Our Journey
- Thread starter Samcowman
- Start date
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Don't mention bungee jumping to them then
cows are going well on the bale grazing. They are leaving a little bit behind but not enough to be worried about. 1 bale and the little bit of fresh grass a is lasting these 20 a day. There are some denser bales being delivered tomorrow. Still need more grub for the winter but the longer it stays warmish the better at the moment for the feed situation.
I did have the mowers booked for today but with the rain overnight and the forecast the later this week they were cancelled and hopefully get it next week it’s 12 acres of Italian and some annual clover so will be decent stuff when we do get it.
I did have the mowers booked for today but with the rain overnight and the forecast the later this week they were cancelled and hopefully get it next week it’s 12 acres of Italian and some annual clover so will be decent stuff when we do get it.
some new calves for today 4 black and whites and a Hereford. A bit different to our usual but the boss has a soft spot for black and whites!!! Have had a bit of an eye problem going through the older calves so these new ones are in their own bale pen in the new muck store
also picked up 200 bales of silage for probably the cost of making it yourself which will really help the grub situation.
in other news rain is still stopping play with getting ground ready for the Italian to go on the spud field on the bank. Fingers crossed Monday will be my chance to get into it so it can be drilled middle of the week.
also picked up 200 bales of silage for probably the cost of making it yourself which will really help the grub situation.
in other news rain is still stopping play with getting ground ready for the Italian to go on the spud field on the bank. Fingers crossed Monday will be my chance to get into it so it can be drilled middle of the week.
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
Have you got the same heavy rain forecast for the morning that we have?
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
How's the ex-brassica ground doing?
Holsteinfriesian90
Member
- Location
- Cornwall
Did you buy the silage on the online auction?
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
so how much do we recon it costs to make a bale of silage then (including the cost of growing the grass)?
- Location
- somerset
the last 2 summers, we have used fly tags, on the calves, at turn out, the result, no bad eyes, in calves, for 2 years, sheer bliss, and very cost effective. Still use fly pour on for them, as l never think tags give 'full' coverage, but for eyes, ace.
- Location
- somerset
£15.50 to bale, and wrap round bales, £20 for square, is what we have been quoted, we made hay instead.
Have been 'co-erced' into buying some round bales, overstood pp grass, he reckoned, it cost him, £25 bale, to cut, bale and wrap, no fert, and no rent- he hasn't paid it. What we buy, will go to l/lord, and we have the land, from next year.
Offered him £20, it's not that good.
Stupid part is, we offered to buy the grass, for hay, not interested. Baled end june, and still not hauled.
Ed Buckland’s? That stuff was at callington and only one load. This was at a Jeffrey’s run dispersal.
It all depends on yield and fert use but assuming 10 bales/ acre and 50kg fert/ acre. Raking and mowing £20/acre so £2/bale, baking and wrapping £10/bale. Hauling yourself I reckon about £2/bale. Fert at this years prices £4/bale. Rent for 1st cut £40/acre?? So £4/bale. So about £22/ bale cost with a decent yield.
With buying in forage you could also value in the imported fertility value as well. I will need to look at my spreadsheet for that one.
Hoping to get the silage pit reinstated here in the spring which will bring the coat down and also free up my time with hauling bales.
Edit. Forgot reseeding costs which is a contentious one. A reseed will give you a higher yield but at what extra cost. The 3 fields I had here for first cut 2 were old pasture types and did from memory 6 and 8 and the third year ley did 10. So really the cost so assuming the ley lasts 4 years at the higher production level seed £60 drilling £20 (it’s cheap but it’s what I’m paying this year) cultivations 25x2. So £35/year take £15 for first cut another £1.50/bale. Won’t be far off what the extra cost for the slightly lower yield of a decent permanent pasture.
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I’ll get back to you with that dreckly!!
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
I see you are already going native then SamI’ll get back to you with that dreckly!!
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
What needs doing to the silage pit? I like clamp silage simply for the fact that I don't have to haul bales! And the cows eat it themselves here too, all I have to do is move the electric fence (and to be fair take off the top layer with the block cutter), so again less faff.
New walls, concrete seems pretty good. Will probably gain an extra few feet width and length by redoing it and depending on where the mains waterline goes through behind it might gain even more length. After hauling the bales in this time and dealing with blooody net wrap it’s a must do.
this is the rye, vetch and annual clover. Coming along nicely and all 3 plants are there.
this is the gs4 mix all there and has grown a fair bit since I last walked it Wednesday. There is some chickweed there but not enough to worry about and an early grazing should deal with it hopefully
This is the gs4 in the spud field drilled 3 weeks now. Really pleased with how this is looking clean apart from the spuds. Drilled the same day as the previous field but slightly further ahead I’d say probably due to being cultivated a bit more and having a finer seedbed.
- Location
- Hertfordshire
@Samcowman have you put the GS4 mixes in as part of an established scheme or have you got an application submitted? Or have you put them in, so when you do apply they are already there?
Application went in this year so agreement should be starting January. It’s a bit of a risk in case we don’t get the agreement but we would be using herbal leys anyway just without some of the smaller percentage herbs. There is one field drilled with herbal which isn’t under the scheme rules isn’t allowed to be claimed for gs4 because there is apparently some archeology stuff under it which will be interesting to see how it does.
- Location
- Hertfordshire
Similar situation here, have submitted an application for a (hopefully) January start, but have done some reseeding with a GS4 mix this autumn.
I also have a parcel with an arceological feature- a 67 ha field with 0.5 ha of an arceological feature!