Name and address
with the editor
Dear Sir: I see Mark Blelock has a problem with too much grass (article printed in the edition dated 29 July 2017).
Some actions he could take that would utilise more grass and increase profitability are as follows:
Let out the high yielders at night and graze all cows from February to the end of November – no summer housing or buffer feeding.Reduce the level fed to a maximum of 2kg per cow per day during the grazing season (he is feeding far too much meal). If their stomachs are full of alternative feeds, there is no room for grass.Apply for derogation immediately. I thought every good farmer had done this years ago.He also mentioned that milk solids go down when cows are out to grass. The reason farmers in the Republic of Ireland have higher solids is because they are feeding grazed grass only and very little meal. We have found by doing trials on our own farm in NI, if you dilute high-quality grass with any other feed, milk quality goes down.Mark will probably think this advice is far too drastic because yields will fall. But, he would need to decide – is he farming for yield or profit? He can’t have both.
Name and address
with the editor
Dear Sir: I see Mark Blelock has a problem with too much grass (article printed in the edition dated 29 July 2017).
Some actions he could take that would utilise more grass and increase profitability are as follows:
Let out the high yielders at night and graze all cows from February to the end of November – no summer housing or buffer feeding.Reduce the level fed to a maximum of 2kg per cow per day during the grazing season (he is feeding far too much meal). If their stomachs are full of alternative feeds, there is no room for grass.Apply for derogation immediately. I thought every good farmer had done this years ago.He also mentioned that milk solids go down when cows are out to grass. The reason farmers in the Republic of Ireland have higher solids is because they are feeding grazed grass only and very little meal. We have found by doing trials on our own farm in NI, if you dilute high-quality grass with any other feed, milk quality goes down.Mark will probably think this advice is far too drastic because yields will fall. But, he would need to decide – is he farming for yield or profit? He can’t have both.
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