Big young lmb loss in Stirlingshire.

[Al R]

2 years?! You're kind!

I think we've had maybe 4 good years since 2010.

Winter '09-10 was the coldest for decades.
Winter 10-11 was equally as cold
The whole of 2011 and 2012 were fudgeing wet
2013 started wet with bad snows end of March, then drought til July
2014 was OK
2015 was OK
2016 was wet and a bit cold (not much grass before Highland show in late June)
2017 was OK
2018 Beast from the East then drought til August
2019 was OK but got fudgeing wet towards the end
2020 was fudgeing wet. Drought 3 months. Then fudgeing cold and fudgeing wet the rest of the year.
2021 hasn't thawed out yet and it's almost mid May.

Christ that’s accurate!!!!

 

[livestock 1]

It's crazy to look back and see that it has been 10 years of it

It’s always a carry on every year. Fert not washed in or washed away. Bad feed shortage of straw shortage of crop we keep thinking it will get better but never does

 

[David.]

Its a bit off topic, but I doubt we could milk cows here now, 25yrs ago the silage rows had a job to pass under the tractor belly, not seen that lately. We weren't over generous with N either.

 

[Nithsdale]

Its a bit off topic, but I doubt we could milk cows here now, 25yrs ago the silage rows had a job to pass under the tractor belly, not seen that lately. We weren't over generous with N either.

We used to have a good buffer of bales every year. Same number of cows then as now, and dad used to take all young stock through to finished...

We sell all young stock @ 12 months (but all cows are now housed all winter) and are cutting 17acres more - we only just get by each year!

 

[livestock 1]

We used to have a good buffer of bales every year. Same number of cows then as now, and dad used to take all young stock through to finished...

We sell all young stock @ 12 months (but all cows are now housed all winter) and are cutting 17acres more - we only just get by each year!

I’m experiencing the same thing here. Just thought I was feeding more or winters were poorer grazing values.
What is it then shorter growing season? Wet got the better of the ground? General bad weather?

 

[Nithsdale]

I’m experiencing the same thing here. Just thought I was feeding more or winters were poorer grazing values.
What is it then shorter growing season? Wet got the better of the ground? General bad weather?

Only thing I can think of is the soil is wet for a lot longer. Drains work fine, but the ground sits with water - cold roots slowing growth maybe?


2015 we made over 2000 bales of silage on ground we normally only get 1100 from (we only got 700 off the same fields in 2013). We did nothing different in '15 than we normally do, so I don't think the ground is 'farm sick'. We have our own silage kit so bales were made the same.

 

[Jerry]

I was thinking that the other day, I don’t think iv topped a field for 3 years now.

Topper looks to be redundant here this year other than weed patches.

But need a late summer cut to wrap.

Numbers up 30% and growth rates improving.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

I've just had a look at when cows were housed over the last few years.
2013 22/11
2014 12/11
2015 15/11
2016 20/11
2017 20/11
2018 14/11
2019 25/10
2020 16/10

And in 2019 and 2020 they'd made a right mess outside and they are still in and will need feeding if they go out anytime soon .
So we're looking at more than an extra month of feeding and bedding which has a big cost.

 

[livestock 1]

Only thing I can think of is the soil is wet for a lot longer. Drains work fine, but the ground sits with water - cold roots slowing growth maybe?


2015 we made over 2000 bales of silage on ground we normally only get 1100 from (we only got 700 off the same fields in 2013). We did nothing different in '15 than we normally do, so I don't think the ground is 'farm sick'. We have our own silage kit so bales were made the same.

I think that’s what it is too. Ground is saturated for months then pans and is solid. Nothing in between. A contractor here keeps telling me he has a mole type subsoiler thing to lift the compaction. He says the results are very good

 

[Skintagain]

wet, sulphur, cattle and sheep have got bigger and heavier, so has tackle, 70’s 80’s were I’m told the hey day plenty of fert and plenty of lime and we have lived off it one way or another and it’s now mostly depleted. That’s my take on it.

 

[Skintagain]

Don't know how you keep going up north , pisses my off in the Midlands with some of the weather patterns we have .....

Don’t you get a bit warm?

 

[serf]

Don’t you get a bit warm?

Yep its tropical at times ......

 

[Optimus]

We were the same could grow grass no problem.I was told factories getting cleaner producing less sulphur has something to do with it.20 years ago we never had to any sulphur in fert.have to have it in now.

 

[Nithsdale]

We were the same could grow grass no problem.I was told factories getting cleaner producing less sulphur has something to do with it.20 years ago we never had to any sulphur in fert.have to have it in now.

I thought it was Chernobyl which gave all our grass good thrive

 

[sheepwise]

2 years?! You're kind!

I think we've had maybe 4 good years since 2010.

Winter '09-10 was the coldest for decades.
Winter 10-11 was equally as cold
The whole of 2011 and 2012 were fudgeing wet
2013 started wet with bad snows end of March, then drought til July
2014 was OK
2015 was OK
2016 was wet and a bit cold (not much grass before Highland show in late June)
2017 was OK
2018 Beast from the East then drought til August
2019 was OK but got fudgeing wet towards the end
2020 was fudgeing wet. Drought 3 months. Then fudgeing cold and fudgeing wet the rest of the year.
2021 hasn't thawed out yet and it's almost mid May.

Of all those I would say 2017 was by far the worst. A lot of harvest never got and 2nd cut silage uncut.

 

[Nithsdale]

Of all those I would say 2017 was by far the worst. A lot of harvest never got and 2nd cut silage uncut.

Did the autumn come in wet? I'm struggling to remember what that year did if I'm honest. I remember it was a pretty good spring but not much else which made me think it was 'OK'

2012 we had 7feet of rain. It was pretty bad. Poor quality silage which was dead and full of 2nd growth by time we could get it

 

[sheepwise]

Did the autumn come in wet? I'm struggling to remember what that year did if I'm honest. I remember it was a pretty good spring but not much else which made me think it was 'OK'

Never stopped raining from August to November.

 

[Al R]

Did the autumn come in wet? I'm struggling to remember what that year did if I'm honest. I remember it was a pretty good spring but not much else which made me think it was 'OK'

I thought it was good, wet a few days a week and dry the rest of the time I was spraying 3 days a week from may-September and had very few days not on blight

 

[quavers]

there a facebook page called go rural scotland where over the last few weeks they have gone onto farms and the farmers have done a half hour link telling you about there farms and sheep , seen a small clip where the farmer had lost 64 lambs last monday night , thought it was very honest of him to let the public know its not all sunshine and smiles for the tv cameras , going back later to watch the end of his stint .

 

[Purli R]

Was in a good mood when I started reading this thread,now I"m fekkin suicidal,but got to agree with most of it!