Silage / Straw / Hay Price Tracker

[Northeastfarmer]

Wood fines

Do you just scatter them about with the jcb bucket ?

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Do you just scatter them about with the jcb bucket ?

Drop a bucket of them in a heap in the middle of the pen with bulls about ten minutes and it’s in every corner they love it

 

[Devil's advocate]

Load of very good feeding wheat straw 120x90 delivered in yesterday £125/ton. I’m glad the only straw I’m using is for a bit of roughage

To be fair, the combined price of barley & straw is really good value at the moment, just an odd way round.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Drop a bucket of them in a heap in the middle of the pen with bulls about ten minutes and it’s in every corner they love it

Any issues with the resulting muck? I've heard real horror stories about nitrogen lock up.

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Any issues with the resulting muck? I've heard real horror stories about nitrogen lock up.

Mine all goes into a digester he seems happy with it. I know of several big feeding men who have arable and sell their straw and buy sawdust/fines for the cattle

 

[Skintagain]

Any issues with the resulting muck? I've heard real horror stories about nitrogen lock up.

I thought it sapped the nitrogen and released it slowly? Sounds perfect for grazing

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Mine all goes into a digester he seems happy with it. I know of several big feeding men who have arable and sell their straw and buy sawdust/fines for the cattle

Do you get paid off the digester for it?

 

[Sharpy]

Any issues with the resulting muck? I've heard real horror stories about nitrogen lock up.

We used fines for a few years, gave them up due to the logistics of getting them into a steading without artic access, never noticed any problems with nitrogen lock up, probably because they soaked up all the urine.

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Do you get paid off the digester for it?

Yes

 

[Full of bull(s)]

We used fines for a few years, gave them up due to the logistics of getting them into a steading without artic access, never noticed any problems with nitrogen lock up, probably because they soaked up all the urine.

I find in winter you get a lot less pneumonia than on straw, no mould spores but more imo because the fines trap the ammonia in somehow and the muck doesn’t heat under them. When you muck out there is far less smell and the concrete is nearly cold, not steaming with ammonia. You don’t get a bollocking for stinking when you go in for dinner. Far less volume in and out as well

 

[Skintagain]

I find in winter you get a lot less pneumonia than on straw, no mould spores but more imo because the fines trap the ammonia in somehow and the muck doesn’t heat under them. When you muck out there is far less smell and the concrete is nearly cold, not steaming with ammonia. You don’t get a bollocking for stinking when you go in for dinner. Far less volume in and out as well

Never thought of it like that

we lambed on it one year but the lambs came out tarred and feathered

didnt have much bother with watery mouth that year

 

[Sharpy]

I find in winter you get a lot less pneumonia than on straw, no mould spores but more imo because the fines trap the ammonia in somehow and the muck doesn’t heat under them. When you muck out there is far less smell and the concrete is nearly cold, not steaming with ammonia. You don’t get a bollocking for stinking when you go in for dinner. Far less volume in and out as well

Less smell definitely with fines, also spread straight out the shed and very friable.
Now back on straw we bed them by hand, not a straw blower and fortunately our straw supplier has only supplied us with top quality stuff otherwise we might have had more problems.

 

[Sharpy]

Never thought of it like that

we lambed on it one year but the lambs came out tarred and feathered

didnt have much bother with watery mouth that year

I don't like fines for actually calving on, straw much cleaner but in general cattle will stay cleaner and clean up better on fines as they are quite abrasive.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Even as someone who sells straw. I have wondered if sand would be good in a year like this for ewes post lambing, when the risk of mastitis is so high.

Not before lambing of course.