Drying out, again!

Haven't done a budget but I always seem to scrape through.

I need 300 decent bales on hand at the start of calving so if I get down to that before mid Feb then I'll dry off the last of the late calvers and feed whatever I can find. I've bought lots of hay and barely straw to feed to drys and when we need start feeding again it will be a 50:50 pke/silage mix upto Christmas.

It'll be fine....







....unless it snows in march again, whereupon you'll find me hiding in a corner crying.
Feck il be there with ya if we have last winter again
 

Agrispeed

Member
Location
Cornwall
Can I join the under the table club?

Put in enough forage rape and rye going in this week to helpfully graze the cows out during the day and kick them out and go mud blind when I dry off. If its wet again I'm not sure what I'll do, but I imagine a fair proportion of the farm will turn brown.

Currently got 2.6 bales a cow. Hoping to get to 4.5 by the end of the year, but grass just isn't growing. Hopefully I'll do 2nd cut soon:facepalm:
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
we cut 40 acres secound cut in lovely sun yesterday, bbc said rain saturday. so it bloody rained here today! will bale tomorow hopefully with sun. think we are currently 4 bales a cow but autum calving!

Feilds ploughed for rye corn, hope it may save us again, did this year! large amount of rape killed off.
 

The Agrarian

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northern Ireland
Your cutting silage on here all the time this year. Still cant make enough?

Well, yes. Had little rain from mid May to mid July when it should have been at peak growth. Second cut wasn't as heavy as usual, and third only did three proper weeks growing instead of six. Fourth coming ok, but the best of the season is well by. Our season is very near an end for growth up here, and it's a long time to April when grass starts to take off again.

Another small contributory factor was that I incorrectly chose to sow 37 acres of stubble in grass in early mid May, which produced nothing until august. I may just end up with enough silage, but no home grown straw this year. It's at best a standstill year for me, when I was looking to rebuild forage backup stocks. It could have been much much worse though.

he is feeding it 24/7;)
.

Is there any better purpose for silage that you can suggest?:scratchhead: .

:)
 
Can't see any significant rain in the forecast for Cornwall, which forecast did you see rain for Wednesday?
Its storm florence that is mid way across the Atlantic. I guess it will never make it, hence the low % figures
Screenshot_20180907-070846_Weather.jpg
 

jerseycowsman

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cornwall
Ok, when is all this weather gonna start effecting the production nationwide, haven't seen much of a drop yet?
What are your personal estimates for your own farm of percentage yield drop?
 
Ok, when is all this weather gonna start effecting the production nationwide, haven't seen much of a drop yet?
What are your personal estimates for your own farm of percentage yield drop?
Xmas when people pull their heads out the sand as they have just hit the back wall of the silage clamps? A lot of people who I speak to say head on sand is most common approach at the moment
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Ok, when is all this weather gonna start effecting the production nationwide, haven't seen much of a drop yet?
What are your personal estimates for your own farm of percentage yield drop?
We will have been 10% back on production for july/aug due to no grass to cut but back to where we should be now we are zero grazing again, winter production should be similar but its cost us 2ppl to maintain sufficient forage to see us through till June 19
 

The Agrarian

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northern Ireland
From experience of last year's poor conditions here, the reaction of farmers was to get the check book out early. Most farmers aren't that stupid I think. Many have already taken action.

Different areas warrant different reactions obviously. The only thing available to buy in any quantity in Northern Ireland is grass silage. Mind you it's just as well that rain came here in August, as last winter saw all those crappy bales of silage cleared up around the countryside.

You guys have a lot more pockets of arable crops in your counties than we have. I bet plenty has been wholecropped, or straw spoken for for dry cows.

A big difference is that meal price is going to be up on last year. Costs are just going to be high, but I've a feeling there'll still be milk produced.
 
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 4 2.2%

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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