Extended grazing seasons are becoming increasingly hard to achieve due to challenging weather conditions, leaving farmers left to make difficult decisions regarding grassland management and feeding.

Many find themselves buffer feeding during the summer months in order to keep cows at grass and maintain high milk yields and solids.

Highly stocked at four cows to the hectare on the milking platform, Thomas and Tom Mather from Bracknagh, Co Offaly, are no different. They have been feeding GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut since 2015 and credit their high performing dairy cows and extended grazing season to it.

GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut was specifically designed to help farmers extend late lactation and dairy cow performance into the autumn and winter months.

Farming in partnership

The father and son are farming in partnership together and operate a spring calving system, milking 108 Holstein Friesian cows in a 16-unit parlour.

“I served my time as a fitter with Bord na Móna and returned home to farm with my father in partnership in 2015, that’s when we started milking. Before that, we were farming sucklers, sheep and tillage. We work here full-time and we have a neighbour who does 11 milkings a week for us,” Thomas said.

“The partnership works well for us, the farm is run as a business, it’s not a case of I own this and you own that. Every decision is a business decision and what is best for the farm, rather than what either person wants.”

The land is “fairly dry”, Thomas explained. “We are prone to drought and are suffering from a soil moisture deficit here at the minute. Drought has become more of a problem here over the past couple of years. We are buffer feeding over the summertime because of it.”

“The cows are currently being fed 13.5kg grass, 3.5kg silage and 4kg of GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut. The silage we are feeding at the minute is first-cut silage from 2023. The silage is usually around 72% to 75% DMD.”

They aim to keep the cows out full-time until 20 October and to have them fully housed by 10 November and dried off by 22 November. With a current grass cover of 344kg DM/LU and a total farm cover of 1,388kg DM/ha, Thomas believes this extended grazing season wouldn’t be possible without the GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut.

In the below video, GAIN ruminant technical specialist Bryan Harte discusses the key benefits of GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut.

Increasing milk solids and yield

The cows are fed a 14% nut throughout summer until October, at which point they are changed to the 16% nut. A big advocate of the GAIN Autumn Extender 16% protein nut, he said that the main benefits he sees are milk solids and yield, reduced lameness and the excellent condition of the cows in the winter months.

“The milk solids and yield hold better when the cows head into the back end of the year. Before we change over you can see them dropping a bit, but they hold better on the Autumn Extender 16% protein nut and dry off in good condition.

“The cows are in great condition at the minute. You never have to worry about thin cows or putting condition onto them at the back end of the year.”

The incorporation of the additive Agolin® into the nut helps to increase milk volume and milk protein yields. Agolin® has the added benefit of reducing emissions within the herd.

GAIN Autumn Extender also includes Bioplex® protected minerals. Research has shown that including Bioplex® protected copper, zinc and manganese helps reduce the incidence of lameness and improves overall herd health.

GAIN Autumn Extender 16% also includes Sel-Plex® protected selenium, which has been shown to improve fertility and lower somatic cell counts (SCC).

"The nut definitely helps with lameness," Thomas remarked. "Lameness has been improving year on year and this year we've had very little - we haven’t needed the hoof trimmer at all so far."

Looking ahead, the inclusion of Sel-Plex® selenium and Bioplex® protected minerals in the product remains crucial for enhancing reproductive performance and maintaining animal health, particularly in reducing SCC and supporting fertility.

“We breed for nine weeks and start calving around 10 January and we would be finished before St Patrick's Day,” Thomas explained.

“We AI the first 40 to 50 cows with sexed semen and then we change over to beef. An Angus stock bull is put out with the maiden heifers on the outfarm after they have got a run with sexed semen.’

“There are 30 maiden heifers to come into the herd this year. We sell the calves from the yard - the same clients come every year to buy them. Problem cows are culled during the milking year.”

The Mathers aim to have cows out on the grazing platform full-time until 20 October and fully housed by 10 November.

Future farming landscape

The Mathers are in derogation and spread just over 180kg nitrogen last year. When asked about the direction of the business over the next number of years, Thomas said that a lot depends on the changing growing seasons.

“Grass just didn’t grow this year no matter what fertiliser you used. If the growing seasons stay going the way they’re going, we will have to cut back on cow numbers, but if everything stays as is, we can stay where we are and maintain numbers.”

Business manager Geoff Kennedy provides technical support and aids with on-farm decisions and Thomas highlighted how important he is to their farm.

“We work very well together. I ring him at different stages in the year and he has different recommendations. GAIN Dairy Feed range is formulated to suit weather conditions at the time, maybe for drought or bad weather.”

For more information on feeding GAIN Autumn Extender, contact your local Tirlán FarmLife branch, business manager or order online.