How are things for you compared with last year?

[Princess Pooper]

Last year was a year from hell for many of us, with trying to keep cows fed and worries about winter forage stocks. We fed a lot more straw and just about scraped through after basically 12" rain in the 12 months. I appreciate that for some that had more rain, last year was bliss.

This year, so far, it's been bang on perfect. Good stocks of silage and hay to replenish the clamp and barn and cows have plenty of grass ahead of them. Our cows - most of whom are late lactation, are averaging 20kg/day. Last year with DIM only 10 days different, they were giving 12.5kg and that was after drying some off early. I know this year hasn't been brilliant for some, with the classic British mix of not enough rain or too much. How are your cows and winter forage stocks looking?

 

[Beef farmer]

June and july have been crap, hopefully a damp August will kick start the new season well.
Silage stocks will be enough and of superior quality to 2018.

Hay at £54/ton ex rather than £120/ton ex has helped a lot

 

[lazy farmer]

Cows currently 15% higher on solids than this time last yr though we are feeding .5kg less concentrate we are feeding just as much silage. Cows look well though I am fearful on the empty rate.
Silage wise we were lucky the spring was kind otherwise we would have been in serious trouble. Feeding now means I will have to go out and buy 15-20 acres of maize. Which compared to last yr is nothing.
Biggest issue here has been managing the overdraft. Absorbing the costs of farm improvements coupled with a expensive winter through short term borrowing has been rather taxing. As long as my budgets are correct Christmas will see it all paid off which will be a huge thumbs up to our basic business model.
Though TB and Brexit still have the power to fxxk it right up.

 

[DairyGrazing]

Cows currently 15% higher on solids than this time last yr though we are feeding .5kg less concentrate we are feeding just as much silage. Cows look well though I am fearful on the empty rate.
Silage wise we were lucky the spring was kind otherwise we would have been in serious trouble. Feeding now means I will have to go out and buy 15-20 acres of maize. Which compared to last yr is nothing.
Biggest issue here has been managing the overdraft. Absorbing the costs of farm improvements coupled with a expensive winter through short term borrowing has been rather taxing. At as long as my budgets are correct Christmas will see it all paid off which will be a huge thumbs up to our basic business model.
Though TB and Brexit still have the power to fxxk it right up.

Same here cash has been tight and has taken a long time to ease.

 

[lazy farmer]

Same here cash has been tight and has taken a long time to ease.

Don’t get me wrong I only had one money chasing phone call-from our concrete supplier otherwise we have managed to keep everybody reasonably happy. Its just I’m not used to having to choose who to pay!

 

[Beef farmer]

@lazy farmer ill look after your empties if you've a few.

 

[lazy farmer]

@lazy farmer ill look after your empties if you've a few.

You may have competition from a member of my discussion group there. But they will be for sell.
The biggest issue is my Tb test on September 6th
It’s our first 12 month test in a decade and it’s terrifying!!!

 

[Beef farmer]

You may have competition from a member of my discussion group there. But they will be for sell.
The biggest issue is my Tb test on September 6th
It’s our first 12 month test in a decade and it’s terrifying!!!

I can look after you if you go down.....just not as well.

 

[lazy farmer]

I can look after you if you go down.....just not as well.

Then it will become an issue of how many we end up loosing.
Glass half full me!

 

[mixed breed]

How can two years be so different
First cut was on a par with last year's, 400 odd round bales of 2nd cut, last year we had none.
More hay than last year, too much perhaps (taking up vital storage space)
And the grass continues to grow like fun, cow's are happy and milking well.

Good cut of winter barley and plenty of straw..
That said, it's turned quite miserable and If it doesn't calm down this rain may ruin the rest of corn harvest.

 

[vantage]

Don’t get me wrong I only had one money chasing phone call-from our concrete supplier otherwise we have managed to keep everybody reasonably happy. Its just I’m not used to having to choose who to pay!

Welcome to the real world,well one outside Wonder Vale!

 

[Sparkymark]

This summer could have milked another 100 cows. Grass clamps filled in 2 cuts, had to keep baling stale grass as it got a head of the cows. 1000 bales made so far and more stale grass about. 100 acres of maize, looks better than last year which had poor germination from the drought on some fields.
Had enough rain now, gateways paddling up.

 

[som farmer]

harder than last year, we had close to a 1000 tonne of silage from the previous year, and fed the lot.
this year we have missed the rain, the forage rape we rely on, is 5 weeks behind schedule, just starting it now, not in june, we stagger sowing, so now the late drilled will catch up the early ! this year with so little rain, has f#####d up the leys, so a lot of reseeding to be done.
we are feeding 15 kg silage bale, with 2 kg rolled barley ( £120 a tonne, lot cheaper than cake) yields have picked up, but is teaching the cows bad habits, I don't know how long before they start waiting at the gate.
fertility wise, 64% held to 1st service, a lot of april calvers (44 calved,32 pd+ve) will now calve in march ! with the carried ones from nov/dec/jan calvers (16) we will have 80 % to calve in the first 7 weeks. just to top it all, we have had our 1st reactors today -3-, and 2 irs to test next week. good job hay is cheap, as we have bought a lot, nothing to cut since end may.

 

[Water Wheel]

Last year was a year from hell for many of us, with trying to keep cows fed and worries about winter forage stocks. We fed a lot more straw and just about scraped through after basically 12" rain in the 12 months. I appreciate that for some that had more rain, last year was bliss.

This year, so far, it's been bang on perfect. Good stocks of silage and hay to replenish the clamp and barn and cows have plenty of grass ahead of them. Our cows - most of whom are late lactation, are averaging 20kg/day. Last year with DIM only 10 days different, they were giving 12.5kg and that was after drying some off early. I know this year hasn't been brilliant for some, with the classic British mix of not enough rain or too much. How are your cows and winter forage stocks looking?

Shhh!

I'm not saying anything until housing.
Stocks good ,but not that good and its getting a bit wet.
Plenty of the season left yet.

 

[Sparkymark]

Always amazes me how we farm on the same small island(s) yet we get such a variety of growing conditions depending on your location.

 

[som farmer]

we have areas in our rape fields that are just plain soil, no weeds, just soil, rape was sown 6 weeks ago, it's now just started germinating ! as no weeds have germinated since sowing either, I can only think that it is a lack of moisture, that has caused this ! we now have another 1 acre of forage ! every thing germinated last year, and that was mean't to be a drought, just proves we are a dry farm, my son is always on about spring reseeds, I only do them as a last choice, he might learn soon. also for same reason, I will not reseed in august.

 

[I thats it]

Here last year we kept the cows to tight June and July for fear of being short of silage, cows didn't milk well, but the rain came in August and they did well all backend. As we'd plenty of good feed they milked well all winter, and we've continued to have plenty of grass all spring and summer.
But this summer has been too wet for too long at just the wrong times, so we've a pit full of poor 64 D value silage compared to last winters 70 D value. Also having to much grass going round the grazing platform is making work!
Grass is a more difficult crop to manage well than you might think
Not looking forward to trying to get cows to milk this winter

 

[upnortheast]

Give me dry conditions every time instead of this constant crap we are having just now.
Fields are too wet to get a combine or forager moving

 

[Beef farmer]

After a wet few days here, were still in a drought and need a lot more

 

[Agrispeed]

After a wet few days here, were still in a drought and need a lot more

Last rolling 12 months rainfall here was 630mm, the average year would be 1000-1200mm.