Happy New Year to you, I hope it finds you in good cheer. As always the questions posed by the weather are top of the agenda. We’ve been lucky enough to get a bit of frost through December and into January.While it’s fantastic to be able to get out on the fields we didn’t have the time because we were thawing out water pipes. The two cattle sheds have different systems for water. At the contract the water is provided in small troughs: small volume creates constant drinking so the pipes are less likely to freeze, but when they do you must defrost them first thing because the calves have no water available. Here at home we have big troughs. Some of them freeze quite easily but with a fair volume in the tank they can be left until the afternoon by which time they are often part-thawed or even running themselves with the sun on the shed. On reflection I’d go for big tanks but try and have them on the south side of the shed, or more likely, I shall wish for such things while waiting for the kettle to boil so I can thaw the pipes (better still is the hot water tap and the watering can, quicker but don’t tell Harriet!).
Happy New Year to you, I hope it finds you in good cheer. As always the questions posed by the weather are top of the agenda. We’ve been lucky enough to get a bit of frost through December and into January.
While it’s fantastic to be able to get out on the fields we didn’t have the time because we were thawing out water pipes. The two cattle sheds have different systems for water. At the contract the water is provided in small troughs: small volume creates constant drinking so the pipes are less likely to freeze, but when they do you must defrost them first thing because the calves have no water available. Here at home we have big troughs. Some of them freeze quite easily but with a fair volume in the tank they can be left until the afternoon by which time they are often part-thawed or even running themselves with the sun on the shed. On reflection I’d go for big tanks but try and have them on the south side of the shed, or more likely, I shall wish for such things while waiting for the kettle to boil so I can thaw the pipes (better still is the hot water tap and the watering can, quicker but don’t tell Harriet!).
The warm autumn after the damp summer has created the perfect conditions for a good crop of liver fluke. This means an extra dose over the winter, so more time and cost.
Better news with the contract ewes, they are in smashing nick. In both flocks the number of ewes marked for second turn is 12-15%. I’m happy at that, given some of the tups had 85 ewes. Harnessing for the second turn also lets us see if any tups weren’t working but all 22 tups were up to the job.
Two things have caught my attention this week. Buried in the UK Government’s plan for the environment is an undertaking to reduce sheep-grazing density on the uplands.
Secondly, I was doing some rough figures on the cost of wintering cows on the contracts. On one with good-quality Angus-type cows being out-wintered and fed silage with 2kg of oats to make up for lower protein levels in the silage the approximate cost of feeding until April will be around £200/cow with the silage being valued at sale value.
The second contract is utilising Highland and Highland cross cows to provide environmental gain on hill ground. No forage has been given as yet and they are up to 2.5kg of suckler cow rolls per head per day. That will increase as calving draws near (both herds calve in March). Cost for the winter, about £75-£85/head depending on snow fall.
I realise the calf isn’t worth as much etc and these are projected numbers but there is no tractor, no mud, no black plastic and importantly a huge environmental windfall that makes for an easier sell to the public.
It keeps agricultural production in the uplands as well as providing critical mass to the markets and processing sectors. While it won’t work everywhere it does raise questions.
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