Cows Inside

When I say that words fail me to describe the type of year its been for cattle , I will use it as the excuse for not keeping this blog up to date . The Spring started off so promising , with an early turnout for the herd . March 21st saw the cows out through the day, and out night and day a month after that. It was the earliest turnout for a few years , and all was looking well. After that , the weather has pretty much gone downhill. Constant rain through out the spring/summer, and a pretty lousy Autumn has been hard on the girls to say the least. I have been surprised at just how well they performed this summer, although yields have been hit a little. Silage stocks are ok for the winter, first cut quality is again, surprisingly good, the same can't be said for 2nd cut , which , quite frankly is closer to youngstock fodder than milk cow material. However , it will have to do as a buffer fodder for next summer. Feeding the dairy cows is always a challenge , keeping an eye on quality but also cost. This years feed bills seem to be going through the roof, but they need fed, and the worst thing we could do is to skimp on quality, although I do sometimes feel I am struggling to get this message across ! ! ! We are on the lookout for a new nutritionist to guide us through the next few months. It's very easy to get the basic feeding correct, it's just the nitty gritty details that need that little bit of expertise. At the moment the cows have been averaging around 28.5 ltrs/day which I feel is quite respectable , but there's always scope for more ! Plenty calves have been born throughout the summer,sire being Emerald, Twist, Teirgan, Gold Crown as well as Hereford calves from our heifers. Service sires at the moment are Toc-Farm Duplex Glauco , Morningview Apprentice, Pirolo Goldwyn Wyman, Siemers Atwood Allthat, Hydaways Goldmine, and Charolais and Limousin on the lower end of the herd. The Gracious family are doing away quite nicely, with two new members , Chloanne Emerald Gracious( Emerald X Hanno X Addison ) and Chloanne End Story Gracious ( End Story X Goldwyn X Hershel ) Pregnancies lined up from the family include sires Stanley Cup, Currajugle Gonzo, Synergy Always Red and Artes. Its good to see daughters now on the ground from Chloanne Lowick,hopefully breeders are happy with the calves so far. More importantly , heifers by Chloanne Gallagher are now being classified. I am fairly pleased with scores so far, we even have a VG85 on farm here. The cows finally came inside on September 24th , much earlier than usual.It all happened very quickly. One minute the weather was fair, the next absolutely foul, leaving me with no option but to house them. As it turns out , this has been the best thing we have ever done . The cows responded well to their new surroundings and have rewarded us with increased yields. The dry cows and youngstock are still outside, bit with colder weather forecast , its only a matter of time before all sheds are full , and winter will be well and truely here !

Perfect Grazing . . . . . .So Far !

With us now into mid-June , silage is now a distant memory , and we are now watching the grass growing (all be it slowly)ready for 2nd cut . The ground is very dry and we have really only had one day of any real rain . On the grazing side of things the cows are keeping on top of all the grazing strips this year . I have never seen them eat the grass the way they have this year , no waste at all so far. Obviously this is a great sign , it means they are utilising the grass very well , but it also means that I have not had any strips to cut and bale , and this in turn will have an effect as to how much extra grass we will need to find to bale later on .We had a bountiful supply of bales just before turnout , but these were sold . . . . . a decision that could very well come back to haunt us .It is now looking like we may have to open up our silage pit quite soon , to ensure that we can continue to buffer feed the cows through the summer.
With all this food that the cows are eating , it is pleasing to see positive results, not just in the bulk tank, but also in the condition of the cows and also in the fertility of the herd , which has remained fairly high. Also our nutrition advice is spot on at the moment , and we are achieving FCE figures of 1.5 , which at this time of year and for a herd grazing outside , isn't too shabby.
We are focusing more and more on the state of grazing grass , and trying to tackle any weed issues we have . These tend to be field specific , and we are trying to get rid of the dreaded Chickweed , easy to kill but at the expense of the clover in the sward. Some of our fields will have been in the same grass for quite a number of years now , and that is something we may have to address, obviously newer and better varieties come along , and it is unrealistic to expect a 4 or 5 year ley to last 6 or 7 years without some form of drop in quality and performance.
Overall the cows have had the best Spring/Summer that I can remember , nice and dry , no mud to have to contend with , and I really think this has all had a knock on effect to the cows health . Somatic cell counts continue to be the lowest we have had , and that too is a general indication of the status of the herd health. Long may it continue . Rain at night , heat in the day , surely not too much to ask for ?