All farms have now completed or are in the process of making first-cut silage. Excellent conditions for making silage this week mean that grass can be wilted.
However, to maximise quality and reduce losses, farms are following key principles, including spreading the crop out at mowing to increase surface area exposed and wilting for a maximum of 24 to 36 hours. Over-wilting should be avoided, as silage greater than 35% dry matter (DM) will not give any extra animal performance, but will be more difficult to compact and will be at a higher risk of producing mould or yeasts.
If ensiled as pit silage, very dry material is also at much greater risk of heating at feeding out.
At present, given the very dry conditions, if grass is cut once dew has lifted, it probably only needs a few hours of drying to reach 25% to 30% DM, especially where seed heads have developed.
More lush material, which was perhaps grazed by sheep in the spring, may need the slightly longer wilt of 24 to 36 hours.
Second cut
To get second cut growing, fertiliser should be applied as soon as possible. Where slurry is being applied, take account of its nutrient content and leave a gap of four to seven days between slurry and fertiliser to reduce the risk of denitrification.
Grazing
Given the exceptionally high growth rates in recent weeks, keeping control of grazing has been a challenge, even on the best-managed farms.
Swards have been difficult to graze out before heading and without compromising performance.
Topping is being carried out to improve quality in the next rotation. On drier farms, regrowth is now starting to slow, which will soon bring grass supply and demand back into balance.
Breeding
Eight of the programme farms have begun breeding programmes. Good suckler cow fertility, which is the foundation of suckler herd profitability, can only be achieved by high conception rates.
Observing bulls working and recording heats is essential. Failure to address any issues quickly can have a big impact on herd output, as some of the programme farms have previously found out to their detriment.
Week in review
Silage-making has continued this week.Grass surpluses are now being removed weekly.Topping is taking place to improve quality in the next grazing rotation.Worm treatments are being carried out on earliest spring-born calves.Spring calving is now finished on nine of the programme farms.Where breeding has commenced, heats are being recorded and stock bulls are being monitored daily.John Dobson, Waringstown, Co Armagh
First-cut silage was completed on 25 May during dry conditions, which allowed grass to be wilted before being ensiled. Grass was mowed down and spread out to aid this process.
The aim here is to get grass wilted to 25% to 30% dry matter (DM), while spending no longer than one night on the ground.
My experience of feeding silage to all classes of beef cattle over the years is that intake is one of the greatest factors affecting performance. Silage intakes and weight gains are always best when grass is ensiled at 25% to 30% DM and after a short wilt (24 to 30 hours).
After mowing by a contractor, the remainder of the operations are carried out using owned machinery. I have used a forage wagon for the past 10 years. Where fields are close to the yard, I have found this to be a very cost-effective and flexible way of making silage.
Slurry is being applied to aftermaths at a rate of 2,500 gallons per acre using a dribble bar. Most soils across silage areas are index 2 or above for phosphorus and 2+ for potash.
This means that along with this slurry application, an additional 81kg of nitrogen per hectare (65 units per acre) will suffice for second cut.
Grazing
Three weeks of very high growth rates resulted in some paddocks having to be removed from the rotation and ensiled along with the first cut.
However, grass growth here has dipped over the past week as a result of the dry conditions. Where I failed to get covers grazed off tightly in the last rotation, quality is now reducing fast.
Grass is seeding quickly, which is most apparent on rented ground which has low perennial ryegrass content.
I am now topping grazing to help improve quality in the next rotation, with some paddocks being topped 12 hours before cattle are moved on to the next block.
Reseeding
Ten acres of the rented grazing block has been burned off in preparation for reseeding next week. A full plough and reseed is being carried out. All operations are undertaken using my own equipment.
Ploughing will allow some levelling to be carried out and my experience of reseeding here is that ploughing best breaks up the soil to allow aeration, as well as mineralising any existing nutrients locked up in the soil. Lime is being used to correct pH, with extra P and K applied to address deficiencies.
Calving
We started calving in the last week of March and of 98 due, there are just six left after 10 weeks.
There were originally 100 cows and heifers scanned in-calf, but one was culled as a poor performer last autumn and another aborted during the winter. To date, calving has been more successful than last year, but there were still some losses.
There are currently 85 live calves on the ground, leaving me on course to have 91 calves from 98 cows.
To reduce the incidents of calving during the night, cows were fed each day after 9pm. This resulted in the vast majority of calving taking place during daytime hours.
Over the last two weeks, the main issue has been scour caused by coccidiosis. All calves have had to be treated with vecoxan, with some also requiring electrolytes.
Breeding
Stock bulls will be turned out from 15 June. There are 24 replacement heifers being bred, which have been selected on weight, docility and dam records.
This batch of heifers is averaging over 400kg and has been vaccinated for BVD and Leptospirosis.
For the breeding period, three mature stock bulls will be used, one for each of the cow batches and another for replacement heifers.
The heifers are being bred to a Stabiliser bull, Crebilly Black Profit, which was successfully used on heifers last year. He is easily calved and I am happy with calf quality to date.
On cows, the two Aberdeen Angus bulls Netherton Archie and Netherton Boston are being used. Netherton Archie is now in his third year on the farm. His estimated breeding values (EBVs) show that he is strong for calving ease and growth rate and this has been reflected in my experience to date.
Netherton Boston has previously been used on a pedigree herd and was purchased in February. Although not in the same league as Archie, his EBVs are all still positive for the most desirable traits.
In the past, injuries to bulls have let me down during the breeding season, leading to a more spread-out calving period and ultimately loss of potential output.
A further Stabiliser bull is available on the farm and will be used in the event of any issues.
After making such good progress with herd fertility over the past three years, I am very conscious of the need to ensure all cows are capable of being served when required.
All farms have now completed or are in the process of making first-cut silage. Excellent conditions for making silage this week mean that grass can be wilted.
However, to maximise quality and reduce losses, farms are following key principles, including spreading the crop out at mowing to increase surface area exposed and wilting for a maximum of 24 to 36 hours. Over-wilting should be avoided, as silage greater than 35% dry matter (DM) will not give any extra animal performance, but will be more difficult to compact and will be at a higher risk of producing mould or yeasts.
If ensiled as pit silage, very dry material is also at much greater risk of heating at feeding out.
At present, given the very dry conditions, if grass is cut once dew has lifted, it probably only needs a few hours of drying to reach 25% to 30% DM, especially where seed heads have developed.
More lush material, which was perhaps grazed by sheep in the spring, may need the slightly longer wilt of 24 to 36 hours.
Second cut
To get second cut growing, fertiliser should be applied as soon as possible. Where slurry is being applied, take account of its nutrient content and leave a gap of four to seven days between slurry and fertiliser to reduce the risk of denitrification.
Grazing
Given the exceptionally high growth rates in recent weeks, keeping control of grazing has been a challenge, even on the best-managed farms.
Swards have been difficult to graze out before heading and without compromising performance.
Topping is being carried out to improve quality in the next rotation. On drier farms, regrowth is now starting to slow, which will soon bring grass supply and demand back into balance.
Breeding
Eight of the programme farms have begun breeding programmes. Good suckler cow fertility, which is the foundation of suckler herd profitability, can only be achieved by high conception rates.
Observing bulls working and recording heats is essential. Failure to address any issues quickly can have a big impact on herd output, as some of the programme farms have previously found out to their detriment.
Week in review
Silage-making has continued this week.Grass surpluses are now being removed weekly.Topping is taking place to improve quality in the next grazing rotation.Worm treatments are being carried out on earliest spring-born calves.Spring calving is now finished on nine of the programme farms.Where breeding has commenced, heats are being recorded and stock bulls are being monitored daily.John Dobson, Waringstown, Co Armagh
First-cut silage was completed on 25 May during dry conditions, which allowed grass to be wilted before being ensiled. Grass was mowed down and spread out to aid this process.
The aim here is to get grass wilted to 25% to 30% dry matter (DM), while spending no longer than one night on the ground.
My experience of feeding silage to all classes of beef cattle over the years is that intake is one of the greatest factors affecting performance. Silage intakes and weight gains are always best when grass is ensiled at 25% to 30% DM and after a short wilt (24 to 30 hours).
After mowing by a contractor, the remainder of the operations are carried out using owned machinery. I have used a forage wagon for the past 10 years. Where fields are close to the yard, I have found this to be a very cost-effective and flexible way of making silage.
Slurry is being applied to aftermaths at a rate of 2,500 gallons per acre using a dribble bar. Most soils across silage areas are index 2 or above for phosphorus and 2+ for potash.
This means that along with this slurry application, an additional 81kg of nitrogen per hectare (65 units per acre) will suffice for second cut.
Grazing
Three weeks of very high growth rates resulted in some paddocks having to be removed from the rotation and ensiled along with the first cut.
However, grass growth here has dipped over the past week as a result of the dry conditions. Where I failed to get covers grazed off tightly in the last rotation, quality is now reducing fast.
Grass is seeding quickly, which is most apparent on rented ground which has low perennial ryegrass content.
I am now topping grazing to help improve quality in the next rotation, with some paddocks being topped 12 hours before cattle are moved on to the next block.
Reseeding
Ten acres of the rented grazing block has been burned off in preparation for reseeding next week. A full plough and reseed is being carried out. All operations are undertaken using my own equipment.
Ploughing will allow some levelling to be carried out and my experience of reseeding here is that ploughing best breaks up the soil to allow aeration, as well as mineralising any existing nutrients locked up in the soil. Lime is being used to correct pH, with extra P and K applied to address deficiencies.
Calving
We started calving in the last week of March and of 98 due, there are just six left after 10 weeks.
There were originally 100 cows and heifers scanned in-calf, but one was culled as a poor performer last autumn and another aborted during the winter. To date, calving has been more successful than last year, but there were still some losses.
There are currently 85 live calves on the ground, leaving me on course to have 91 calves from 98 cows.
To reduce the incidents of calving during the night, cows were fed each day after 9pm. This resulted in the vast majority of calving taking place during daytime hours.
Over the last two weeks, the main issue has been scour caused by coccidiosis. All calves have had to be treated with vecoxan, with some also requiring electrolytes.
Breeding
Stock bulls will be turned out from 15 June. There are 24 replacement heifers being bred, which have been selected on weight, docility and dam records.
This batch of heifers is averaging over 400kg and has been vaccinated for BVD and Leptospirosis.
For the breeding period, three mature stock bulls will be used, one for each of the cow batches and another for replacement heifers.
The heifers are being bred to a Stabiliser bull, Crebilly Black Profit, which was successfully used on heifers last year. He is easily calved and I am happy with calf quality to date.
On cows, the two Aberdeen Angus bulls Netherton Archie and Netherton Boston are being used. Netherton Archie is now in his third year on the farm. His estimated breeding values (EBVs) show that he is strong for calving ease and growth rate and this has been reflected in my experience to date.
Netherton Boston has previously been used on a pedigree herd and was purchased in February. Although not in the same league as Archie, his EBVs are all still positive for the most desirable traits.
In the past, injuries to bulls have let me down during the breeding season, leading to a more spread-out calving period and ultimately loss of potential output.
A further Stabiliser bull is available on the farm and will be used in the event of any issues.
After making such good progress with herd fertility over the past three years, I am very conscious of the need to ensure all cows are capable of being served when required.
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