Forage crops

[exmoor dave]

Kale/rape/st mix that was sown last few days of July. Photo taken a month ago.
View attachment 589564 Original plan was to put lambs on it but 45ac of flea beetle ravaged stubble turnips has forced us to have a wee rethink. Some lambs may appear on it but majority will be kept for the ewes in run up to lambing. Had a walk through it this morning and a bit of damage appearing here. Maybe it's too far on to hurt it and just cosmeticall View attachment 589566View attachment 589568
Worst picture is from the outside 2m and is a lot worse there compared to the inside of the field. Anyone?

Same here on the outside of the field, I assumed slugs but I don't know to be honest.

 

[neilo]

Kale/rape/st mix that was sown last few days of July. Photo taken a month ago.
View attachment 589564 Original plan was to put lambs on it but 45ac of flea beetle ravaged stubble turnips has forced us to have a wee rethink. Some lambs may appear on it but majority will be kept for the ewes in run up to lambing. Had a walk through it this morning and a bit of damage appearing here. Maybe it's too far on to hurt it and just cosmeticall View attachment 589566View attachment 589568
Worst picture is from the outside 2m and is a lot worse there compared to the inside of the field. Anyone?

That will probably be slug damage, where they’ve crawled out of the hedge (some expert reckoned we shouldn’t spread slug pellets near field boundaries). The crop’s way past it causing any problems now though.

I have a field where the outside 2m are about like that, but grey slugs happily munching all over the field. Not worth doing anything now, but duly noted for potential problems in next Spring’s cropping there (likely beet).

 

[Jim75]

I thought it would be but never sure especially after loosing the st's. Just the odd patch in the centre of the field.

 

[ollie989898]

Kale/rape/st mix that was sown last few days of July. Photo taken a month ago.
View attachment 589564 Original plan was to put lambs on it but 45ac of flea beetle ravaged stubble turnips has forced us to have a wee rethink. Some lambs may appear on it but majority will be kept for the ewes in run up to lambing. Had a walk through it this morning and a bit of damage appearing here. Maybe it's too far on to hurt it and just cosmeticall View attachment 589566View attachment 589568
Worst picture is from the outside 2m and is a lot worse there compared to the inside of the field. Anyone?

Leave that alone, the stuff is waaay to big to be hit at any risk from slugs now.

Slugs will take out a crop in the establishment phase, when it is about 4 leaves or less. Normally, if you haven't seen much damage by that point, it will be running away from them.

I know farmers like to deal in absolutes but there is never an absolute certainty that X or Y will strike a crop. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't there is no rhyme or reason to much of it.

If you want a cleaning crop and a lot of tonnage you can grow fodder beet but you will need a sprayer or a man who is willing to spray them. I liked growing beet a lot, the harvesting can be a PITA but grazing in situ removes all that grief.

 

[Kevtherev]

Rape kale stubble turnips mix

 

[charlie77]

How would any of these crops do on rough hilly ground with not much soil on it? Would have to be disced and direct drilled

 

[digger64]

Just a daily break. Just like pasture really, you tell fwouldn't residual as to how they're doing, if they're eating it "to the boards" then they need more.
It worked out 5kg of bale and about 7kg of crop factoring in wasteage, which of course you can't get around. (12kg/DM/cow/day intake)
If you notice the cut fencelines, I'd go in weekly with the tractor and mow tracks with a topper/slasher and lift up the bales and cut the bottoms out (and take the net off the bottom 8 inches or so) then you don't end up with heaps of shite wrapped around the rotorspike.
Thats how it was planted, a discing and then a rotospike with airseeder unit, very cost effective. About £450/ha???
Cheap drymatter. Wintered 720 cows and 160 r2s 160 r1s and 30 jersey bulls in total.

I done this for a few years now , but have always used direct /strip till then big flat grass roller for kale in after silage grass wouldnt fancy this in winter on a cultivated seedbed though also would loose moisture at drilling , but still have to put sumo thingy through for next crop though !
I'm suprised you break up the turf tbh

 

[Jim75]

How would any of these crops do on rough hilly ground with not much soil on it? Would have to be disced and direct drilled

No reason why not, some of ours is at 650ft in shallow soils but was worked rather than direct drilled. Sure there's some in the borders at 1000ft putting it in and getting a decent crop.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I done this for a few years now , but have always used direct /strip till then big flat grass roller for kale in after silage grass wouldnt fancy this in winter on a cultivated seedbed though also would loose moisture at drilling , but still have to put sumo thingy through for next crop though !
I'm suprised you break up the turf tbh

Yes, cultivation is really only good for nailing slugs/springtails, and helping the cows plough it a few inches deeper!

 

[Stockbeare]

Stubble turnips rape mix spun out on top of uncut wheat on the 23 of August, unsure if it would come to any thing but pleased with the result

 

[Green and Gold]

Just a daily break. Just like pasture really, you tell from the residual as to how they're doing, if they're eating it "to the boards" then they need more.
It worked out 5kg of bale and about 7kg of crop factoring in wasteage, which of course you can't get around. (12kg/DM/cow/day intake)
If you notice the cut fencelines, I'd go in weekly with the tractor and mow tracks with a topper/slasher and lift up the bales and cut the bottoms out (and take the net off the bottom 8 inches or so) then you don't end up with heaps of shite wrapped around the rotorspike.
Thats how it was planted, a discing and then a rotospike with airseeder unit, very cost effective. About £450/ha???
Cheap drymatter. Wintered 720 cows and 160 r2s 160 r1s and 30 jersey bulls in total.

^^ How many ha wintered all stock?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

^^ How many ha wintered all stock?

Just trying to remember. 100 per mob give or take, 800 square metres per day..
So .56ha per 100 per week - 50ha maybe?
Based around a ten week dry period, not enough anyway, because we ran out at the start of calving!!
If I had been in charge of it, at least 6 ha per hundred cows, pretty expensive mistake to scrimp on it, and then hold up the lactation.
He was a hard boss to try and talk into anything, really
But the 8sq.m per animal per day worked out right as far as intake went

 

[cattleman123]

Just trying to remember. 100 per mob give or take, 800 square metres per day..
So .56ha per 100 per week - 50ha maybe?
Based around a ten week dry period, not enough anyway, because we ran out at the start of calving!!
If I had been in charge of it, at least 6 ha per hundred cows, pretty expensive mistake to scrimp on it, and then hold up the lactation.
He was a hard boss to try and talk into anything, really
But the 8sq.m per animal per day worked out right as far as intake went

So while your all in the calculation mode...how long will 30 acres of keeper kale ..its a good crop last with store lambs...for ease was going to split 2 x 15 acre fields .been told 400 lambs for approx. 2mths

 

[Kiwi Pete]

So while your all in the calculation mode...how long will 30 acres of keeper kale ..its a good crop last with store lambs...for ease was going to split 2 x 15 acre fields .been told 400 lambs for approx. 2mths

In metric mode (to which I'm accustomed to working stuff out, now)
30 ac is 12 hectares?
Say 10 Ton DM/ha =120+TDM (allows for wasteage)
400 lambs × 2kg? Intake? Will you have baleage too? = 800 kg per day, say 5.5 TDM per week.
That works out over 21 weeks this way!
So you should have plenty, depends a lot on utilisation, yield etc
We just measured yield with the old 'hoop+scoop' - make a 1 square metre circle out of alkathene, fling it out, cut the crop off and weigh it in a bag, divide by the DM% and the result will be yield/hectare.
Fairly safe to count on a ten ton crop where we were. Often over 12 but then utilisation drops off, with more stem left.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

In saying that, have no real idea what your yield will be- if 6T then you'd still have over the 2 months.

 

[cattleman123]

In saying that, have no real idea what your yield will be- if 6T then you'd still have over the 2 months.

Well its a good crop so if I work on say 9 ton...its a good guide ..of course it depends on wastage and that's a lot to do with the weather ..Thanks

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Well its a good crop so if I work on say 9 ton...its a good guide ..of course it depends on wastage and that's a lot to do with the weather ..Thanks

No worries at all - I'm not actually much of a metrics man usually, but it makes the math on this sort of task really easy.. if you asked me to work it out any other way I'd be completely buggered!!
But, I'd say if you have too much crop then you won't be too unhappy - looking like a long winter for you guys.
And yes, winter store lambs should be wasting plenty if you want good growth.

 

[cattleman123]

No worries at all - I'm not actually much of a metrics man usually, but it makes the math on this sort of task really easy.. if you asked me to work it out any other way I'd be completely buggered!!
But, I'd say if you have too much crop then you won't be too unhappy - looking like a long winter for you guys.
And yes, winter store lambs should be wasting plenty if you want good growth.

Yes to thrive and perform well they will possibly be wasting a bit,last year I learnt that with rape and turnips ,didt waste a bean but performance was disappointing.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Yes to thrive and perform well they will possibly be wasting a bit,last year I learnt that with rape and turnips ,didt waste a bean but performance was disappointing.

I took over feeding a bunch of stores that had been on beet and what a shitshow that is.
The girl who had been shifting fences obviously thought they should be cleaning up the bulbs as they went- severely checking the lambs
Some had lost kilos over winter, not ideal, now I'm trying desperately to get them up to spec before they all cut teeth
So yep, either go for a nice mix of stuff like IRG rape kale and clover, or put ewes on the beet, is what I've suggested to the boss man or, still have the beet, but don't push the lambs too hard into it, get some calves/cows to follow, or something like that.
Bit of a shame to see how an expensive crop like beet can be made into an expensive mistake by not feeding it off correctly!!
Have seen similar performance woes on that giant kale, too, folk trying to force cows to eat axehandles with the nutritional value of cardboard just plough it in!!!

You have to treat lambs like fussy babies, they have years ahead for cleaning up their plate...

(I'm not insulting your intelligence, by telling you how to suck eggs - just aware how many folk use these threads for reference )

 

[digger64]

I took over fedie as a bunch of stores that had been on beet and what a shitshow that is.
The girl who had been shifting fences obviously thought they should be cleaning up the bulbs as they went- severely checking the lambs
Some had lost kilos over winter, not ideal, now I'm trying desperately to get them up to spec before they all cut teeth
So yep, either go for a nice mix of stuff like IRG rape kale and clover, or put ewes on the beet, is what I've suggested to the boss man or, still have the beet, but don't push the lambs too hard into it, get some calves/cows to follow, or something like that.
Bit of a shame to see how an expensive crop like beet can be made into an expensive mistake by not feeding it off correctly!!
Have seen similar performance woes on that giant kale, too, folk trying to force cows to eat axehandles with the nutritional value of cardboard just plough it in!!!

You have to treat lambs like fussy babies, they have years ahead for cleaning up their plate...

(I'm not insulting your intelligence, by telling you how to suck eggs - just aware how many folk use these threads for reference )

When we used graze sugar beet tops sometimes because of violet disease or value we grazed unharvested beet , the ewes never did as well on this to hard and the ground got foul from them being there to long ,does this happen with fodder beet ?