The mixed weather delayed cutting of surplus grass on the Greenfield farm in Kilkenny and it has tightened stocking rate that bit too much for this week, writes Jack Kennedy.
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The mixed weather delayed cutting of surplus grass on the Greenfield farm in Kilkenny and it has tightened stocking rate that bit too much for this week, writes Jack Kennedy.
Growth for the week averaged 64kg per day down from over 100kg per day last week.
A combination of two paddocks with heavy covers still uncut and reseeded paddocks still not back in the grazing round has forced grass cover per cow down to 110kg of grass per cow. As a result, 4kg of meal per cow is going in now to help keep grass covers ahead of the cows.
A combination of two paddocks with heavy covers still uncut and reseeded paddocks still not back in the grazing round has forced grass cover per cow down to 110kg of grass per cow.
As a result, 4kg of meal per cow is going in now to help keep grass covers ahead of the cows.
Also, one paddock that was going to be cut for bales has since been cut and the cows picked up the grass in the paddock instead.
Growth rates
Growth for the week averaged 64kg per day down from over 100kg per day last week. Soil temperature dropped from over 18°C last week to 14°C this week with the heavy rain.
The new grass seeds weren’t sprayed yet because of the rain and that is unlikely to happen this week either given the forecast.
Main crop silage is still not cut and again is unlikely to happen this week given the heavy rain.
Milk solids are holding up – the last test result shows 4.61% fat and 3.71% protein with a lactose of 4.99% and a SCC of 162,000 cells/ml. Yield is still around 22 litres so milk solids yield about 1.9kg milk solids per cow per day.
Meningitis
At the weekend, there were two suspected cases of meningitis. One was a vasectomised stock bull who had to be put down.
The other case was in a mature cow that arrived into the parlour full of milk but was blind. She has been treated with antibiotics but the vet isn’t over confident of success. The likely cause of the problem is as yet unknown.
Treatment
When advanced clinical signs are present, treatment is often unrewarding. The brain is very sensitive to inflammation and brain damage often occurs quite quickly.
Early veterinary treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics (eg potentiated penicillins such as amoxicillin; cephalosporins; aminoglycosides, etc) will give the best chance of recovery.
These must be combined with anti-inflammatories to reduce the fluid buildup around the brain. B vitamins can help to reduce brain damage.
Meningitis is probably more common in young calves rather than adult animals.
One of the main portals of entry of bacteria into the calf’s bloodstream after birth is via the navel. That is why all navel should be dipped following birth.
Video: Greenfield Farm - May update
Take a look back at our May update on the Greenfield Farm.
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