Good growth and ground conditions so far this year have meant first-cut silage is being made earlier than usual on Dairylink Ireland farms.
Phase one programme participant Kevin McGrade cut around half his first-cut on Saturday, which is over one week earlier than last year. In total, 73 acres were cut and the grass got a good wilt, allowing it to be ensiled in ideal conditions.
Samples of grass from silage ground on the McGrade farm were sent for laboratory analysis last week and it showed that nitrate concentrations were low at around 300 parts per million (ppm).
The general rule is that grass under 1,000ppm is suitable for ensiling.
In practice, the good growth this season should mean nitrogen will be used up by grass plants and, if grass gets wilted and is ensiled dry, it should ferment with no issues.
Bad fermentation is usually only an issue if there is a lot of moisture in the grass.
Although it has been generally dry over the past week, it has still been cold in most areas, so sugars in grass may still be low.
A refractometer can be used as an on-farm test to give an indication of sugars in grass.
A refractometer, which is more commonly used for testing colostrum quality, was used on Kevin’s farm last week as an on-farm test to measure soluble components in grass.
It showed Brix scores of 2% to 3% in the samples of moisture from grass leaves. This indicates sugar levels similar to the laboratory test results of over 3%, which is suitable for ensiling.
CAFRE adviser Aidan Cushnahan points out that although late-heading grass varieties are around 10 days away from heading, the presence of the seed head in the stem of the plant (before it shoots) will still affect digestibility.
If there is sufficient bulk in the sward and dry weather is forecast, most Dairylink farmers are taking the opportunity to make good-quality silage when it comes.
Weekly round-up
First-cut silage was made on some Dairylink Ireland programmes last weekend.Surplus paddocks from grazing blocks have also been cut for bales or held for first-cut silage.Programme farmers who have not cut are being encouraged to walk silage ground to assess bulk and stem development.Farmer focus: Kevin McGrade, Dromore, Co Tyrone
Cow numbers have been able to rise on Kevin McGrade’s farm near Dromore, Co Tyrone, in recent years.
Soil fertility has improved, which has led to increased grass yields and the ability to carry more stock.
Replacement heifers have also been moved to contract-rearing farms, which has freed up more land for the milking herd.
More recently, additional land within walking distance of the parlour has been rented.
Kevin said that the optimum stocking rate for his farm is around 1.8LU/ha
Between homebred heifers and bought-in stock, cow numbers were able to increase from around 160 at the start of 2018 to 225 by the end of the year.
This left the overall stocking rate on the McGrade farm at over 2.0LU/ha.
Kevin said that the optimum stocking rate for his farm is around 1.8LU/ha.
Higher stocking rates put pressure on the farm and often mean additional forage has to be bought in, especially during a period of wet weather.
Over the years, he has found that although output increases when the stocking rate goes over 1.8LU/ha, overall farm profitability does not.
Surplus
This led Kevin to have a sale of surplus stock in a local mart in January 2019.
Any cows due to calve after 21 November have left the herd, which has allowed the autumn-calving profile to be tightened significantly
The sale of 33 lactating cows was a useful generator of income for the business and is something Kevin would consider doing again if he had surplus stock.
Cull cows have also been sold off since and there are currently 180 cows milking on the McGrade farm, which leaves the overall stocking rate sitting at 1.8LU/ha.
Any cows due to calve after 21 November have left the herd, which has allowed the autumn-calving profile to be tightened significantly.
Kevin also sold 11 young heifer calves with limited genetic potential and bought in 23 high-EBI heifers from the Republic of Ireland.
The bought-in heifers were spring-born, but will calve down at over two years old to allow them to fit into the autumn system on the McGrade farm.
This has been done on the farm before and Kevin was happy with the result.
Housing
Buildings have been renovated to accommodate the herd expansion with 80 new cubicles added to the yard. A slatted feeding area has been roofed and 30 cubicles were added to it.
A feeding area has been roofed and additional cubicles installed on the McGrade farm.
A further 30 cubicles were added to an existing cubicle shed and the other 20 were slipped into an area that was previously used to store machinery.
Automatic scrapers were extended, but no additional slurry storage was needed due to extra capacity coming from rainwater being diverted off the newly roofed feeding area.
Some internal walls in the extended cubicle house were removed to improve visibility in the shed.
The clay banks of a silage pit were fixed up and clamp silage is being made this year.
In previous years, only baled silage was made, and the pit was used to store bales.
Having fewer bales this year should mean that feeding does not take as long in the winter.
Read more
Dairylink: increasing grass yields and herd size in Tyrone
Dairylink: driving output from the grazing block
Dairylink Ireland: breeding the right cow for the system
Good growth and ground conditions so far this year have meant first-cut silage is being made earlier than usual on Dairylink Ireland farms.
Phase one programme participant Kevin McGrade cut around half his first-cut on Saturday, which is over one week earlier than last year. In total, 73 acres were cut and the grass got a good wilt, allowing it to be ensiled in ideal conditions.
Samples of grass from silage ground on the McGrade farm were sent for laboratory analysis last week and it showed that nitrate concentrations were low at around 300 parts per million (ppm).
The general rule is that grass under 1,000ppm is suitable for ensiling.
In practice, the good growth this season should mean nitrogen will be used up by grass plants and, if grass gets wilted and is ensiled dry, it should ferment with no issues.
Bad fermentation is usually only an issue if there is a lot of moisture in the grass.
Although it has been generally dry over the past week, it has still been cold in most areas, so sugars in grass may still be low.
A refractometer can be used as an on-farm test to give an indication of sugars in grass.
A refractometer, which is more commonly used for testing colostrum quality, was used on Kevin’s farm last week as an on-farm test to measure soluble components in grass.
It showed Brix scores of 2% to 3% in the samples of moisture from grass leaves. This indicates sugar levels similar to the laboratory test results of over 3%, which is suitable for ensiling.
CAFRE adviser Aidan Cushnahan points out that although late-heading grass varieties are around 10 days away from heading, the presence of the seed head in the stem of the plant (before it shoots) will still affect digestibility.
If there is sufficient bulk in the sward and dry weather is forecast, most Dairylink farmers are taking the opportunity to make good-quality silage when it comes.
Weekly round-up
First-cut silage was made on some Dairylink Ireland programmes last weekend.Surplus paddocks from grazing blocks have also been cut for bales or held for first-cut silage.Programme farmers who have not cut are being encouraged to walk silage ground to assess bulk and stem development.Farmer focus: Kevin McGrade, Dromore, Co Tyrone
Cow numbers have been able to rise on Kevin McGrade’s farm near Dromore, Co Tyrone, in recent years.
Soil fertility has improved, which has led to increased grass yields and the ability to carry more stock.
Replacement heifers have also been moved to contract-rearing farms, which has freed up more land for the milking herd.
More recently, additional land within walking distance of the parlour has been rented.
Kevin said that the optimum stocking rate for his farm is around 1.8LU/ha
Between homebred heifers and bought-in stock, cow numbers were able to increase from around 160 at the start of 2018 to 225 by the end of the year.
This left the overall stocking rate on the McGrade farm at over 2.0LU/ha.
Kevin said that the optimum stocking rate for his farm is around 1.8LU/ha.
Higher stocking rates put pressure on the farm and often mean additional forage has to be bought in, especially during a period of wet weather.
Over the years, he has found that although output increases when the stocking rate goes over 1.8LU/ha, overall farm profitability does not.
Surplus
This led Kevin to have a sale of surplus stock in a local mart in January 2019.
Any cows due to calve after 21 November have left the herd, which has allowed the autumn-calving profile to be tightened significantly
The sale of 33 lactating cows was a useful generator of income for the business and is something Kevin would consider doing again if he had surplus stock.
Cull cows have also been sold off since and there are currently 180 cows milking on the McGrade farm, which leaves the overall stocking rate sitting at 1.8LU/ha.
Any cows due to calve after 21 November have left the herd, which has allowed the autumn-calving profile to be tightened significantly.
Kevin also sold 11 young heifer calves with limited genetic potential and bought in 23 high-EBI heifers from the Republic of Ireland.
The bought-in heifers were spring-born, but will calve down at over two years old to allow them to fit into the autumn system on the McGrade farm.
This has been done on the farm before and Kevin was happy with the result.
Housing
Buildings have been renovated to accommodate the herd expansion with 80 new cubicles added to the yard. A slatted feeding area has been roofed and 30 cubicles were added to it.
A feeding area has been roofed and additional cubicles installed on the McGrade farm.
A further 30 cubicles were added to an existing cubicle shed and the other 20 were slipped into an area that was previously used to store machinery.
Automatic scrapers were extended, but no additional slurry storage was needed due to extra capacity coming from rainwater being diverted off the newly roofed feeding area.
Some internal walls in the extended cubicle house were removed to improve visibility in the shed.
The clay banks of a silage pit were fixed up and clamp silage is being made this year.
In previous years, only baled silage was made, and the pit was used to store bales.
Having fewer bales this year should mean that feeding does not take as long in the winter.
Read more
Dairylink: increasing grass yields and herd size in Tyrone
Dairylink: driving output from the grazing block
Dairylink Ireland: breeding the right cow for the system
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