The last three cows are due to calve by the end of this week on Richard Marshall’s farm near Omagh, Co Tyrone. Over 80% of the herd had calved down by the end of December and only 20 tail-end cows that were in calf to beef sires were due from January onwards.
The calving profile on the Marshall farm has tightened significantly over the past two seasons, as Richard moves from spread calving to a more compact autumn-calving system.
There were 131 cows going through the parlour on Tuesday of this week. Average yield was 32.5 litres at 4.36% butterfat and 3.32% protein from 11.3kg/cow/day of concentrates.
“Cows are in one group at the minute because they calved down fairly tight and are at the same stage of lactation. They are on first-cut silage and 6.5kg/cow/day of blend is fed through the wagon,” Richard said.
Dairylink: Calving complete amid weather woes.
A mineral package and other supplements, including rumen buffer and protected fats, are also fed in the ration.
“We will split the milking herd in two when ground dries out and we can get some cows out to grass. Any cows that are scanned in-calf will be turned out initially,” Richard said.
First-cut silage was opened on the Marshall farm in January.
Replacements
There are 40 Holstein heifer calves on the ground from the 2019 calving season and there are 32 in-calf heifers that will be calving down in autumn 2020.
Richard also has seven outlying heifers that were born in late February 2019. These heifers will be calving down too late for his system if he holds off serving them until they are 14 or 15 months.
“We don’t want to run them over because they will be too big if they calve at two and a half years old. We will probably serve them shortly, so that they calve down at 22 months in January,” Richard said.
“This will be the last year that we have this problem because all replacements are now born in the early autumn, so they will be calving at the right time at two years old,” he added.
TB movement restrictions were lifted in January, which has allowed last autumn’s bull calves to be sold. Yearling calves were retained and Richard is considering selling them as forward stores later in the year.
Weather woes
The record level of rainfall seen during February has taken its toll on ground conditions. Richard has not been able to get any slurry spread since the closed period ended at the start of February.
Slurry storage is filling up and Richard has been moving slurry from tanks in the main yard to an outfarm to free up space.
“There is a nice bit of fresh grass across the farm. If ground conditions improve and we get nitrogen on, it could be surprising how things turn around within a fortnight,” Richard said.
Fertiliser plan based on soil analysis results
A nutrient management plan has been developed for the Marshall farm following a whole-farm soil analysis exercise during the winter.
Results from the soil analysis showed that 65% of the land sampled had a soil pH greater than 6.1.
With phosphorus (P) levels, the optimal level for intensive grazing in the Northern Ireland soil index system is 2+ and 78% of Richard’s farm had a score of 3 or more.
For grazing and silage crops, a potassium (K) index of 2- is seen as optimal and the soil analysis results showed that 38% of the Marshall farm was below this level.
“The results suggest that there is little need to apply additional inorganic P to most of the farm,” said Dairylink adviser Aidan Cushnahan.
“Instead, attention will be focused on maximising the use of slurry and inorganic K on areas which have been identified as being low in K. Additional lime may also be applied to areas with a soil pH less than 6.1,” he added.
Fertiliser plan
Richard used DAERA’s online nutrient calculators to develop a fertiliser plan in consultation with Aidan and CAFRE adviser Kieran McCartan.
For grazing ground, all areas with a P index of 3 or greater will receive straight N (27%) throughout the grazing season. An initial amount of around 125kg to 185kg straight N/ha (1 to 1.5 bags/acre) will be applied this spring as soon as soil and weather conditions allow.
Areas with a P index of 2+ may receive up to 20kg phosphate/ha (16 units/acre) later in the season with the compound fertiliser 27:4:4.
Also, some fields with a K index of 1, but with adequate P indexes, may receive additional K in the form of a zero P fertiliser, such as 27:0:6.
Silage ground
On silage ground, areas allocated for first cut will receive 33m3/ha slurry (3,000 gallons/acre) plus 300kg/ha (2.4 bags/acre) of straight N fertiliser.
Areas with a K index less than 2+ will receive additional inorganic K in the form of a zero P fertiliser (possibly 27:0:6) for second- and third-cut silage.
Weekly round-up
Slurry and first-round fertiliser spreading remains behind schedule on Dairylink Ireland farms.Programme farmers are identifying cows that will be suitable for grazing once ground conditions improve.Fertiliser plans for farmers in both phases of Dairylink are being based on soil analysis results from January 2020. Read more
Dairylink: tracking feed efficiency in Co Tyrone
Dairylink: keeping on top of calf rearing in Tyrone
The last three cows are due to calve by the end of this week on Richard Marshall’s farm near Omagh, Co Tyrone. Over 80% of the herd had calved down by the end of December and only 20 tail-end cows that were in calf to beef sires were due from January onwards.
The calving profile on the Marshall farm has tightened significantly over the past two seasons, as Richard moves from spread calving to a more compact autumn-calving system.
There were 131 cows going through the parlour on Tuesday of this week. Average yield was 32.5 litres at 4.36% butterfat and 3.32% protein from 11.3kg/cow/day of concentrates.
“Cows are in one group at the minute because they calved down fairly tight and are at the same stage of lactation. They are on first-cut silage and 6.5kg/cow/day of blend is fed through the wagon,” Richard said.
Dairylink: Calving complete amid weather woes.
A mineral package and other supplements, including rumen buffer and protected fats, are also fed in the ration.
“We will split the milking herd in two when ground dries out and we can get some cows out to grass. Any cows that are scanned in-calf will be turned out initially,” Richard said.
First-cut silage was opened on the Marshall farm in January.
Replacements
There are 40 Holstein heifer calves on the ground from the 2019 calving season and there are 32 in-calf heifers that will be calving down in autumn 2020.
Richard also has seven outlying heifers that were born in late February 2019. These heifers will be calving down too late for his system if he holds off serving them until they are 14 or 15 months.
“We don’t want to run them over because they will be too big if they calve at two and a half years old. We will probably serve them shortly, so that they calve down at 22 months in January,” Richard said.
“This will be the last year that we have this problem because all replacements are now born in the early autumn, so they will be calving at the right time at two years old,” he added.
TB movement restrictions were lifted in January, which has allowed last autumn’s bull calves to be sold. Yearling calves were retained and Richard is considering selling them as forward stores later in the year.
Weather woes
The record level of rainfall seen during February has taken its toll on ground conditions. Richard has not been able to get any slurry spread since the closed period ended at the start of February.
Slurry storage is filling up and Richard has been moving slurry from tanks in the main yard to an outfarm to free up space.
“There is a nice bit of fresh grass across the farm. If ground conditions improve and we get nitrogen on, it could be surprising how things turn around within a fortnight,” Richard said.
Fertiliser plan based on soil analysis results
A nutrient management plan has been developed for the Marshall farm following a whole-farm soil analysis exercise during the winter.
Results from the soil analysis showed that 65% of the land sampled had a soil pH greater than 6.1.
With phosphorus (P) levels, the optimal level for intensive grazing in the Northern Ireland soil index system is 2+ and 78% of Richard’s farm had a score of 3 or more.
For grazing and silage crops, a potassium (K) index of 2- is seen as optimal and the soil analysis results showed that 38% of the Marshall farm was below this level.
“The results suggest that there is little need to apply additional inorganic P to most of the farm,” said Dairylink adviser Aidan Cushnahan.
“Instead, attention will be focused on maximising the use of slurry and inorganic K on areas which have been identified as being low in K. Additional lime may also be applied to areas with a soil pH less than 6.1,” he added.
Fertiliser plan
Richard used DAERA’s online nutrient calculators to develop a fertiliser plan in consultation with Aidan and CAFRE adviser Kieran McCartan.
For grazing ground, all areas with a P index of 3 or greater will receive straight N (27%) throughout the grazing season. An initial amount of around 125kg to 185kg straight N/ha (1 to 1.5 bags/acre) will be applied this spring as soon as soil and weather conditions allow.
Areas with a P index of 2+ may receive up to 20kg phosphate/ha (16 units/acre) later in the season with the compound fertiliser 27:4:4.
Also, some fields with a K index of 1, but with adequate P indexes, may receive additional K in the form of a zero P fertiliser, such as 27:0:6.
Silage ground
On silage ground, areas allocated for first cut will receive 33m3/ha slurry (3,000 gallons/acre) plus 300kg/ha (2.4 bags/acre) of straight N fertiliser.
Areas with a K index less than 2+ will receive additional inorganic K in the form of a zero P fertiliser (possibly 27:0:6) for second- and third-cut silage.
Weekly round-up
Slurry and first-round fertiliser spreading remains behind schedule on Dairylink Ireland farms.Programme farmers are identifying cows that will be suitable for grazing once ground conditions improve.Fertiliser plans for farmers in both phases of Dairylink are being based on soil analysis results from January 2020. Read more
Dairylink: tracking feed efficiency in Co Tyrone
Dairylink: keeping on top of calf rearing in Tyrone
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