Spring Grazing

[Thompyd]

Question for all the spring Grazing experts. Cows went out a few days ago here and I'm currently back fencing. They go out in the morning but from about 2.30 they start crowding around the gateway. Do I just bring them in at this point and let them into the cubicles and silage or do I just let them stand there until milking time to try and train them?

 

[dairyrow]

Bring them in. They'll make more of a mess.

 

[som farmer]

the question we are wondering, now they are out, how much buffer, and for how long, buffer will be hay or straw. The baggers start to wait at the gate, if you feed to much. In fairness to ours, they are usually led down across field, and only start to move, when we go to get them in.

 

[frederick]

No no no. If you want to stop the mess bring them into the collecting yard and hold them until milking then let them have silage.

If you bring them into silage all your doing is training them that they get silage at 2.30 therefore stand by the hate waiting to be let in. As soon as it's a bit drier dont look at them until milking it will be fine.

 

[organicguy]

I nearly shot a cow last year, she was the first at the gate everyday, while all the rest were still happy grazing. She culled herself in the end to save me the problem.
We try to leave them a little longer everyday until the get the hang again.

 

[som farmer]

it's managing the change from inside ration, to grass, as you say, the danger is 'teaching' them bad habits

 

[Beef farmer]

Silage is the problem.

 

[som farmer]

Silage is the problem.

good, only got 8 bales left, the seller 'miscounted' his number, refund on its way, would have been 28.
working ground, drilling grass by Friday.

 

[Beef farmer]

good, only got 8 bales left, the seller 'miscounted' his number, refund on its way, would have been 28.
working ground, drilling grass by Friday.

We had the same plan to sow some grass, fair frost here now.

One herd here is just grass and cake, The other mob are getting 3kgdm maize silage around milkings, luckily not effecting residuals too much

 

[Thompyd]

Thanks for replies. The cows are getting round bale silage at night and will be for a while yet as don't have the grass covers for night and day. As organicguy said I think it's 1 or 2 cows coming to the gate and fecking the whole thing up. I have some hol x brown Swiss and although they are always the first out to the field they are always the first to look in at milking time as well. If I do bring them in I think it will be collecting yard only.

 

[jerseycowsman]

Question for all the spring Grazing experts. Cows went out a few days ago here and I'm currently back fencing. They go out in the morning but from about 2.30 they start crowding around the gateway. Do I just bring them in at this point and let them into the cubicles and silage or do I just let them stand there until milking time to try and train them?

Why are they having silage? Are you giving them enough grass, when the suns out, ours only come to gate when they hear me come to get them

 

[In the pit]

the question we are wondering, now they are out, how much buffer, and for how long, buffer will be hay or straw. The baggers start to wait at the gate, if you feed to much. In fairness to ours, they are usually led down across field, and only start to move, when we go to get them in.

Why would anyone buffer with low value hay or worse still straw

 

[som farmer]

Why would anyone buffer with low value hay or worse still straw

like to put some long fibre out, until they get used to the grass

 

[Beef farmer]

like to put some long fibre out, until they get used to the grass

That's a very old school train of thought. How long do they have it? 3 or 4 days?

 

[Farmer Keith]

That's a very old school train of thought. How long do they have it? 3 or 4 days?

Yeah something we did here before I took over the day to day management. “Keeps fats up” I was always told. In reality it “keeps yield low ensuring the fat is not diluted”

 

[som farmer]

I will take the advice of them that know, thankyou. Having started milking at 10/11 years old, I have seen, and used many different 'trends' over the last 50 odd years, but, spring grazing, is really different, every other 'idea' has been, 'how can we fit it to our farm, and kit', spring grazing is 'what is the least amount of kit etc, we need', It is quite shocking, when you start assessing every thing you have done, to every thing you actually need to do, and how much kit you have, which has been 'justified' by the system/s you have done. The really shitty thing about sprg grazing herds, is how much money, has been wasted on kit etc, over the years !!!

 

[Beef farmer]

I will take the advice of them that know, thankyou. Having started milking at 10/11 years old, I have seen, and used many different 'trends' over the last 50 odd years, but, spring grazing, is really different, every other 'idea' has been, 'how can we fit it to our farm, and kit', spring grazing is 'what is the least amount of kit etc, we need', It is quite shocking, when you start assessing every thing you have done, to every thing you actually need to do, and how much kit you have, which has been 'justified' by the system/s you have done. The really shitty thing about sprg grazing herds, is how much money, has been wasted on kit etc, over the years !!!

So how long do you offer hay/straw? Genuine interest. Were using a bit of maize silage, but only because it's cold and growth is struggling.
Once the cows are happy with fresh grass do they just walk past the bale? Or are they always happy to have a mouthful?

 

[som farmer]

last bit of maize used yesterday, 500kg, have been having that with haylage, and bale of hay, 15 kg total, but look happy outside, prob 1 bale barley straw, in a rack that will be that. But our carefully planned grazing pattern, blown right out, interesting times. Have always thought a mouthful of roughage is a good thing, and cows regulate intake themselves, for us, it is still a learning curve.
It will certainly be interesting to see how countries react, after c19, will food supply chains alter, the massive increase in liquid milk sales is really good news, wonder how many vegans and veggies relapse, certain that is simply a 'trendy' thing to do, for many, home cooking will have increased with people confined to home, comfort foods, stews, soups etc, will have seen an increase. The massive reduction in air pollution, has shown travel is a major cause, not farting cows ! If, if lessons are learnt, it could be a positive for farmers, but will people just return to their old ways ?

 

[In the pit]

Lots of roughage in the first grass grazed in the year .no point in feeding lower value feed if you've got grass available to graze

 

[Dead Rabbits]

So how long do you offer hay/straw? Genuine interest. Were using a bit of maize silage, but only because it's cold and growth is struggling.
Once the cows are happy with fresh grass do they just walk past the bale? Or are they always happy to have a mouthful?

Also curious. Would nearly have to starve a cow here to get her to eat 1lb of straw. On our winter grown grass I don’t get near the feed value that you guys would claim. I’m looking forward to 2nd round.

I step my grass allocation up 2kg at a time and drop feed in the bunks. Any faster and production takes a hit. 7-10 days it seems to transition a rumen.