'Grazing' with a forage wagon

[Scholsey]

I know its been mentioned before but who does it or has done it and stopped/changed for a reason?

We are entering into our last stage of organic conversion end of april so have to stop feeding the rocket fuel maize we have, to carry on getting the DM volume and energy into the cows we have invested in a forage wagon to allow us to feed high quality fresh cut grass aswell as letting them loaf outside on paddocks close to the building (robots).

We tried one for a week or so last summer and seemed to work really well despite variable conditions although think compaction is going to be something i will be very familiar with by the end of the season.

 

[pappuller]

we played with it for two months last year, couldn't get it to work here biggest issues were time and fertility drop. but robot guy 5 miles from here been on all grass and av 6 kg cake/day for two seasons av milk 30kg works really well for him, we may revisit it in the future, I can send you his no if you wanted a chat

 

[Scholsey]

Why the fertility drop? Must be a nutritional reason for it, surely it's the same grass whether they eat it in the field or from a feed passage if it's fed fresh?

 

[pappuller]

Dunno why, preg rate dropped for a two mnth period for services may/june when we were zerograzing, we eased back on the tmr gradually but it just didnt seem to work here things gradually improved and fertility is now better than before the grass.

 

[More to life]

@Beef farmer

 

[Beef farmer]

Robots and zero grazing go together like hand and glove. Problem with zero grazing is holding fat% up.
We shall start Monday.
Why will you bother letting her out to loaf?

 

[jimmer]

Robots and zero grazing go together like hand and glove. Problem with zero grazing is holding fat% up.
We shall start Monday.
Why will you bother letting her out to loaf?

organic

 

[jimmer]

@happycows

 

[Beef farmer]

organic

Is that to tick an organic box?

 

[Scholsey]

Robots and zero grazing go together like hand and glove. Problem with zero grazing is holding fat% up.
We shall start Monday.
Why will you bother letting her out to loaf?

Organic regulations, cows got to go out.

I am planning on feeding a peas/barley wholecrop forage that we haven't opened yet and third cut silage to hopefully buffer the fresh cut grass and hold BFs. Ensiled forage buffer in the mornings, fresh cut grass in the afternoons when sugars should be higher.

 

[Beef farmer]

We will be feeding some nis with the grass to hold bf. Ensiled grub looks very expensive compared to 0grazed.

 

[Scholsey]

nis?

 

[Beef farmer]

Nutrionaly inhanced straw.

 

[Scholsey]

Aaaaaaaaah, ever tried Lucerne down in the tropical south?

 

[Beef farmer]

Aaaaaaaaah, ever tried Lucerne down in the tropical south?

Haven't got the ground to try crops that may not be that great. Few people trying it, but no ones that taken by it.

 

[kp_n_plghng]

So you can be zero grazing and still be organic?

 

[Agrispeed]

Haven't got the ground to try crops that may not be that great. Few people trying it, but no ones that taken by it.

Neighbour of mine, who is also organic seems to be growing a lot of it. Seems to do well, took a last cut in October and it's still growing now which surprised me. Very P & K Hungry though.

So you can be zero grazing and still be organic?

Can buffer feed on the shoulders, but cows have to go outside.

 

[Scholsey]

Feeding fresh cut grass with a forage wagon isn't zero grazing when cows can still go out surely?

 

[happycows]

Butterfat can be a issue but I tend to just let it grow a little bit further for a bit of fibre. I feed grain maize and sugar beet/soya hulls for fibre to help balance and I've used nis pellets too. I've never had any scares in fertility but I don't start serving anything until July so that may be the reason. I'd even go as far as saying I think grass can bring something positive to fertility. I'm not 100% sure what but maybe it's higher energy than silage,,,omega 3's.... I don't know.
In my first year zero grazing it became very apparent the value of good new Ley's.
I value the saving/extra milk from cheap forage and saving in bought blend at least £1 a day per cow in peak weather/grass times it's double that.
My cows are never happier or look better than when they are on good grass.

 

[Beef farmer]

It's the omega 3