The what jdunn55 has done wrong thread...

[Jdunn55]

I'm not going to list everything so far but if I dont move some of the discussion from the pictures thread I have a feeling @Princess Pooper might personally come down to cornwall to hang draw and quarter me...

Before we get started, the only rule is there is to be no mention of the words: cull, fatten, sell or any such words or phrase that would end with the eventual demise of my poor little elephant number 90..

Moving on, when I do something wrong and need advice or when any of you spot something I've done wrong without me realising please feel free to let me know here along with how to remedy said situation, I'm not promising I'll listen and do as you say with everything but who knows I might with some suggestions!

Attached is a picture of soemthing I think I'm doing right for once?!?! Am I finally getting my grazing correct or am i dreaming?! Turns out grazing dairy cows is far different to grazing sucklers despite me rotationally grazing them too

 

[Princess Pooper]

What you've done right is started your thread with a picture ! A picture tells a thousand words, after all.

 

[Princess Pooper]

I suspect someone will come along and say your residual isn't low enough, (I've got Holsteins though and apparently they don't graze), the leccy fence is too slack and what are those docks doing there. But you've got a lovely lot of clover there.

 

[bigw]

Dont worry @Jdunn55 i'm doing things way worse than you i just keep my head down! I'm happy at it though and thats the main thing.

 

[In the pit]

That grass looks bloody great considering you said it was poor quality
Shite looks about right for the grass quality

 

[sidjon]

Looks better than your neighbours than for sure.

 

[More to life]

Good for you, the forum can be brutal

 

[Rossymons]

Fence line is looking pretty straight too

 

[betweenthelines]

The first thing you need to do is get some proper advice on running a business. ATM you are running a farm so you can have nice well bred dairy cows giving lots of milk.

The two are totally different.

My fear is that in a few months time, you'll just run out of cash, as at present you seem to respond to every problem by throwing money at it-contractor's late- I'll buy a baler, grass is a bit slow-I'll buy very expensive cake might have a quiet week-I'll get myself a slurry tanker. Can you see the pattern?

Everything you do needs to be focused on widening the gap between the money you spend and the money you get in.

 

[More to life]

Take up Beefy offer of a visit you'll learn loads some of which might be useful.

 

[Beef farmer]

Looks better than your neighbours than for sure.

Thats not his neighbours, thats tomorrow's paddock.

 

[Beef farmer]

Take up Beefy offer of a visit you'll learn loads some of which might be useful.

He will need to burn his clothes as he goes.

 

[Bald n Grumpy]

Interesting thread title, but remember there are 2 type's of people who never get anything wrong. Those that have never done/ tried anything and the others are liars.
Listen to all the advice you can get, then take out and use what's good for your farm business.

 

[Jdunn55]

My yield aims are the following:
Heifers 6000 litres @4.2% and 3.5% to make 450kg solids from 1500kg of cake (extra to allow for them growing still) with 3500litres coming from forage

Second calvers - 7500litres @4.4% and 3.6% to make 600kg solids from 1500-1750kg of cake with 4000 litres from forage

Third plus calvers - 9000 litres @4.4% and 3.6% to make 700kg of solids from 2000-2500kg of cake with 4500litres from forage

So far I seem to be mostly on track to do that with the exception of my heifers who arent quite doing that, I'm thinking I've set my aims for them a little high.
As for third calvers, our of my 15-20 I would have said 3/4 of them are on track to do that, theres a couple of lower yeilders and 1 or 2 three quarter cows who wont but they're higher constituents and being fed less cake so are making up for it. Also theres a couple who didn't go dry due to the vet getting dates wrong who wont do it this time but will next time.
All of this will be from 12+kg of grazed grass in the grazing season followed by grass silage in the winter and early spring. They'll also have access to 2kgdm each of wholecrop as they enter and leave the parlour to help maintain butterfat and protein levels, plus it's better than them standing as round waiting for milking or to be let out across the road

Go!

 

[Rhydwen1]

My yield aims are the following:
Heifers 6000 litres @4.2% and 3.5% to make 450kg solids from 1500kg of cake (extra to allow for them growing still) with 3500litres coming from forage

Second calvers - 7500litres @4.4% and 3.6% to make 600kg solids from 1500-1750kg of cake with 4000 litres from forage

Third plus calvers - 9000 litres @4.4% and 3.6% to make 700kg of solids from 2000-2500kg of cake with 4500litres from forage

So far I seem to be mostly on track to do that with the exception of my heifers who arent quite doing that, I'm thinking I've set my aims for them a little high.
As for third calvers, our of my 15-20 I would have said 3/4 of them are on track to do that, theres a couple of lower yeilders and 1 or 2 three quarter cows who wont but they're higher constituents and being fed less cake so are making up for it. Also theres a couple who didn't go dry due to the vet getting dates wrong who wont do it this time but will next time.
All of this will be from 12+kg of grazed grass in the grazing season followed by grass silage in the winter and early spring. They'll also have access to 2kgdm each of wholecrop as they enter and leave the parlour to help maintain butterfat and protein levels, plus it's better than them standing as round waiting for milking or to be let out across the road

Go!

That's a lot of cake for spring calves but can understand your reasoning with your summer bias milk contract and loans to pay off! If you've got enough grass I definitely wouldn't be buffer feeding wholecrop I know it's tempting to you it's dead time waiting to be milked, but in my limited experience it will do very little for overall intakes and certainly won't improve protein. If you can hit those yeilds without complicating it and hit your fertility targets you'll be grand[emoji106]

 

[som farmer]

success boils down to getting more things right, than wrong, if anyone tells you, they get everything right, feel free to correctly tell him, he's lying.
Grazing for suckler cows, is very different than for dairy cows, it's down to quality, quality and better quality grass, and on a drier farm, not easy to keep right, all of the time, in a summer like this, it's quite hard to get right !
You are getting a huge amount of free advice, on here, from farmers that have been where you are now, made loads of mistakes, but have succeeded, and are very keen, for you to succeed. Not all will match your farm, much will, and you can pick the right bits out.
Watched some of yesterdays br fr sale, on marteye, l thought prices were rather steep ! But they were a genuine herd, how many, did you take home ?

 

[Tim G]

I was always told "The man that never made a mistake, never made anything".
I'm glad you've got a thick skin, or at least give the impression you have, because some have been too brutal towards you.

 

[Jdunn55]

I was always told "The man that never made a mistake, never made anything".
I'm glad you've got a thick skin, or at least give the impression you have, because some have been too brutal towards you.

I have my weak spots same as everyone, if someone came round and called me crap I'd laugh, if the same person came round and said my cows were crap I'd be in tears no questions asked!

 

[Jdunn55]

success boils down to getting more things right, than wrong, if anyone tells you, they get everything right, feel free to correctly tell him, he's lying.
Grazing for suckler cows, is very different than for dairy cows, it's down to quality, quality and better quality grass, and on a drier farm, not easy to keep right, all of the time, in a summer like this, it's quite hard to get right !
You are getting a huge amount of free advice, on here, from farmers that have been where you are now, made loads of mistakes, but have succeeded, and are very keen, for you to succeed. Not all will match your farm, much will, and you can pick the right bits out.
Watched some of yesterdays br fr sale, on marteye, l thought prices were rather steep ! But they were a genuine herd, how many, did you take home ?

I didnt go yesterday as I am hoping that I've found a source of in-calf/fresh heifers closer to me privately from a herd that dispersed in the winter last year and they match my health requirements perfectly! So altho I have to wait a bit for the milk I atleast know it's coming and in my first year it doesnt matter when I produce the milk because roddas dont penalise you for the first 12 months which is good of them

The advice on here has been really helpful even just to see things from another perspective, although I ahvent done everything suggested, some I have and most of the time it's worked and some of the time I wish I had taken the advice! I think I'm getting there now but just need time (and money )

 

[Jdunn55]

That's a lot of cake for spring calves but can understand your reasoning with your summer bias milk contract and loans to pay off! If you've got enough grass I definitely wouldn't be buffer feeding wholecrop I know it's tempting to you it's dead time waiting to be milked, but in my limited experience it will do very little for overall intakes and certainly won't improve protein. If you can hit those yeilds without complicating it and hit your fertility targets you'll be grand[emoji106]

Thanks, my milk protein is actually really good (3.7% average) but want something to help butterfat that wont compromise milk yield too much (rolling butterfat is only 4 whereas I'd like to be at 4.2 for the time of the year - b ugh the end of lactation I reckon I'll be around 4.3-4.4) which is my reasoning for the wholecrop, plus it means I can potentially stock the farm a little higher.

Cake is high I agree, I'm willing to change it around though and should the cake price be more than normal cut cake back and accept lower yields providing there is enough grass to support them, that's what I've done this year and tbh, yields havent noticeably changed YET! Gone from feeding 8kg average down to 5-6 now and noticed no difference on my litres but they're going through grass quicker which is fine as I have grass coming out of my ears! Just want to be flexible with what ik doing and if I budget for 2500kg of cake and only feed 1500 without compromising litres because grass growth and quality has been brilliant that year then that's a win win situation