forage situation

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
we put 20 out with baby calves on 10th april but just in a 3 acre field with a silage feeder in.

I winter mine out, but am always grateful when they start to ignore the silage bales and go for the new growth instead. From checking my records, last silage bale was 3rd April, and solidly ignored by them until I eventually dumped it onto the midden.
 

Old Spot

Member
Location
Glos
I live in Gloucestershire mixed farm 50/50
Mob graze cattle, had good feed until mid July. The drought caused me to conserve less and start buffering with winter feed.i bought half of my winter forage in (normally 20%) luckily I had a 24 acre field of winter cover 10 species but by feb mainly stubble turnips, cows out on 6th feb took just over six weeks to eat it with barley straw. This saved my bacon this year! Cows back in mid March to calve, as they calved back out on grass. It is different farming down here compared to the frozen north, but all come with their challenges. Running out of feed is the stuff of nightmares (I have a few).
 

dowcow

Member
Location
Lancashire
In reply to Highland Mule: Whereabouts in Lancs are you?

Fylde coast. It's flat and not much above sea level. Actually some areas are probably below sea level as there's a great sea wall that was built to stop the area flooding with big tides. Some very deep ditches pumped out to sea and ditches around every field as a matter of course around here.
 

muleman

Member
I live in Gloucestershire mixed farm 50/50
Mob graze cattle, had good feed until mid July. The drought caused me to conserve less and start buffering with winter feed.i bought half of my winter forage in (normally 20%) luckily I had a 24 acre field of winter cover 10 species but by feb mainly stubble turnips, cows out on 6th feb took just over six weeks to eat it with barley straw. This saved my bacon this year! Cows back in mid March to calve, as they calved back out on grass. It is different farming down here compared to the frozen north, but all come with their challenges. Running out of feed is the stuff of nightmares (I have a few).
I thought quite a few in the south mustve outwintered them...probably more grass in winter than summer down there on a year like last year.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
reading these posts, makes me realise how lucky we are down in the west country. dairy out 21 feb, day and night 15 march. paddocks been grazed twice,now cutting them for a heavy cut for silage today. un-grazed paddocks cut for 2nd time today, maize in, and whole crop looking good. certainly going to appreciate more
 
8 months for us, never again less cows this year. Still can’t believe the difference a year makes, our cows just go out as they calve and last year we took silage with them , this year they are standing in grass.
I have no more grass on the higher ground than this time last year probably less. The inbye land is much better though and cattle turned out at least a month earlier and out a month longer last backend. It’s been a great lambing here but cold and kisney quite short of grass for the time of year.
 

muleman

Member
reading these posts, makes me realise how lucky we are down in the west country. dairy out 21 feb, day and night 15 march. paddocks been grazed twice,now cutting them for a heavy cut for silage today. un-grazed paddocks cut for 2nd time today, maize in, and whole crop looking good. certainly going to appreciate more
just taking sheep out of our mowing ground today.....usually take them out 1st june so things are a little further forward this year
 
Location
Devon
I know it’s your area but I couldn’t keep cows if they had to be housed this long...can’t stand them inside

I was on a farm today, 100 suckler cows and 98 10 month old calves still suckling them!

All still inside as doesn't think he has enough grass to turn them out into, buying in round bale silage at £31 bale and using 6 bales a day! also buying straw and cake for the calves.

Cows came in on the 16th Oct last autumn!

Making work/ costs for the sake of it!
 
I was on a farm today, 100 suckler cows and 98 10 month old calves still suckling them!

All still inside as doesn't think he has enough grass to turn them out into, buying in round bale silage at £31 bale and using 6 bales a day! also buying straw and cake for the calves.

Cows came in on the 16th Oct last autumn!

Making work/ costs for the sake of it!
You can’t run a livestock farm and look at the profit/loss on a one year basis. You need to average it out over the last four years to get a realistic idea
 
Location
Cleveland
I was on a farm today, 100 suckler cows and 98 10 month old calves still suckling them!

All still inside as doesn't think he has enough grass to turn them out into, buying in round bale silage at £31 bale and using 6 bales a day! also buying straw and cake for the calves.

Cows came in on the 16th Oct last autumn!

Making work/ costs for the sake of it!
Sounds like a road to ruin
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,289
  • 1
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/
Top