All things Dairy

our tack sheep arrived yesterday, first thought this morning, are the buggers still where they are meant to be, luckily yes. They have oceans of grass, but trust them ? never.
no idea what the going rate sheep/week is, 30p? pretty irrelevant really, so much grass about, proportion needs coming off.
used to keep 500, now they are a necessary evil.
Is this on away land ?
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Is this on away land ?
home
lot of the farm is rather exposed, wind comes straight over the levels, up the valley, and hits our hills facing that way, in summer they dry out, so want them grazed off, sheltered ground, they wont see, reserved for turnout, or very early cut, to try for x2 before maize. Might sound daft, but our grass will not take cattle on it, over winter, tried and tried for 40 yr, it just doesn't come back in the spring. Even son agrees that.
 
home
lot of the farm is rather exposed, wind comes straight over the levels, up the valley, and hits our hills facing that way, in summer they dry out, so want them grazed off, sheltered ground, they wont see, reserved for turnout, or very early cut, to try for x2 before maize. Might sound daft, but our grass will not take cattle on it, over winter, tried and tried for 40 yr, it just doesn't come back in the spring. Even son agrees that.
2 cuts before maize? Your correct, sounds daft
 
home
lot of the farm is rather exposed, wind comes straight over the levels, up the valley, and hits our hills facing that way, in summer they dry out, so want them grazed off, sheltered ground, they wont see, reserved for turnout, or very early cut, to try for x2 before maize. Might sound daft, but our grass will not take cattle on it, over winter, tried and tried for 40 yr, it just doesn't come back in the spring. Even son agrees that.
All farms are different. I am well aware of that. But it does seem odd that you have land that won’t carry cattle late Feb/March which sooooo suit in calf Autumn milkers yet dries out as soon as it see’s a summer breeze.
our visit from natural England has really made me think whether if we can find a successful way of getting new seeds in with out ploughing whether a plough should ever come onto the platform again. So my question is yes in the short term you are growing more DM by cropping/ ploughing as much land as you do but will/is there a price to pay.? Is the plough reducing the water holding capacity of your land ?
 

Jdunn55

Member
As if my day couldn't get any worse, first sheep now this...
The empty box of doom signifies only one thing: impending doom, I mean milk recording in the morning 😭😭😭
 

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Location
West Wales
All farms are different. I am well aware of that. But it does seem odd that you have land that won’t carry cattle late Feb/March which sooooo suit in calf Autumn milkers yet dries out as soon as it see’s a summer breeze.
our visit from natural England has really made me think whether if we can find a successful way of getting new seeds in with out ploughing whether a plough should ever come onto the platform again. So my question is yes in the short term you are growing more DM by cropping/ ploughing as much land as you do but will/is there a price to pay.? Is the plough reducing the water holding capacity of your land ?
Put simply, yes. The plough is the devil. We’re on our last round with the plough following the trencher to put water mains in then will reserve ploughing only for fields that are stagnant and stinking ( normally ones we’ve taken on in rent)
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
All farms are different. I am well aware of that. But it does seem odd that you have land that won’t carry cattle late Feb/March which sooooo suit in calf Autumn milkers yet dries out as soon as it see’s a summer breeze.
our visit from natural England has really made me think whether if we can find a successful way of getting new seeds in with out ploughing whether a plough should ever come onto the platform again. So my question is yes in the short term you are growing more DM by cropping/ ploughing as much land as you do but will/is there a price to pay.? Is the plough reducing the water holding capacity of your land ?
pic of one of our banks, resown aut 20, even with a decent summer, the plantains knocked out the grass, in one of the short dry spells, we had last summer, looking down the valley, there's nothing between it and the Bristol channel, or the Atlantic.
we no longer plough, as normal, it's the last choice, we either use tines/power harrow, or direct drill. All leys contain 'dry land' grasses, chicory and plantain clover. We have re-seeded virtually all grass, some overseeded as well, simply because the r/grass died off.
Never before have we had 3 dry summers/winters in a row, probably never have them again, but we cannot guarantee that, and feeding spr calvers, virtually all summer/winter x3, isn't on, so cows right back in numbers, and calving oct/nov, saving aut buffer feed, and cows dry, or near, in the normal dry months.
There is a huge amount you can do, to replace traditional plough/reseed, which is hugely damaging to the soils bugs, worms and fungi, that produce good, and cheap returns, quite quickly, as your NE probably suggested, not for every one, it's down to what you want to do.
Water wise, our stream through the farm, is only running 10/15% of normal, dry a lot of the time, it didn't dry out in 76. A lot of soil structure is becoming seriously depleted, especially on the lighter soils, so you are correct, ploughing destroys structure, that depletes it's holding capacity of moisture, and the cycle goes on, We are trying to overcome that, herbs, deeper rooting grasses etc. A decent summer, and we are fully filled up on fodder ! After buying a lot, for 3 years, it's a nice feeling.
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Jdunn55

Member
On the subject of Ploughing, I'm trying to avoid it but I can't really think of a way to get maize in the ground without it? I have access to a mzuri but not sure that it will work? Anyone managed it?
 

Jdunn55

Member
What’s the doom of milk recording? Have I missed something?
I just hate it. Hate everything about it.
Hate that the cows don't milk as well as normal
Hate how milking seems to take 4 times as long
Hate that the cows sh!t everywhere
Hate putting the samplers up
Hate taking the samplers down
Hate not having the radio on
Hate getting the information ready for the recorder
Hate seeing the 200 quid come out my bank account every month
Etc etc
Just Hate it 😂😂
 
Location
West Wales
On the subject of Ploughing, I'm trying to avoid it but I can't really think of a way to get maize in the ground without it? I have access to a mzuri but not sure that it will work? Anyone managed it?
In a rotation I believe so, on old ground no. I think you’d need to subsoil too but it’s out of my remit a bit. We’re trying to move back to a rotation more and having crops in the ground at all times. Got a lot of damage to fix but long term I don’t think we need half the fert we’re using.
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
I just hate it. Hate everything about it.
Hate that the cows don't milk as well as normal
Hate how milking seems to take 4 times as long
Hate that the cows sh!t everywhere
Hate putting the samplers up
Hate taking the samplers down
Hate not having the radio on
Hate getting the information ready for the recorder
Hate seeing the 200 quid come out my bank account every month
Etc etc
Just Hate it 😂😂
I just never understand why recording is any different.
24:24 one person milking one recorder won't take a second longer when recording.
Why do you switch the radio off if you like it on. That might be unsettling the cows.
 
Location
Cornwall
I just hate it. Hate everything about it.
Hate that the cows don't milk as well as normal
Hate how milking seems to take 4 times as long
Hate that the cows sh!t everywhere
Hate putting the samplers up
Hate taking the samplers down
Hate not having the radio on
Hate getting the information ready for the recorder
Hate seeing the 200 quid come out my bank account every month
Etc etc
Just Hate it 😂😂

I see. 😂. We haven’t recorded for years.
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
I just hate it. Hate everything about it.
Hate that the cows don't milk as well as normal
Hate how milking seems to take 4 times as long
Hate that the cows sh!t everywhere
Hate putting the samplers up
Hate taking the samplers down
Hate not having the radio on
Hate getting the information ready for the recorder
Hate seeing the 200 quid come out my bank account every month
Etc etc
Just Hate it 😂😂
I do it four times a year just for John's testing can't stand it! Mind I have to work off ear tags which isn't easy for heifers I don't know. But then I tell myself if I don't know the tag number it must be a straight forward heifer!
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
On the subject of Ploughing, I'm trying to avoid it but I can't really think of a way to get maize in the ground without it? I have access to a mzuri but not sure that it will work? Anyone managed it?
we drilled behind sumo type one year, all rightish.
drilled one year with a combination drill, that was hilarious, no rows, 20 m in, completely disorientated - we had a new calf in there, he came out on his own, thankfully.
As a general rule of thumb, you only get out, what you put in, so if seed bed is not right, yield is compromised, good years, it doesn't show, worst we ever grew, 5t/ac ! So the answer always is, what are ground conditions like, if good, you can get away with less,
We are hoping for x2 cuts of westerwold, before maize, on ground that doesn't dry out, and very fertile, drill end may/early june. We would have very little acreage we could do that, elsewhere, it would be mid april, and pray for rain. Whether we tine/pharrow, or plough, really depends on how much shite we get on there.
We have tried growing it all around the farm, you can easily see where wind/sun hits it, rarely grows to 3ft, same fields, where it doesn't 'catch, 5/6 ft, where we drilled behind rye/vetch, 8th june, av 18t/ac.
we record every 10 weeks, if cc rise, we just sample every cow, and run up to QMS at wells, result same day, 1/3 price of NMR, last lot, 90 ish samples, £68, think including vat. But, you have a cow or two, with heady ambitions, have you not ? Proper recording then.
 
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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

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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“

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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