calving

  1. B

    Lower feed costs at grass

    Spring calving herd, grass from early feb to mid november. My dairy nut is very expensive. We are in a drought prone area in east of Ireland, feed 350-500kg of dairy nut and same of PK. Im hoping to swap dairy nut for rolled barley or maize meal. Feed acid buffer and minerals with PK at feed...
  2. DairyGrazing

    Feeding heifers TMR

    Does anyone feed their heifers TMR if so how many rations do you feed to the different ages. I'd like to feed weaning to 9m with the diet feeder to get away from chucking a lot of nuts on top of straw or silage.
  3. Agriland RSS

    UFAC-UK launches new sustainable dairy feed alternatives

    Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland UFAC-UK has launched a new generation of sustainable feed alternatives to complement palm-free dairy feed supplementation. The new partial soybean meal replacement for dairy diets aims to improve yields, solids and feed conversion efficiency...
  4. C

    Ireland Genetics

    Who's used them? Considering it now Genus have the UK distribution license... Would they make sensible cows for an autumn block system? Target here (not necessarily what we achieve) = 600kg MS from a 600 kg cow, up to 2t concentrate fed to yield. Would they be too small? Get too fat on...
  5. Agriland RSS

    Opinion: Will sexed semen revolutionise dairy breeding?

    Written by Richard Halleron from Agriland The point was made to me recently that the use of sexed semen will not deliver real benefits under Irish dairy farming conditions. This is because of the almost total focus here on spring-based, seasonal calving systems. My response to that thinking...
  6. Bramble

    On farm SCC testing

    We’ve been using the Porta SCC tester from Milwood products for a while to check suspicious cows, but it seems the test strips are no longer available and are unlikely to be in the near future Other than using CMT, is there anything else available to do an on farm SCC test?
  7. J

    Drain covers

    How often should these be changed for new ones? I had a cow put her leg through one last night, she's sliced her ankle down to the bone so unfortunately has had to be pts. There's no-one in our area anymore who does emergency slaughter so that option was out the window. The drain itself is...
  8. J

    Dissertation research : How the changes with in farmgate milk prices have effected the dairy industry

    I am a 3rd-year business student at Edgehill looking for participants from across the UK to fill in a short survey for my dissertation research. The survey will consist of questions looking at if/how you, as an individual or your business have been affected by the changes due to prices being...
  9. bobk

    Farming in Australia

    As the weather is pants in the UK , I'm searching for decent weather harvests , On watching the scale of operation is massive , 2 farms I found are Lock Valley Farms north of Adelaide , about 4000 acres half crops half sheep . decent ground but just father and son ...
  10. Bossfarmer

    Farm Subsidies......expand or GET OUT???

    Given the fact that subsidy goes straight to the bottom line(net profit) how does everyone plan to replace this? im not asking can you "survive" without it, simply how will you replace it? or will you just accept that you will make less money? given the fact the general populations minimum wage...
  11. Agriland RSS

    Societal impact of changes in agriculture must be assessed – Boyle

    Written by Richard Halleron from Agriland AgriSearch chairman, Prof. Gerry Boyle, has called for the societal impact of the many changes taking place within agriculture to be fully researched. Speaking at a recent AgriSearch workshop, held to help identify future research priorities for...
  12. Agriland RSS

    Weight data trials underway on beef farms in Scotland

    Written by Stella Meehan from Agriland Having the time to effectively use the information gathered from weighing cattle can be a challenge for farmers in Scotland, according to Lorna MacPherson, consultant at SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). However, she said that it...
  13. B

    Natural rock salt

    Have been leaving out rock salt for the cows. They’re going through it quicker than I expected is there a deficiency or is it just the novelty value .
  14. Wood field

    Tarmac farming

    Can it pay ? We are farming four blocks one is two minutes walk but two are 15 minutes by car Chap on the phone to me was saying his tractor finance was over £600 a month ( plus vehicle finance, plus farm rent etc etc ) They cover ground up to an hour away yet he said to me , 500 odd sheep...
  15. Agriland RSS

    Dairy advice: Grouping cows this winter

    Written by Brian McDonnell from Agriland Grouping cows when housed this winter, will allow for better management and ensure that they are in the correct body condition score (BCS) for calving. The dry period for cows is an opportunity to regenerate udder tissue after completing a lactation...
  16. J

    Slatted cattle shed

    We are thinking about putting up a slatted shed. We would calve in March on straw, so was wondering what age would the calves need to be before putting the cows back on to slats with the calves having a bedded pen to creep into? Also what would be the most efecient shed to build? Thank you
  17. D

    June/July calving cows for sale

    Group of 8 Irish Freisian cross Jersey cows, average weight roughly 550kg. PD'd in calf to Pedigree Angus/Hereford, calving June and July next year. For sale due to moving our calving block. Average calving interval of the group 380 days. Average SCC of the group 121. No milk meters in parlour...
  18. PI Stsker

    Staff retention

    https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/what-makes-a-good-employer-on-a-dairy-farm?fbclid=IwAR1dLRcEIxDmTkQ3Xx_zZN8yib3GIg8ah_e7SiYzI1CsM9gHv0DMIhjunFU_aem_AVwtamRm_OjMyDwnI5Ai7SjJ9ht2XxSKu77yRmpzpVGwSj3bxEmwM6cf6nnYP9rg1j4 A really great write up here about keeping staff happy. Cherry picking a part I...
  19. C

    Retail milk pasteuriser - advice please!

    We are all hurting with the current milk price, and an opportunity has come up to sell some milk via retail, in a nearby farm shop. Demand would be for 200 litre deliveries, non-homogenised preferred. Can anyone offer advise on pasteurisers for retail milk, please? E.g. - Any better/worse...
  20. L

    Weaning spring born calfs.

    Advice please. Have some spring born Hereford / Sim cross calves to wean. They are all housed running with their mothers and currently getting creep feed through a calf gate to another shed and haylage is on offer. What’s the best way to wean them? Just shut them off? We don’t have any of...
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