So much for extended grazing. The Spring deluge.

[Cowabunga]

For the first time in at least a couple of decades I've had to rehouse the cows in late May, day and night, because it is so wet and cold for them and they are making an unacceptable mess of the fields and pastures. Also it is probably only the third or fourth time in the last 40 years that silage first cut will be a month delayed and in June. I need about a week or more of dry weather now before allowing silage machinery on the fields. Priority now switched from quality silage to clean silage with no mud and minimising damage to fields through compaction and tracking/getting stuck.

What's it like with you? Maybe you have sandy free-draining soil and can carry on as usual? Perhaps you have no silage left and therefore no option other than to send the cows out into the mud?

Challenging times.

 

[vantage]

Hiccup, all change next week.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

only got 200 sheep, and they are presently eating the grass faster than it is growing, just about! Suckler cattle still in and just about run out of silage

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What was it like 3 weeks ago Cowabunga
Wet grass is better than no grass ,
But then it's unbearable ATM I know


Cold Wet May Full Bay was not said for no reason

 

[pgk]

Some of our water meadows are just that, lots of grass now sitting with its roots in water. Grass growth has gone from near zero to 20mm a day in less than a week.

 

[Cowabunga]

At least having the cows inside gives the limited grazing allowed before first cut to get a bit of a rest and grow ahead of the cows. They should be grazing aftermath by now with 30% extra fresh grazing. That won't happen for another three weeks or so.
Cows still in today because ground so wet and forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow and the 10 day forecast has taken a turn very much for the worse again.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Similar here, cows have stayed in yesterday and today, no doubt for a few more days yet. They haven’t made much mess yet, hopefully a few days in will prevent any mess and with silage left over isn’t a major problem.
Silage ain’t quite ready yet, would normally be about now but it has been a late spring. Looking at forecasts it doesn’t look like any settled weather for another weak at least pushing silage into June, things change fast and i suspect that will be beyond optimal cutting date but good weather for cutting will take priority.
Suspect it’s causing contractors a few headaches too, ours still had about 400 acres of maize to drill when he drilled ours a fortnight yesterday ago, can’t have got much if any in since so when it dries up they’re going to have a backlog of drilling to do along with the silage

Still, my overriding feeling is it could be worse, much worse, it could have stayed dry

 

[deleted user 837354]

The grass around here still looks burnt yellow or very unhappy in places.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Milk ticket is back this morning, won’t take long tor us to lose the equivalent of a days production for May, possibly more.
If silage is delayed long, the effects will be much greater on next winters production with feed prices at an all time high, I don’t see...........or at least I hope their won’t be any milk price drops in the next 12 months

 

[robs1]

Everything here is growing like mad, luckily only stock we have are the liveries but they are treading their paddocks, not forgotten the fun of it taking more time to wash udders that it took for them to milk.dont worry it soon be flies making them irritable rather than mud

 

[Bob the beef]

The spring from hell here. Had snow on the top of our hill last night. , 3 frosts last week. 60 cattle still inside, will have to go out next week when silage runs out. Can’t even begin to think about shutting grass up for silage.

Holiday let’s are flat out though so at least something is making money

 

[Hilly]

The spring from hell here. Had snow on the top of our hill last night. , 3 frosts last week. 60 cattle still inside, will have to go out next week when silage runs out. Can’t even begin to think about shutting grass up for silage.

Holiday let’s are flat out though so at least something is making money

My holiday let is dead total dead I have one booking this year and that’s a carry over from last year .

 

[Bald Rick]

Shall I? ... Shall I?

Oh WTF ...

Probably do 100ac of second cut this coming week

 

[Will Blackburn]

For the first time in at least a couple of decades I've had to rehouse the cows in late May, day and night, because it is so wet and cold for them and they are making an unacceptable mess of the fields and pastures. Also it is probably only the third or fourth time in the last 40 years that silage first cut will be a month delayed and in June. I need about a week or more of dry weather now before allowing silage machinery on the fields. Priority now switched from quality silage to clean silage with no mud and minimising damage to fields through compaction and tracking/getting stuck.

What's it like with you? Maybe you have sandy free-draining soil and can carry on as usual? Perhaps you have no silage left and therefore no option other than to send the cows out into the mud?

Challenging times.

Surely May is a standard grazing month? Nowt to do with extended grazing.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

That's his sky he's sitting under [emoji23]

 

[Bramble]

Cows back in day and night for 10 days now, probably enough silage for another week. Torrential rain on Thursday has knackered letting them out for a few more days.

Silage grass has just got heads poking out now so will be past it’s best by the time it’s in the pit, whenever it dries up enough to get at it

 

[Cowabunga]

That's his sky he's sitting under [emoji23]

Yes, its not a bad day today but my grazing land is still totally saturated after yesterday. More heavy rain tomorrow I fear. And heavy showers or rain now forecast for the next ten days, changed from a dry week forecast up 'till yesterday for Monday on. Wet wet wet!

 

[michael N123]

All my cows are still getting fed bought a few bales in this time only got sheep off the silage fields 2 days ago

 

[Cowabunga]

Cows back in day and night for 10 days now, probably enough silage for another week. Torrential rain on Thursday has knackered letting them out for a few more days.

Silage grass has just got heads poking out now so will be past it’s best by the time it’s in the pit, whenever it dries up enough to get at it

Exactly the same here. The optimum cutting date for perennial ryegrass never varies by more than a day or two either side of the 18th May. It doesn't depend on temperature or anything but on day length. So yes, the grass will be way past its best by the time the ground is fit for the harvesting machinery, especially with the weather forecast not showing any promising weather window for another 10 days. I've too farms in the contractor's queue in front of me, which is two to four days work, which suits me fine because it won't tempt me to go before the fields are fit, which I would be and under pressure from the contractor to shape up if I was first in the queue.

 

[livestock 1]

Only got 40 cows out and in the teens of store cattle. 20 of them only went out earlier in the week before two lots of deluge. Difficult to know when you are doing right or wrong this year the spring hasn’t reall happened for us. Had more cows ready to turn out today but decided it was a bad idea looking at what’s coming tomorrow.
Never can remember a spring like this although it’s been ok for lambing it’s been pretty hopeless in other respects. Cows that are out are getting a bite of cake took silage for one lot today but they didn’t seem to interested in it probably just looking for some better weather like the rest of us. Can’t remember turning cows out as late or carting silage out in May ever