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Grass: Last weekend’s rain did little to arrest the soil moisture deficits across the midlands and all along the east coast. The areas that needed rain the most got the least of it, such is the nature of the climate. With no more rain in the forecast, the situation is about to turn serious on many farms in these regions. Hopefully rain will come soon, but what’s the plan if it doesn’t? Information is key. Teagasc figures are showing a 30% reduction in growth when average farm cover (AFC) drops below 500kg/ha, so we should avoid going lower than this.
What direction is the farm going in? Growth rate and demand are the two things that will tell you this. If growth is lower than demand then AFC will fall and vice versa. Demand should be reduced by firstly opening up as much ground to the milking cows as possible and then by introducing extra feed. How much feed to introduce will depend on the difference between growth and demand. Divide this difference by the stocking rate and this will tell you how much you need to feed to keep growth and demand the same. Avoid rotation lengths longer than 25 days for now. The vast majority of farms are still well above an AFC of 500kg/ha and growth is still more or less equal to demand so there’s no need for heavy feeding.
The next question is what to feed? Up to 6kg of nuts can be fed in the parlour, but if any more than this is required then roughage will need to be fed, such as silage or zero grazed grass. Some will prefer to feed these instead of a lot of meal because it is cheaper feed. However, if good-quality silage is not available, I’d be more inclined to go in with the meal. I suppose it all depends on how long the grass deficit will last for. If, as I hope, it is short-term, then meal will probably be the preference for most farmers.
Breeding: The comment from most farmers I speak to is that repeats are low. This is always worrying because the fear is you could be missing them. Because activity is less now, more effort should be put into heat detection – spending time observing and making sure tail paint or other aids are all applied and working correctly. One thing to keep an eye on now is irregular heats.
Cows that are cycling too regularly may have a cyst or other issue that can usually be treated by CIDR based hormones. Late-calving cows should also get hormones if they haven’t already shown a cycle. All of these small margins add up to get a high six-week calving rate. Most farmers will be releasing bulls in the next few weeks for natural mating. Now is the time to get these bulls fertility checked to make sure everything is working as it should.
Farm safety: Peak silage time is coinciding with schools being off due to coronavirus. Nothing is worth the trauma of a farm accident, particularly where children are involved. Accidents will happen but risks can be reduced. It’s fair to say the most vulnerable people on farms are those with the least experience and those that are less agile. Farmers have a duty of care to provide a safe space for everyone.
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