Feet - an alternative discussion

[thethreecowguy]

Nobody came back regards how to test grassland for Magnesium deficiency,this is an important Trace element because if your grass is short it cannot make full use of Sunlight to make Chlorophyll, this allows grass to absorb energy from the Sun ,the sun's energy is the only thing all farmers get for free, so although Magnesium is very cheap it is very important to the general health of all your grass and animals, so how do you test for this at home, tell me how you do this, and then we will move on together to avoid bad feet in your cattle,as for Agric 's question all grass is as good as the soil it grows in, poor soil =poor grass, no need to go too scientific,scientists and Bankers are not any good as practical farmers, enough said there I think, so come back with your answer, The Three Cow guy

 

[Durry cows]

@thethreecowguy I am 60 years your junior and uneducated so please can you share some of your knowledge rather than belittle us as we have not yet heard any useful information or ways to go about testing for different trace elements. You make out we know very little yet offer no information yourself, I would be very interested if you could write a paragraph to explain how to test for different trace elements and how this reflects in the diets we feed so we can improve our cattle's feet that would be much appreciated

 

[Agric]

I can't see how you think that there is no need to get too scientific, you seem to just throw random statements out there with no evidence and often conflicting with others you have made. I'm sure there are many valid points you make but to me it seems like no one can decipher them from the riddles. Instead of waffling on why not just explain things clearly and give people some answers.

In a previous post you said "your cows will milk or fatten much better once you have got your Trace Elements bang to rights in your grass land, the T E's will then be correct in all your forage at all times, trust me", I've done some reading around, even some of those scary scientific works and this just isn't true. Selenium content varies throughout the year with changes in temp and rainfall. Magnesium content of plants is considerably varied too, with deep rooting ones eg clover and chicory having higher concentrations than ryegrass.

 

[Ducati899]

An 82 year old who uses the word banter and calls people "pal"......your my hero [emoji106]

 

[cfr1964]

An 82 year old who uses the word banter and calls people "pal"......your my hero [emoji106]

An 82 year old who's profile page says he was born in 1967

 

[Ducati899]

on a serious note though my cows eat a bloody lot and still spend a good amount of time led down,5200 litres from forage tells me that what I'm feeding is pretty damn good quality food,something tells me you've got an axe to grind somewhere with someone,sure your not one of these modern day farming protesting tree huggers?

 

[Milkextractiontechnician]

 

[thethreecowguy]

To Durry cows, I mentioned that farm animals chew on coloured plastic string because they know that they are short of Selenium, I also said they eat newspaper to get Cobalt, so calves also know this, any grass that is short of Magnesium will green up considerably when sprayed with Epsom salts dissolved in water,try this on a small patch to see for yourself, grass takes in Magnesium immediately through the leaves but very slowly through the roots, try one quarter tea spoon dissolved in two gallons of water, spray this as sparingly as possible, once the weather warms up a bit, the results you see will help to convince you that the answers all lie in your soils naturally. To Agric,You mow your forage when the soils are fairly warm,so any T E's present are available in your crops, trees are deeper rooted than herbs, that is also why cows browse on the lower branches and also on hedges, goats never eat grass if they got deep rooted weeds to browse on, they always look well and shiny, I have never seen a goat over fat I dont think, animals on a proper and accurate food regime should never suffer with bad feet or have any difficult calvings, so think on, I will deal with the other six trace elements shortly. My profile was wrong I was born in 1933 hence my age, I have no axe to grind whatsoever, I do this because it does not cost me anything really, when busy I am not spending anything somewhere else either, thats another secret. The three cow guy

 

[Milkextractiontechnician]

If any body is in a rush for all this knowledge, you could just by his book!!!

 

[buffalo_soldier]

If any body is in a rush for all this knowledge, you could just by his book!!!

Boo, I was waiting to do that.

http://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/farming-for-better-profitability.37264/

http://www.carmarthenjournal.co.uk/Businessman-defies-docs-pen-book/story-25851942-detail/story.html

 

[DaveGrohl]

I can't see how you think that there is no need to get too scientific, you seem to just throw random statements out there with no evidence and often conflicting with others you have made. I'm sure there are many valid points you make but to me it seems like no one can decipher them from the riddles. Instead of waffling on why not just explain things clearly and give people some answers.

In a previous post you said "your cows will milk or fatten much better once you have got your Trace Elements bang to rights in your grass land, the T E's will then be correct in all your forage at all times, trust me", I've done some reading around, even some of those scary scientific works and this just isn't true. Selenium content varies throughout the year with changes in temp and rainfall. Magnesium content of plants is considerably varied too, with deep rooting ones eg clover and chicory having higher concentrations than ryegrass.

Seriously Agric, the vagueness of his posts is breathtaking. Stuff like plants need Mg for chlorophyll is such a general comment it isn't even worth making but he's using these to sound like he has some guru-like higher intelligence. We were told we had too much Mg in our cows' forage a couple of years ago and it might interfere with other nutrient availability in the diet.

I know it's all very well meaning and I'm sure he's trying to impart any knowledge he has but come on, there's nothing to be gained from this thread. You're all just encouraging him. This thread is going nowhere.

Btw I know I said I was out (!) but I only popped back in to see if you were all waiting for pearls of wisdom. You still are.

 

[thethreecowguy]

Well well the milk technican guy rumbled me, he must have had my book somehow, but no comment on same so far, Dave grohl seems rather impatient as well, perhaps he would like to think back and tell us how or why he had too much Magnesium in his fodder,then we can discuss this sensibly, firstly for the general good of those poor cows suffering with bad feet, and secondly for the general good of all that keep live stock or farm animals. Nobody has tried to talk about their problems, or what they are doing about it, so here's the bottom line, cows get bad feet because they are eating too much expensive unnatural food, and are therefore too heavy on their feet, we need to know why they need to stuff themselves, and put things right for them, I myself made a living on a very small acreage by selling good sound breeding stock to people like you, and that was not easy for the first few years, and this only after putting my soils right first, as for the book in the photo, don't worry about that, it is selling very well, it even tells you how to buy better stock, one farmer's wife told me only today, that it is the first book that her husband has ever read, and he is now reading it for the second time!, if I carry on with this thread it will be because some one has asked me to,
Remember as you go round your cows and sheep, the first thing you need to note is how many are lying down, to do this you need to see them before they see or hear you approaching, good luck to you all, The three cow guy.

 

[The Ruminant]

Well well the milk technican guy rumbled me, he must have had my book somehow, but no comment on same so far, Dave grohl seems rather impatient as well, perhaps he would like to think back and tell us how or why he had too much Magnesium in his fodder,then we can discuss this sensibly, firstly for the general good of those poor cows suffering with bad feet, and secondly for the general good of all that keep live stock or farm animals. Nobody has tried to talk about their problems, or what they are doing about it, so here's the bottom line, cows get bad feet because they are eating too much expensive unnatural food, and are therefore too heavy on their feet, we need to know why they need to stuff themselves, and put things right for them, I myself made a living on a very small acreage by selling good sound breeding stock to people like you, and that was not easy for the first few years, and this only after putting my soils right first, as for the book in the photo, don't worry about that, it is selling very well, it even tells you how to buy better stock, one farmer's wife told me only today, that it is the first book that her husband has ever read, and he is now reading it for the second time!, if I carry on with this thread it will be because some one has asked me to,
Remember as you go round your cows and sheep, the first thing you need to note is how many are lying down, to do this you need to see them before they see or hear you approaching, good luck to you all, The three cow guy.

I've read your book and thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you. What I liked about it was that it was full of practical experience learnt from a lifetime of farming and careful observation.

Given how interesting it was, I've found your posts on here quite frustrating at times as you can sound like you're patronising us all. I'm sure you don't mean to but if you could be more direct and less enigmatic I'm sure people would respond better.

Anyone who has started with nothing, like you did, and has built a successful business through nous, hard work and sheer doggedness has a lot to teach us. I always find old farmers' tales fascinating and always feel they've nuggets of wisdom which are invaluable to understanding how nature and farming work hand in hand.

 

[Durry cows]

Thank you @thethreecowguy I have since ordered your book and look forward to reading it, I will get back to you once I've finished

 

[Clay52]

Still hasn't given us any actual information. Just circular questioning. im willing to listen to alternative ideas but answering everything with a question gets old very quick.

 

[Ducati899]

Still hasn't given us any actual information. Just circular questioning. im willing to listen to alternative ideas but answering everything with a question gets old very quick.

If you want the answers you know what to ask for this Christmas [emoji6]

 

[Clay52]

If you want the answers you know what to ask for this Christmas [emoji6]

I think I'm ok. If it reads anything like this thread I won't make it past the first page.

I like theories backed by reason, evidence, figures, research ect. The mystical cow whisperer type answers don't really do it for me.

 

[thethreecowguy]

To Clay 52, a valuable new member, if you look back through the thread, I think you will find that no one has asked any questions, they seem to know it all, but they still got cows with bad feet, The three cow guy.

 

[thethreecowguy]

Somebody tell me please, what do you think is the main cause of all the foot trouble suffered by milking cows, I beleive that I know that cows can produce more milk and that without developing bad feet, tell me what you think, and perhaps we can move on, the three cow guy.

 

[Durry cows]

1. Breeding ie some holsteins with soft white feet
2. Environmental factors ie not everyone can afford a palace so uneven concrete
3. Bullying or damage when bulling or twisting when turning
4. Weather factors ie foul from wet ground
5. Stones in between claws
6.digital dermatitis

The list goes on it is not just feed and nutrition although admittedly this is important