Farmer Writes: weather makes a mockery of calendar farming, again

The weather this week has unfortunately made a mockery of calendar farming deadlines again. Ground conditions have taken a big step back at the wrong time, with storm Brendan arriving on the same day slurry season 2020 opened for business.

We are still below average rainfall for the month and a few dry days might turn things around again quickly but there were a lot more paddocks trafficable by both cows and machinery here last week than there are this week.

We have three cows calved now with plenty more getting close

There was a list of paddocks too that needed another few weeks of dry weather to get them close to ready for the spring, but we’ll have to be patient with them for another while.

There is some more dry but cold weather forecast for the weekend so hopefully that will improve conditions somewhat as we move through the month.

We have three cows calved now with plenty more getting close, so the holidays are officially over.

Next week looks like being very busy, but most areas are organised now for the big rush. Calf feeders and sheds are ready, equipment is ready and hopefully we are ready too after the rest.

The first few calves have arrived without too much trouble

The cows are in good condition after the dry period and look healthy after all the vaccinations and dosing were brought up to date, so hopefully we can hit the ground running in 2020.

The first few calves have arrived without too much trouble, so hopefully that continues too for a while.

We will be looking to get milking cows out to grass on the drier paddocks as soon as possible.

We will also open our maize pit next week, when we get enough cows calved to move through it quickly enough

We will try to get even an hour or two of grass into them most days after calving and keep fresh cows clean and healthy apart from all the other benefits.

We will also open our maize pit next week, when we get enough cows calved to move through it quickly enough.

We managed to do without it last spring but with extra mouths to feed this spring, we will need to feed it from the start.

Our night-duty man will start this weekend as well and hopefully stick around for the first four or five weeks of calving to get us over the hump.

On quiet nights he will get some bedding, feeding and cleaning done to free up time for the rest of the daytime team. The nights can be long and tedious otherwise.

Milk price

We are starting this year on a more positive note than 12 months ago with some positive vibes at last from Glanbia on milk price for the coming season.

Skim milk powder is performing strongly which should underpin a strong market for the first half of the year.

We have information meetings with Glanbia over the next two weeks

The first increase of only a single cent for December looks a bit skimpy but it’s a start at least.

We have information meetings with Glanbia over the next two weeks to give an update on the season and where we are going with expansion plans in the company.

These should be positive enough meetings

Farmers are getting busy with calving but hopefully enough can spare the time to attend and challenge the speakers on where the company is headed over the next few years.

These should be positive enough meetings with the recent milk price increase and the good market signals for the season but the committee and management need to also give some very strong assurances around their ambition and ability to deliver a strong milk price to suppliers within the current structure in Glanbia.