Old Cow Walking on Eggshells.

[DrWazzock]

If I cut the surplus, I have got to be careful where I make the dividing line.
Last year I did that and ran out of grazing in that field before bringing them in so had to move them.

Tricky old business managing grass here in the dry east. Usually by July it's game over, so maybe a bit of excess now isn't a bad thing. If it's dry the aftermath won't keep them going.

I acknowledge the points made though.

 

[multi power]

If I cut the surplus, I have got to be careful where I make the dividing line.
Last year I did that and ran out of grazing in that field before bringing them in so had to move them.

Tricky old business managing grass here in the dry east. Usually by July it's game over, so maybe a bit of excess now isn't a bad thing. If it's dry the aftermath won't keep them going.

I acknowledge the points made though.

If you are worried about drought and no grass later on you can not cut the surplus, and instead deferred graze it later on, it won't be great quality, but very low cost

 

[choochter]

You'll have to take the limping cow off the rich grass, though.

 

[DrWazzock]

You'll have to take the limping cow off the rich grass, though.

I think you are right. I was hoping the grass would run to seed and lose its feed value but the clover will still be too strong.

Will probably take them off, put them in a sheep grazed paddock and mow the cattle field when the dung has broken down,

 

[choochter]

I think you are right. I was hoping the grass would run to seed and lose its feed value but the clover will still be too strong.

Will probably take them off, put them in a sheep grazed paddock and mow the cattle field when the dung has broken down,

Do it tomorrow as she will be hurting. Can you take her inside for a while and give her hay? Then put her out onto the poorer grass.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

If you are worried about drought and no grass later on you can not cut the surplus, and instead deferred graze it later on, it won't be great quality, but very low cost

Heaps of paddocks of "standing hay" around here this summer/autumn.
Sheep+beef farmers, mainly, get their quota of winter supplement but don't want to bale more and sell carbon off their farm.
It does lose a fair bit of ME but then it loses some when you bale it, anyway.
I always try to just graze things at roughly the right level -2.5 leaves- and then I have options as to what I do with anything getting past that stage. I go by leaves and leaf emergence rates and not so much about quantity, that takes care of itself.
Rankish grass is better than no grass when it gets dry. Or wet, or hot.... which it does!!

 

[DrWazzock]

Do it tomorrow as she will be hurting. Can you take her inside for a while and give her hay? Then put her out onto the poorer grass.

I will. They will go in the tup paddock which is like a bowling green.

They will have a ring feeder with some barley straw.

 

[Henarar]

Are you based on an owned unit or a tennanted one?

I farm in partnership and the partnership owns a small amount of land the rest including the main farm is rented from about ten different people on everything from fbt to handshake graze or cut and take away agreements

And you ?

 

[M-J-G]

I farm in partnership and the partnership owns a small amount of land the rest including the main farm is rented from about ten different people on everything from fbt to handshake graze or cut and take away agreements

And you ?

Yeah anything I have is rented.

Don't you find a low yield if silage like that makes each bale expensive when rent is allocated?

Are there a lot of tennanted units in your part?

 

[Henarar]

Yeah anything I have is rented.

Don't you find a low yield if silage like that makes each bale expensive when rent is allocated?

Are there a lot of tennanted units in your part?

I spose but the more bales you get much past 8 the quality drops to much for my liking, we cut a fare acreage for the amount of land we have and if the grass is not to old it recovers quicker for the cows, we only do one cut on all but a bit of away land so we have enough grass for the cattle from now on without any fert as they have all the land to use on rotation, this seems to work here as we have good spring growth being sheltered and south facing to varying degrees but we can't always use it because it can be to wet for the cattle this year being an exception when we just fed a couple silage fields but some years we are cutting grass and turning cattle out at the same time

 

[Henarar]

Are there a lot of tennanted units in your part?

there are some tenanted estates but there are also lots of farms that have so much land and there own farm but rent more land sometimes much more than they own

 

[matthew]

I will. They will go in the tup paddock which is like a bowling green.

They will have a ring feeder with some barley straw.

Is she off that high protein rocket fuel yet?

Think of it as having excruciating pain in both your feet - in her case it's all four. You need to hose her legs with cold water to try and reduce the pressure and inflammation within the hoof. There is nowhere for it to expand to hence more pain than within soft tissue.
The sizzle laminitis causes can also affect kidneys.

Diet needs to be palatable and low protein, so hay is better than straw.

 

[DrWazzock]

They have all been off the high protein ley for a nearly a week now and seem much better. They have a ring feeder of good barley straw and they are eating quite a lot of it along with the small amount of grass in the paddock.

I also had the foot trimmer man out to them and he tidied up the old cows feet which helped.