All things Dairy

[Princess Pooper]

Busy spring day, moving stock out and getting cereals in, very different feeling this year, it’s our own ground rather than tenantedView attachment 1175915

Lovely looking bunch of calves

 

[nonemouse]

cows back out, but struggling for dry land, that is one of the drier fields, only 1/3inch overnight

 

[Mr Mackay]

Unfortunately you have a major problem, sub clinical mastitis is a minefield to get through, firstly dipping clusters in peracetic acid between cows to stop cow to cow transmission is a must . Also consider a chlorhexadine or lactic acid based barrier dip to protect the teats between milkings ,this will need a pre dip as well to help remove it this will also help kill bacteria.
grass will help but you will need a very good dry cow treatment and dry period to try and cure them , strep uberis in not easily cured during lactation.

Great advice Martin , but our vet recommended a high % iodine pre dip and barrier post dip ! She felt it much better than lactic acid or Chlororhex dips ,when we had a cell count and mastitis problem (cells near 200 ,despite milk recording data help ,and this is despite us 6 months into using a Clusterflush - in our new to us parlour !
We also started using Bolshaws lime on the beds regularly ,and every time a cubicle has leaked milk on the bed mattress ! This along with nice dry pitch pine sawdust .
Cows are really clean too and although I worried about the lime drying the teats and wrecking the skin ,the quality Iodine dip seems to keep teats lovely and soft .
We also had a dynamic test on the new parlour ,which said the 65 35 pulsation A& B , was too sharp , so until we had that corrected in our SCR meters , we lowered our vacuum ,and we are typically are nearer 100 cells now , and have changed pulsation to 60 40 for gentler milking ,and upped the vac to 44 from 42 .
Not suggesting you have a machine problem ,but having had very helpful advice from our local Gea agent ,and the vet , culling the real culprits we seemed to have turned a corner !!

Good luck

 

[Conrod96]

cows back out, but struggling for dry land, that is one of the drier fields, only 1/3inch overnight

We’d over an inch here last night

 

[buffalo_soldier]

Still Wet

Think im a housed herd now

 

[Happy hillbily]

Silage dry or mouldy? Could toxins be playing a part?

No, their on second cut which is rather on the wet side

 

[pappuller]

Still Wet

Think im a housed herd now

And get some proper production figures at long last

 

[nonemouse]

When I look at grazing residuals now, I just pretend I’m trendy, mob grazing and treading organic matter in to increase soil carbon not that I f@*#ed the job up

 

[yin ewe]

So with the grazing herds having much difficulty with wet conditions at the minute, then the inevitable drought and no grass by the middle of June, is now the time to agree that housed systems are just better?

 

[Wesley]

So with the grazing herds having much difficulty with wet conditions at the minute, then the inevitable drough and no grass by the middle of June, is now the time to agree that housed systems are just better?

 

[lazy farmer]

So with the grazing herds having much difficulty with wet conditions at the minute, then the inevitable drough and no grass by the middle of June, is now the time to agree that housed systems are just better?

Absolutely

 

[buffalo_soldier]

Dunno, im buying sawdust by the pallet at the moment.
i returned back cold, wet and miserable from fencing to find the wagon driver pushing the bales out of the truck onto the yard floor as there was no one around.

Wouldnt of happened if they were out grazing

 

[Cowwilf]

So with the grazing herds having much difficulty with wet conditions at the minute, then the inevitable drough and no grass by the middle of June, is now the time to agree that housed systems are just better?

They're certainly more consistent.

 

[Headless chicken]

When I look at grazing residuals now, I just pretend I’m trendy, mob grazing and treading organic matter in to increase soil carbon not that I f@*#ed the job up

I do that too when I f**k up and don’t order cake in time. It’s not a f**k up it’s reducing my carbon footprint

 

[Wesley]

Dunno, im buying sawdust by the pallet at the moment.
i returned back cold, wet and miserable from fencing to find the wagon driver pushing the bales out of the truck onto the yard floor as there was no one around.

Wouldnt of happened if they were out grazing

Wouldn’t of happened if you kept everything indoors either as you wouldn’t of been out fencing

 

[crashbox]

Absolutely

Lely will be loving it

 

[In the pit]

Wouldn’t of happened if you kept everything indoors either as you wouldn’t of been out fencing

And he’d have sawdust in bulk rather than bags

 

[nonemouse]

Lely will be loving it

The IRONY it’s my picture of cows grazing, and I put my Lely robot in, in 2010

 

[Wesley]

Lely will be loving it

They’re going in like crazy in the south west. Pretty sure I was told it was around a 14 month waiting list. Although I think interest rates & increased costs have put a few of those off. There already seems to be a struggle to find enough engineers to deal with the ones already in.

 

[DairyNerd]

They’re going in like crazy in the south west. Pretty sure I was told it was around a 14 month waiting list. Although I think interest rates & increased costs have put a few of those off. There already seems to be a struggle to find enough engineers to deal with the ones already in.

I know a couple of farms considering it as EA have been round and cubicle shed to parlour area and collecting yard is an issue. They are considering it possibly easier to stick a robot in the cubicle/feed shed than to mess around covering yards especially as the parlours in question are getting on.