Covid 19.. Milk price impact?

Location
East Mids
Damn cocksfoot is almost seen as a weed here, the cows graze around the stuff then it just gets strong and tufty. You couldn’t pay me to put it in a mix.
As long as you don't let it get too mature, they will eat it and as others have commented it is very good in a drought, regrowth will be 3 inches when ryegrass is a third of that. But I doubt you often have that problem in North Cumbria!
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
As long as you don't let it get too mature, they will eat it and as others have commented it is very good in a drought, regrowth will be 3 inches when ryegrass is a third of that. But I doubt you often have that problem in North Cumbria!
no problem getting them to eat it, if there's b-all else, they will eat it. And I am getting really pissy, reps and drought resistant leys, never used to get this problem, even 76 the grass just about kept going. Not only that, receding grass growth, means money spent on forage, i'm going to trawl through utube, and see what really dry areas grow, might find something.
 

Aircooled

Member
Location
co Antrim
Can't put a time on it to be honest. Always plough, but usually not in a hurry to do it inside 8-10 years. Grazing varieties here. All depends on what damage we've done in wet weather, or whether docks have had the upper hand at some point. Have one remaining field I haven't seen ploughed, and I'm forty, and it's consistently a top performer in silage, even though it was sowed all those years ago for paddock grazing. Won't be touching it if I can keep the docks in hand.

I only reseed if it is warranted. Time really has nothing to do with it.
My grazing ground lasts decades but not the silage ground. On the heavier land switch/scutch grass seem to come back gradually despite wholecrop etc. I do intend to use more grazing varieties all round but had also thought silage swards were suffering from not getting to seed.
 

Homesy

Member
Location
North West Devon
no problem getting them to eat it, if there's b-all else, they will eat it. And I am getting really pissy, reps and drought resistant leys, never used to get this problem, even 76 the grass just about kept going. Not only that, receding grass growth, means money spent on forage, i'm going to trawl through utube, and see what really dry areas grow, might find something.
Try looking on the cotswoldseeds website. They do dry land mixes.
 

Farmer Keith

Member
Location
North Cumbria
As long as you don't let it get too mature, they will eat it and as others have commented it is very good in a drought, regrowth will be 3 inches when ryegrass is a third of that. But I doubt you often have that problem in North Cumbria!

There seems to be plenty of dry moments on this farm and you’re not wrong it grows well in a drought but I have to starve the cows to get them to graze it down. It must work better as a monoculture.
 

The Agrarian

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northern Ireland
My grazing ground lasts decades but not the silage ground. On the heavier land switch/scutch grass seem to come back gradually despite wholecrop etc. I do intend to use more grazing varieties all round but had also thought silage swards were suffering from not getting to seed.

They are more likely to suffer from being let seed. Worst thing for grass is two cut silage.
 

Aircooled

Member
Location
co Antrim
Agree, even though the old boys don't. Lifted first cut for a boy 1st week of July last year. 2nd crop, waist high, with a lot of Timothy in it. Looks thin and miserable this year . Maybe the tradition was for open swards with stem to get dry silage with a double chop etc.
 

The Agrarian

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northern Ireland
The tradition I think came from hay. The idea that you could make hay, but it wouldn't have to be dried to a crisp, must have been a revolution at time. You're right that it would have suited double chop better, as the stuff we cut now would have run away down the yard.?
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
The tradition I think came from hay. The idea that you could make hay, but it wouldn't have to be dried to a crisp, must have been a revolution at time. You're right that it would have suited double chop better, as the stuff we cut now would have run away down the yard.?
at least, when we made pp hay, the ground was covered in seed, not sure I want to feed that to dairy though, but there has to be some middle ground ! This is money wasting,
Just worked out 2019/20 milk price, 30.88 ppl we can go a bit with that, but buying forage kills it!
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I've had my April milk invoice now and it works out as 12.2 p/litre overall. About half my milk seems to have been sold at contract price with the other half at 5p/litre. That's after haulage, obviously.
Anyone want to buy 150 top quality dairy cattle, a large proportion confirmed in-calf with as many as 50 to sexed premium Genus bulls? I know many have not had price reductions so may like the opportunity.
All vaccinated for years for BVD Lepto and Salmonella [latest salmonella vaccine in the fridge ready to administer] and monitored Johnnes free.
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
no problem getting them to eat it, if there's b-all else, they will eat it. And I am getting really pissy, reps and drought resistant leys, never used to get this problem, even 76 the grass just about kept going. Not only that, receding grass growth, means money spent on forage, i'm going to trawl through utube, and see what really dry areas grow, might find something.
Lucerne.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
no problem getting them to eat it, if there's b-all else, they will eat it. And I am getting really pissy, reps and drought resistant leys, never used to get this problem, even 76 the grass just about kept going. Not only that, receding grass growth, means money spent on forage, i'm going to trawl through utube, and see what really dry areas grow, might find something.

Had a look they suggest this.


1590205073889.png


Sorry I know its no help.
I do wonder if traditionally fairly wet areas may need to look at irrigation in the future as the climate changes.
 

Milkcow365

Member
Location
Sw Scotland
I've had my April milk invoice now and it works out as 12.2 p/litre overall. About half my milk seems to have been sold at contract price with the other half at 5p/litre. That's after haulage, obviously.
Anyone want to buy 150 top quality dairy cattle, a large proportion confirmed in-calf with as many as 50 to sexed premium Genus bulls? I know many have not had price reductions so may like the opportunity.
All vaccinated for years for BVD Lepto and Salmonella [latest salmonella vaccine in the fridge ready to administer] and monitored Johnnes free.
Have you applied for bounce back loan? I know it’s more debt but it’s always an option if you want to fair long term,
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
we have actually grown it, as a pure stand, brilliant, on our driest ground, no bother. But as we are on a limited acreage, we were growing maize as well, leaving us short of grass ! Have heard of it being grown as part of a grazing ley, but on our tight grazing system, not sure it would last, anyone trying it ? I know it sounds daft, but some of the fields that were pp, over the last 30 yrs brought them under the plough, probably a wrong move, as they always produced a good crop of hay, plus grazing !
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
I've had my April milk invoice now and it works out as 12.2 p/litre overall. About half my milk seems to have been sold at contract price with the other half at 5p/litre. That's after haulage, obviously.
Anyone want to buy 150 top quality dairy cattle, a large proportion confirmed in-calf with as many as 50 to sexed premium Genus bulls? I know many have not had price reductions so may like the opportunity.
All vaccinated for years for BVD Lepto and Salmonella [latest salmonella vaccine in the fridge ready to administer] and monitored Johnnes free.
there is very little one can say, its disgusting, and I sympathise with you, we couldn't really stand it, and I hope you can find a sensible way through. I accept this crisis, was completely un-expected, but other than, a week, this should have been sorted, between the buyers. I also think those buyers, who dropped price, have sold a lot of milk on, for a profit, ethics don't apply to them.
 

Sid

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South Molton
there is very little one can say, its disgusting, and I sympathise with you, we couldn't really stand it, and I hope you can find a sensible way through. I accept this crisis, was completely un-expected, but other than, a week, this should have been sorted, between the buyers. I also think those buyers, who dropped price, have sold a lot of milk on, for a profit, ethics don't apply to them.
Imagine doing that to the feed or fert company, actually markets dropped, I am only going to pay you 15% of last years price.
 

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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