Dry 2022

[crashbox]

Sheep farm next-doors hasn't had sheep on it since mid May and currently has less grass than me.

Why? Bad fertility?

Summers have been getting wetter till this one outlier year, don’t make rash decisions based on such thin evidence.
Springs have been drier, but not summers

Not here. 4 out of 5 have been drought prone, and farm has been dust. Hence moving to Autumn block.

Very much depends where you are.

 

[sidjon]

Why? Bad fertility?

Thin soil over limestone , just gives up after 10 days of dry weather, they have got flood meadows which are slightly green, but they moved them off to a wetter farm for the time being.

 

[celtis man]

Dunno last year we had a dry old scat , it's the wind that is a big problem drying any rain we do get .
It makes growing spring crops a real headache

 

[jerseycowsman]

They’ve started mentioning some rain in the long range forecast for next week!

 

[som farmer]

They’ve started mentioning some rain in the long range forecast for next week!

you do realise that they lie quite often ?
be interesting, or infuriating, to see the % right to wrong.
but we would surely love some rain.

 

[jerseycowsman]

you do realise that they lie quite often ?
be interesting, or infuriating, to see the % right to wrong.
but we would surely love some rain.

Yes, they were very cautious, and it wasn’t just a normal low pressure moving in off the Atlantic, it was sshowery! So could be bugger all still

 

[Beef farmer]

When moisture is out the ground from the north it will be found.
It needs to come down from up north not in from the west.

 

[som farmer]

When moisture is out the ground from the north it will be found.
It needs to come down from up north not in from the west.

it needs to come down, full stop !
what worries me, is the amount we need, to recharge everything to get back to normal, whatever normal might be.
Perhaps the green zealots are right, these hot dry summers, might be the new normal, and just as likely p1ss down all next year.
We have had a rough time, the lack of moisture is one thing, but the killer for us, is the hot wind, just drags the moisture out of our slopes.
But, still have our herbs, and cocksfoot, that are still providing a high DM bite, and green.

 

[jondear]

Now this week the burn is really on!
feeding cows tonight !

 

[som farmer]

plantain and (1) chicory plants, last to give up, we might just give up, if this is the new normal
this is a really dry ground, if it was all grass, there wouldn't be anything, even the clovers dead. But it does go to show, herbs can make a positive effect, the plantain has self seeded over the two years its been in, so plenty of plantain, and clover seed, ready to go, when it rains again. Last

bottom pic, the last time we grazed it,
the middle one first grazing of the year
reckon its dry, we do look greener than some around here though.

 

[In the pit]

Ran a herd on Dorset chalk back in the nooghties .fed silage for 6/8 weeks 8 years out of the 10 ,so the only difference now is back then temp would be 25/30 degrees every day whereas this year you’ll get 30+ degrees for a few days and then temp will drop to low 20s.
Back then made big first cut ,and second cut would be into autumn after the rains and winter ration made up of maize grown away from the farm
Never bothered trying to make a normal second cut unless there was a lot of rain about
Fields were prg /white clover leys and I’m talking 30/35 % white clover which looked like 100% wc and stopped ground heating up (highest ground temp I measured was 26 degrees , clover gives up at 25 ,prg at 21
The one thing we did was never run out of grass ,and that was because we got onto an 80/90 day rotation very early and made sure cows had silage at night and grass by day
People keep saying if this is the “ norm” but this was happening 20 yrs ago
The only difference this year was lack of moisture through the end of last year and through the spring meant moisture levels were already behind

 

[crashbox]

Ran a herd on Dorset chalk back in the nooghties .fed silage for 6/8 weeks 8 years out of the 10 ,so the only difference now is back then temp would be 25/30 degrees every day whereas this year you’ll get 30+ degrees for a few days and then temp will drop to low 20s.
Back then made big first cut ,and second cut would be into autumn after the rains and winter ration made up of maize grown away from the farm
Never bothered trying to make a normal second cut unless there was a lot of rain about
Fields were prg /white clover leys and I’m talking 30/35 % white clover which looked like 100% wc and stopped ground heating up (highest ground temp I measured was 26 degrees , clover gives up at 25 ,prg at 21
The one thing we did was never run out of grass ,and that was because we got onto an 80/90 day rotation very early and made sure cows had silage at night and grass by day
People keep saying if this is the “ norm” but this was happening 20 yrs ago
The only difference this year was lack of moisture through the end of last year and through the spring meant moisture levels were already behind

What calving pattern?

 

[In the pit]

Spring ,everything out wintered

 

[In the pit]

I see a lot of pictures of “herbs “ here and there and it just looks like bits of green here and there
You have 30/35 % wc and most early mornings through the summer your boots would get wet walking through it
Most fields looked like it had snowed on them they were white over and washing the parlour out would be covered in clover seed having been through the cow
The big difference back then was a bag of seed had 10 kgs prg along with 1 kg Timothy ? And 4 kgs wc of varying sizes which perhaps someone can explain to me why there’s only a kilo now when you want 30/35 % wc

 

[nails]

I see a lot of pictures of “herbs “ here and there and it just looks like bits of green here and there
You have 30/35 % wc and most early mornings through the summer your boots would get wet walking through it
Most fields looked like it had snowed on them they were white over and washing the parlour out would be covered in clover seed having been through the cow
The big difference back then was a bag of seed had 10 kgs prg along with 1 kg Timothy ? And 4 kgs wc of varying sizes which perhaps someone can explain to me why there’s only a kilo now when you want 30/35 % wc

White clover might be growing where you are but it has given up here and last year we had carpets of the stuff. Too hot and too dry and that is all there is to it.

 

[In the pit]

On 8/10 inches of chalk never had it give up but as I said the only difference this year is lack of rain through the early part iof the year

 

[In the pit]

White clover might be growing where you are but it has given up here and last year we had carpets of the stuff. Too hot and too dry and that is all there is to it.

And what rotation length were you on or did you strip the farm bare int the first month of it being dry

 

[In the pit]

The only pictures I’ve seen on here with someone with masses of clover was @Sid

 

[Sid]

The only pictures I’ve seen on here with someone with masses of clover was @Sid

Some heifers on rough grazing

Cows grass last week at home.
Once the cover is gone it's slow to come.back but is growing still.

Talk of rain at weekend

 

[sidjon]

And what rotation length were you on or did you strip the farm bare int the first month of it being dry

Don't think it would make a difference of I was on a 100 day plus round, noticed the trees are starting to go brown here now, but youngstock farm still green, yet 2 miles apart with totally different soils, will bonce back and hopefully before I've eaten all the winter stocks.