The cow diet is unusual for early July but not out of the ordinary as the Greenfield Farm has had very dry ground conditions previously. It means more work for farm staff, stress and hassle for the cows, an extra cost for milk production and dwindling winter feed stocks.
Round-baled silage was being fed inside at the feed barrier but it got so dry and mucky the decision was taken to feed out the silage in the paddocks under a strip wire.
The contractor came and dropped out 70 round bales into paddocks for the next six to seven days and each day the silage is scattered out on the grass as required.
To date there are about 80 of the 225 May round bales used.
The May round bales and first-cut pit silage. About 80 of 225 bales have been fed out to date so far in this dry spell.
Growth has crashed to 24kg/day for the last week, but in reality it’s probably going backwards now with the high temperatures Thursday and Friday.
All the second cut area will be grazed as it has a cover between 700kg and 1,200kg and is likely to go down rather than up. The consequence will be the need to purchase winter feed.
Water is so critical to milking cows in these extreme high temperatures.
Some water leaks were being fixed during the week and an air lock got into the water system.
The result was the cows had no water for maybe two hours and to see the stress that brought to herd you quickly realise that water is gold at the moment.
The vasectomised bulls are still with the herd but beginning to show signs of tiredness.
Farmers must ensure water is available when cows are in paddocks, on the way into and out of milking. Yes it might upset cow flow but cows need every opportunity to drink at the moment.
The more meal you feed the more water is needed.
The last milk test (27 June) shows a result of about 19kg/cow at 3.86% protein and 4.43% fat (1.57kgMS/cow) at 242,000 cell count and 4.93% lactose.
Read more
Grass+: growth dropping as land goes dry
Slurry storage: circular storage tanks
The cow diet is unusual for early July but not out of the ordinary as the Greenfield Farm has had very dry ground conditions previously. It means more work for farm staff, stress and hassle for the cows, an extra cost for milk production and dwindling winter feed stocks.
Round-baled silage was being fed inside at the feed barrier but it got so dry and mucky the decision was taken to feed out the silage in the paddocks under a strip wire.
The contractor came and dropped out 70 round bales into paddocks for the next six to seven days and each day the silage is scattered out on the grass as required.
To date there are about 80 of the 225 May round bales used.
The May round bales and first-cut pit silage. About 80 of 225 bales have been fed out to date so far in this dry spell.
Growth has crashed to 24kg/day for the last week, but in reality it’s probably going backwards now with the high temperatures Thursday and Friday.
All the second cut area will be grazed as it has a cover between 700kg and 1,200kg and is likely to go down rather than up. The consequence will be the need to purchase winter feed.
Water is so critical to milking cows in these extreme high temperatures.
Some water leaks were being fixed during the week and an air lock got into the water system.
The result was the cows had no water for maybe two hours and to see the stress that brought to herd you quickly realise that water is gold at the moment.
The vasectomised bulls are still with the herd but beginning to show signs of tiredness.
Farmers must ensure water is available when cows are in paddocks, on the way into and out of milking. Yes it might upset cow flow but cows need every opportunity to drink at the moment.
The more meal you feed the more water is needed.
The last milk test (27 June) shows a result of about 19kg/cow at 3.86% protein and 4.43% fat (1.57kgMS/cow) at 242,000 cell count and 4.93% lactose.
Read more
Grass+: growth dropping as land goes dry
Slurry storage: circular storage tanks
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