Premier Herd Comp & Premier Feed

Today we had a judge round the herd of cattle , judging for this years Holstien Uk Premier Herds Competition . We found ourselves in this competition this year due to the successes of last years Northumbria Holstein Breeders Club competition.
I am not getting myself overly excited about our chances in this event , as to be honest , the calibre of the other herds in the region will be quite something else . However , in the true spirit of the phrase "It's not the winning but the taking part", I must admit I do like to enter things like this , if only just to meet other people, namely the judges and any stewards that come round with them . It is at things like this that much conversation is had , a bit of banter , a lot of gossip , oh, and if there's any time left , perhaps a look at the cows as well ! ! ! Today was such a day , a great walk round the herd , a look at the dry cows , a brief chat about the breeding etc and that was that ! It's always nice to have other people come and walk through your cows from time to time , a fresh pair of eye's looking at your stock can quite often highlight areas of breeding that you take for granted , rightly or wrongly. So fingers crossed , but I'm not holding my breath .
Today also saw us take delivery of 160 tons of draff , or Malt Distillers Draff , to be precise. This came from The Glenlivet and The Glenfiddich distilleries up in Scotland , and will be a part of our winter ration for the cows. the cows milk very well off this by-product and we have always found it extremely good value for money . This years loads were ordered some months ago , so we have got it all at a very good rate. Hopefully we will soon have ouyr winter rations formulated so that we can start to order in our protien blends for the winter too.

Hi's & Lo's of The Last Month

It's been a busy old time here since the last post . I knew it was going to be , what with putting in the new cubicles and cows calving and the start of leading in bales of straw etc .
The new cubicles are taking shape fast and they do look great (even if i do say so myself !). We are now about half way through the project and it's amazing how little all the building work and disruption has affected the cows , they just walk past it , raise an eye brow , flick an ear and start to eat the buffer feed. Hopefully we should be on track to complete the shed by late August .
So the first of this years straw has now been brought in. Just about 250 barley bales . We buy them off our neighbour , who rents the fields from us . We buy the straw by the acre , which i think has been a good idea rather than paying stupid prices , and already , the first field had a hell of an amount of straw on it, so now it's just a case of waiting till the wheat and spring barley is ready .

This blogs "cover girl" , Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious calved early in July , a bull calf , which i have named Chloanne Lowick . As mentioned in the last post , he is sired by Morningview Legend and has been contracted to Cogent Breeding Ltd. He really looks fantastic despite only being a few weeks old .
sadly , the calving , which was stress free and easy , took it's toll on the dam . She went on to take a displaced abomasum. This was operated on and we hoped she would rally round from that . Unfortunately she still seemed "seedy" so after further examinations , we decided to operate again, on the other side , for suspected peritonitis. Sure enough , she was a bit of a mess in side , and after a further 9 days , the decision was made to put her to sleep . this is never an easy choice to make , and , with this cow in particular , probably the hardest decision I've had to make on the farm. A truly great cow , with a great "personality", a great loss to the herd.
However , her first calf that she had , Chloanne Gallagher, now has 42 daughters on the ground in over 21 herds so fingers crossed that her genetics will go on to do as much good on other farms as they did here .

On the staffing front , after all the advertising and "interviewing" , the boss is still not really any further on with finding a suitable candidate for the post of relief milker . This is proving very frustrating for everyone else , as it leaves us short staffed on weekends and just in general during this busy summer . So here's hoping that something/someone turns up soon , and here's hoping for some better luck in the coming weeks and months

Steps in the Right Direction

Well, that's it for another year , the 2nd cut silage is safely in the pit . Yields for both the 1st and 2nd cuts have been poor , but I feel we should still have plenty to see us through the coming winter , due to us having quite a surplus the previous few years . Rain has finally remembered where we live and has now decided to be a regular visitor , but probably a welcomed visitor as we were desperately needing some . The grazing of the cows starts to get a bit more challenging from about now , due to the variable quality of the grass. It is starting to get a bit tricky trying to guesstimate how much they need to fill themselves up , and more importantly , how much they actually need to produce the milk AND keep maintenance of themselves . However , I am still extremely happy with the way the cows are performing this year , and they are looking better than they ever have done .
Fertility seems to be on the up too , which is always a good thing , as the main goal of farming has to be to get your animals back in calve , thereby keeping them and your business profitable. As mentioned in previous posts , heat detection is extremely important and you can't afford to take any shortcuts on this . Therefore it really has been my No 1 priority this summer , to see as many cows in heat as possible , and any that I fail to see get presented to the vet during our fortnightly fertility visits.

At the end of this month is the judging for the Northumbria Holstein Breeders Club annual herds competition , so as usual , it is now all eyes on to the girls to see just who to put forward for the various classes. As of just yet , i haven't a clue, but I'm sure all will come clearer over the next week or so !

It's just 10 days now until Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious is due to calve . She is in calve to Morningview Legend , and has a contract on the pregnancy for a bull calf to be sold to Cogent Breeding Ltd. Normally I would give my right arm for a heifer calf from one of my cows , but I would really love to see another one of my bulls get tested by a company . Fingers crossed !

Changes !

Well since my last post , I feel that many things have changed or are about to , on the farm. The silage was got in , all in reasonable condition , we could certainly have done with a bulkier crop , but by the way the silage fields have come away already , I think we will more than make up any short fall with the second cut.
With silage out of the way , I can now turn my attention to other jobs and projects , mainly the complete refit of the cow cubicles , ie, the beds that they lie in through the winter . I have no idea how old the ones that i am taking out are , but they are well past they're "sell-by date" and are basically just falling to bits . So bit by bit I am cutting out the old and making way for the new .We have nearly decided which company to pick , after viewing different manufacturers products on various farms .it's so interesting to see just how much min/max dimensions have changed over the years with regard to cattle housing , so much so that we are able to put an extra cubicle in every row , as by today's standards our old cubicles are too wide !
In the last couple of weeks we have been advertising for a new relief milker to cover alternate weekends for me and also holiday cover (I must look up the dictionary definition of holiday 'cos I don't come across THAT word too often here !)
With the advert put in the Farmers Guardian and Scottish Farmer, we have had a good response , with applicants from all over .It's always interesting interviewing people and reading CV's . I suppose if I had any comment to make on this subject it is that I wish people would read the advert properly , we had a lot of calls about the job and people were asking about hours/pay etc , when it clearly stated PART TIME. Clearly the job market is still a mine field out there . Hopefully by this time next week we will have the post filled .
To help with the day-to-day management of the herd I use a computer system called Uniform, I doubt i could run the herd as effectively without it . We have just upgraded to "Pro" package , sounds very grand , but basically it gives me way more information than i had in the past and enables me to keep tighter grips on output , fertility, feeding etc . It's fun at the moment , still working out everything it can do that the last one can't . I'll soon get the hang of it soon .
Cow wise the herd have had a very good summer out at grass , with the weather being unkind really only in the last few days . They are going to be spoiled soon as they will eventually find themselves grazing lovely new grass that is surplus to silage requirements , so hopefully that will boost the milk . At present they are averaging 28.6 litres /day, with only a token gesture of buffer ration in the trough , and on the whole i feel they are a much "happier" , more content herd than last year .
Later in the summer we are about to extend our straw bedded cattle court , which will give us nearly double the room , however i don't want to put double the cows in , as i want it to be comfy and clean , so double the space , a few more cows and all should be good. All in all , if we do the cubicles, the straw court and keep the "girls" as happy as they are just now , then this coming winter we should really start to see the results , both in the cows themselves and , more importantly, in the milk tank

Heat Detection !

I had a conversation with a farmer the other day .basically it started off with him asking if I enjoyed my weekends off , oh yes i replied, telling him that although i was off , i was always around for AI's etc and to keep an eye on our activity collars on the cows for any signs of heat (bulling, ).At this point his ears picked up and he started to tell me that he too has collars on his cows , to pick up cows in heat , although he is far from happy with the results and effectiveness of them.
I explained that it is , indeed, all in the interpretation of the results of the activity graphs , that will determine the optimum results , but it soon became apparent that he has been sold this kit as a HEAT DETECTOR , this is just so wrong. The collar system we have here was sold to us , and bought by us as an ACTIVITY DETECTOR, ie, it monitors the levels of activity in the individual animals and will conjure up graphs which i can interpret and perhaps make correlations with the animal coming into season.
Too many of these systems have been mis-sold as the answer to all of the dairy industries fertility issues, and that all you have to do is look at the computer screen and it will tell you exactly what is happening out in the field with regard to fertility. Quite simply , they will give you some sort of indication that the individual animal is more/less active than her 7 day average activity level. Then , by other means , visual, dates, heat detectors etc , you may be able to determine if indeed the animal is in season.
Another aid in heat detection that we use is the Kamar heat detector. This is a plastic "bubble" filled with a red dye that is glued onto the tail head of the cow and quite simply is burst and turns red when another animal mounts her ! Now this type of aid DOES demonstrate that there has indeed been some SIGN of heat , but again , this should only be used as a guide an d possible further investigation my be needed.
There is no getting away from the fact that one of the most reliable means of heat detection is purely with the human eye , basically you can never spend enough time watching the cows for any signs of heat .It's amazing the signs are there if you can just spend that 20 mins standing , studying them .
I mentioned this to the farmer , and i advised him to perhaps try the Kamar type of heat detection. Unbelievably , he had never heard of them , and even worse was that he went on to tell me just how many thousands his collar system was to install.
I just felt it was a tale of getting back to basics , getting out in the field , seeing the signs for yourself. . . . . .far cheaper and way more rewarding too .

Green Green Grass

Normally at this time of year i am practically wasting grass , as the cows simply can't keep up as the grass gets away on them .This year ? Well, it's safe to say a little more growth would be very welcome , especially in the silage fields .This is the crop that is going to feed the cows right throughout the winter and into next summer , so the more we can possibly ensile , the better. All we need is a LITTLE rain a LOTS of heat , but i think it will be too little , too late , as we plan to cut on Sunday or Monday with a view to lifting the grass 2 days later ! This is all done by contractor , purely for speed and ease ! Hopefully 2 crops will be enough , we do have plenty left from last year to fall back on .
With the grazing grass, we are just starting the second time round of the "circuit" of the grazing fields .Obviously every time the girls graze it and it grows again , the quality is just that bit less next time round.
However , that said , the milk yields are holding up , and even if the grass is not growing fast enough , the weather is suiting the cows down to the ground.Even the colder nights hasn't really affected them like I thought it would.

Once the silage has been lifted from the fields , there will be the small matter of spreading approx 300 000 gallon of slurry onto the bare fields . This will be done by contractor too , it's amazing the speed and quantity that they can put out In a day .This year they are trying to convince us to use an Aerator type system. I know very little of this , except that it would place the slurry a few inches into the soil, it would let the soil use more of the nutrient , there would be less smell , and it will cost us £10/acre MORE than usual. The jury is still out on that decision at the moment

Feeding the Girls

With the cows now out on extremely rich , high in protein, spring grass , it's now time to produce as much milk as possible at the cheapest time of the year . Grazed grass should always be your cheapest input in milk production in the summer months .Despite the cold weather , it has been fairly dry and grass growth has been happening , all be it a little slow in some of the fields.
However we do like to give the cows alittle of what they like , so they are fed a "buffer" ration , this is a little token feed of a formulated ration containing slightly better but most importantly , consistant, ingredients that should complement the grass outside . Ingredients that are in our buffer feed at the moment are :
2kg protein blend
10kg grass silage
0.5kg straw
0.1kg minerals
2.5kg rolled barley

These ingredients are mixed in our Keenan feeder and are fed in the feed passage for the cows to pick away at just after milking .The ration itself is formulated for us by Keenan nutrition. The above diet is per head/day.
As the grazing season goes on , the quality of the grass will start to decrease and that will be the time to tweak the buffer feed ration accordingly , all in the aim of maintaining milk production , but most importantly of all , maintaining margins and efficiency