on the low covers but it’s not a lot of use with the health issues, past 4 or 5 years we have lost 1% to 1.5% of the milking herd with bleeding ulcers each year
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Would I be right in saying you have quite high yields? Cows milked fine on the stemmier stuff here but milked better on the low covers but it’s not a lot of use with the health issues, past 4 or 5 years we have lost 1% to 1.5% of the milking herd with bleeding ulcers each year
Yes we are currently averaging 41 litres on the robots, we are finding diet consistency much better since switching back to full TMR
 

Seasider

Member
Location
Lancs
Feeding very pokey grass was our main issue, if we give it another go later in the year we will look to cut stemmier grass to keep it in them a little better.
Just a simple grass and cake system in the robot was always our aim but we struggled to achieve it
Would advise against stemmier grass as yields will plummet. I go against all advice and cut low( down to 1100-1200) thus taking more digestible fibrous stem from covers just above normal grazing height.... keeps fats over 4% for 30-32 litres. But field must be level etc to avoid contamination ?
 
Would need a high fibre concentrate to balance a lot of fresh lush grass. Sugar beet, soya hulls, wheatfeed or even NIS might help slow them down a bit. Maize gluten might be worth looking at but I am not sure how quickly degraded the fibre in it is or how it would balance your protein.

Avoid large inclusions of rapidly degraded protein like rapemeal.

You,ve missed off grain maize. That for me is the magic ingredient that I will never leave out. Just compliments grass for soaking up protein with out adding as much pressure on acid loading and keeps the dung consistency good.
If at all possible unmolassesed sugar beet is best.
 

Spear

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Devon
Your post goes against everything we have found since zero grazing the last 2 years, grass needs cutting and feeding straight away to prevent spoilage and nutrient losses, we are currently feeding 50kg fresh grass/head and have seen an increase in milk of 2-3 litres whilst reducing meal usage to .25 kg/litre av 33litres at 190 dim. We are aiming to feed upto 60kg fresh. In my opinion zero grazed grass is the ultimate tmr for high yielding cows.
Lol how times change [emoji106]
I guess this means you agree with me now
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Lol how times change [emoji106]
I guess this means you agree with me now
Hands up here [emoji23] we introduced maize in 2019 and seem to be getting better results, that combined with the rather unpredictable weather over the last couple of years has moved us to take our silage making in house with the option of zero grazing, tho if I'm honest I can't see it happening.
Yes things do change but sometimes better that way than carrying on with something that maybe isn't right for a system.
 
It can be done but the mix will heat up if left over 12 hrs at the barrier.
Zero grazed grass is better fed fresh and a mix fed separately in my experience
I'm currently try this at the moment as wee started zging at beginning of the week cows will nearly refuse to go the feed passages with tmr and will standing 3 cows deep waiting to get at the fresh grass ?
 

Cowlife

Member
Wee found it near enough impossible.. wee were cutting stuff with no stem the hole time tho and feeding 18%protein nut threw the parlour
I m not an expert but would think the nut could be too high protein.
Remember in nz looking at the delivery docket for the parlour nut and was told it was 50/50 barley and wheat. Even if my memory is playing tricks it was very low protein along with very short high quality grazed grass. The cows peaked at 28l average.
 

The Agrarian

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northern Ireland
And here's the bit that no one else talks about.

If I farmed in England, with better weather than here, I would very likely still be zerograzing. But there are just to many spells of wet weather on this farm in an average year for it to be to my pleasing. It's too hard on our ground. We don't have any sand in our soils, and so travelling over our silty clay loams when its damp just seals them over and causes kill out. Our soils are rich, and as @Beef farmer said, we can grow plenty of grass (between late April and end of August), but not if we don't respect the land in the conditions we're sent.
 
And here's the bit that no one else talks about.

If I farmed in England, with better weather than here, I would very likely still be zerograzing. But there are just to many spells of wet weather on this farm in an average year for it to be to my pleasing. It's too hard on our ground. We don't have any sand in our soils, and so travelling over our silty clay loams when its damp just seals them over and causes kill out. Our soils are rich, and as @Beef farmer said, we can grow plenty of grass (between late April and end of August), but not if we don't respect the land in the conditions we're sent.

Very much like here, except I'm not in ireland, I couldn't consistently zero graze grass to be able to implement a proper system
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
And here's the bit that no one else talks about.

If I farmed in England, with better weather than here, I would very likely still be zerograzing. But there are just to many spells of wet weather on this farm in an average year for it to be to my pleasing. It's too hard on our ground. We don't have any sand in our soils, and so travelling over our silty clay loams when its damp just seals them over and causes kill out. Our soils are rich, and as @Beef farmer said, we can grow plenty of grass (between late April and end of August), but not if we don't respect the land in the conditions we're sent.
We run mainly on sandy soils but have found the required consistency of our diet can't be met by zero grazing.
But that said I still feel it is lovely to see a herd of cows demolish a mountain of grass.
 

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As reported in Independent


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

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