I agree , I only hot wash once a day . But he intends to hot wash once every other day and chemical once , seems plenty of opportunity for problems to occur
Teat dip
- Thread starter Jdunn55
- Start date
I wasn't going to spell it out, but you really shouldn't listen to some of the tw@ts on here. I suspect you might be having a wind up though.
Charming
TheRanger
Member
- Location
- SW Scotland
Thought the same when I first read the cake thing
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
No I'm not on a wind up. I'm genuinely really worried about things going forward. I see farmers guardian have published an article saying how milk demand is falling due to the high prices. I haven't really recovered from losing all my calves, and if the truth is known I'm a bit lost atm because of it and am really struggling to get back into the swing of things. There's loads going on behind the scenes which is causing me lots of stress and tbh I'm absolutely exhausted
I genuinely thought cutting the cake back was the right thing to do. I even said in the milk price tracker that the reason I had held off cutting cake back was because I was worried about cutting mid-service but no-one said anything so I assumed it didn't matter and cut it back thinking that I was being daft and mollycoddling the cows as per usual. I really don't know what system I should be running, half of me is saying hiho the other is saying lilo.
- Location
- East meath/dublin
What price a litre are you getting ??
The cake gets blamed wrongly when a lad starts looking for savings.
Even though meal prices have rocketed with milk prices a litre starting with a 5 and cake prices a kilo with a 4 you cant really lose if your cows have the genetic potential to respond .
My cows an ayr rag tag bunch of holstiens , friesans and crossbreds are still fond of the cake even with plenty of grass and the extra milk produced still covers the cost .
You cant compare 10000 litre cow with a small crossbred thats topped out at 5000 litres
Do what you think is right and dont give up the teat dipping or before you know it your scc will start to rise and clinical mastitis will appear
Check out the Teagasc Data on the benefits of teat dipping for guidance .
Chimera
Member
- Location
- North Wales
Be weary of whose "advice" you take on board. Unless you know them, everyone is "some bloke on t'interweb". There are very good operators on here, but there are also opinionated a##holes who will tell you how clever they are. But are operating a totally different system and mindset. And will tell you whatever they want you to hear. (So that they look clever)
As I read on here some time ago
" the low cost boys go on about how little they spend, the high yielders go on about how much milk they sell.................
But the best operators stay very quiet"
As I read on here some time ago
" the low cost boys go on about how little they spend, the high yielders go on about how much milk they sell.................
But the best operators stay very quiet"
Will Blackburn
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
I’m not sure the answer is in the middle?
If you feed a middling amount of cake then achieving grazing residuals is more difficult. Even more difficult if you buffer, ending up in a HiMo situation.
Chimera
Member
- Location
- North Wales
But maybe for real advice, the quiet guy in the corner 'may' be a much more worthwhile listen than mr flashy pants bragging (and possibly bending the facts to suit their image and twitter followers)
Chimera
Member
- Location
- North Wales
If you have 50 litre cows in the middle of service, then you are on a path, you cannot just turn off that path overnight. The incessant persistence of a low yielding grazer, with 20 litre cows to tell you that you're wrong, should be treated with much caution. What's right for them, may be 100% wrong for you TODAY.
Will Blackburn
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
Low yielding grazers aren’t persistent, that’s the point of them, you drop the inputs and they survive by allocating resources away from milk, not losing stacks of weight and still getting in calf. Staying in the game.
Just remember the advice you get on here is worth exactly what you paid for it.
But your cows need grub.
But your cows need grub.
In round terms, even if your two kilos of cake cost a pound, your five litres of milk should be worth two pounds, there's a good return there, without a lot of effort. I'm not saying that running a different system would be the worst idea for you, but your cows have told you not to do it right now.
Focussed Farmers
www.focussedfarmers.com
Chimera
Member
- Location
- North Wales
I wasn't talking about the cow's persistence
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Bit of an update re teat dip, haven't used it for the last 2 collection's and Bacton has dropped to 9 and 12 from 20, scc has been 90 and then 80, (average of 100 normally)
Just to clarify are you talking about pre or post dip?
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Post dip, don't predip anyway.
I really would be weary about not teat-spraying. It is cheap enough, especially compared to mastitis and it helps massively with teat health. You will see an increase in cracked teats and teat end damage without using teat spray. I definitely wouldn’t be ever without it. We even increase the amount that goes on to the teats on a wet day, when the teats are dirty and wet.
If you end up with a rise in SCC, definitely start using it again. I bet it will drop it.
Just an opinion from a kiwi farmer that has cows outside all year!
If you end up with a rise in SCC, definitely start using it again. I bet it will drop it.
Just an opinion from a kiwi farmer that has cows outside all year!
. Prevention better than cure though so wouldn’t rule out using it again.