Farming Chit Chat

bob charles

delaval wrote: »

You were telling us how much better silage was compared to spring grass, your cattle are telling you something or are they cull dairy stock that know the difference?

they are telling me they like the taste of slurry. The silage these boys are getting would be best described as bought in fibre

delaval

bob charles wrote: »

they are telling me they like the taste of slurry. The silage these boys are getting would be best described as bought in fibre

Lucky bags. We are selling ours at the mo couldn't face opening more bales gettin €25/bale collected.
We are also selling our second cut as it is possibly the worst silage we ever made

mf240

delaval wrote: »

Lucky bags. We are selling ours at the mo couldn't face opening more bales gettin €25/bale collected.
We are also selling our second cut as it is possibly the worst silage we ever made

be better than a snowball in their bellys next april:mad:

bob charles

delaval wrote: »

Lucky bags. We are selling ours at the mo couldn't face opening more bales gettin €25/bale collected.
We are also selling our second cut as it is possibly the worst silage we ever made

yip the stuff is only cheap belly fill to go with the sugar beet as they are only store bulls.

delaval

bob charles wrote: »

yip the stuff is only cheap belly fill to go with the sugar beet as they are only store bulls.

Do you grow your own beet. We used to grow for the cows gave up 3 yrs ago, super feed:D

freedominacup

delaval wrote: »

Do you grow your own beet. We used to grow for the cows gave up 3 yrs ago, super feed:D

Was it because of problems with dirt? or the labour invoved in cleaning? A local contractor was trying to talk guys into growing beet as an alternative to wholecrop/maize. He was looking at buying a washer chopper rig and ensiling the chopped beet. Would it be a workable system?

Timmaay

delaval wrote: »

Lucky bags. We are selling ours at the mo couldn't face opening more bales gettin €25/bale collected.
We are also selling our second cut as it is possibly the worst silage we ever made

How bad is bad?? I'm selling 50 bales of 2nd cut at the min, 68dmd, 20dm, advertised for 18quid a bale, not one call I don't want to work out how much of a loss we are making on it, but I've been telling the 'boss' all winter to sell it while we can (I knew we had wayyy too much), but he kept saying hold on to it incase of a late spring (very very late spring!)

bob charles

delaval wrote: »

Do you grow your own beet. We used to grow for the cows gave up 3 yrs ago, super feed:D

grow my own as there is "natin to touch beet" for getting cheap energy into animals. Even on a bad year like last year it is still cropping well given the conditions.

freedominacup wrote: »

Was it because of problems with dirt? or the labour invoved in cleaning? A local contractor was trying to talk guys into growing beet as an alternative to wholecrop/maize. He was looking at buying a washer chopper rig and ensiling the chopped beet. Would it be a workable system?

For cows you would have to wash, I usually wash ours but will be dry cleaning this year as most only lifted in the last 2 weeks and 8 ac still to lift. The work with beet begins when it comes into the yard. will pit most of it and use during the summer.

Timmaay

Freedom, I heard of some shocking bad yields of beet this year, (like 50t when normally 300t), most maize crops weren't hit as bad as that around here, my neighbour got 12 or 13t/acre of a crop of maize this year despite the rain (by the sea), so I'm thinking of some maize this year to help the fat and proteins from the winter ladies.

Tipp Man

bob charles wrote: »

grow my own as there is "natin to touch beet" for getting cheap energy into animals. Even on a bad year like last year it is still cropping well given the conditions.



For cows you would have to wash, I usually wash ours but will be dry cleaning this year as most only lifted in the last 2 weeks and 8 ac still to lift. The work with beet begins when it comes into the yard. will pit most of it and use during the summer.

Bob whats your technique for pitting the beet? Washed and chopped i assume? With straw layers?

delaval

We used to wash chop and pit with citrus at 4:1 brilliant feed. In winter fed chopped in diet feeder never washed a beet in 20 years for our milkers. We only washed for ensiling as macinne for chopping also washed.

No need to wash beet for cows. We pulled and stored in a shed.

joe man utd

Ash the graveyard shift... 2 cows to calve... Would they ever hurry the fook on...

just do it

delaval wrote: »

As you can imagine milked early calves done and along with student we got it done and heifers into it by 3.30pm and were back to milk at 4.30 only an hour late, so all in all a good day

How's your student working out? If I remember rightly, this is the lad with no previous experience?

just do it

pakalasa wrote: »

49801 is having a clearance suckler sale tomorrow in Macroom mart. (9 March 2013)
Seeing that he hasn't plugged it, i'll do it for him.:D

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/beefcattle/4629106

Beat if luck 49801

whelan1

woke up at 5am remembered i had left the water heater on outside yesterday evening, had to leg it out and turn it off... made use of the hot water and washed milk tank inside and out... man came last night and fixed the feeder 430 euro all in:(

bbam

whelan1 wrote: »

woke up at 5am remembered i had left the water heater on outside yesterday evening, had to leg it out and turn it off... made use of the hot water and washed milk tank inside and out... man came last night and fixed the feeder 430 euro all in:(

Does the water heater not have a thermostat fitted? It would have probably turned off at that stage anyway?
€430 is an expensive mistake, crap like that that bleeds away the cash!!!

whelan1

bbam wrote: »

Does the water heater not have a thermostat fitted? It would have probably turned off at that stage anyway?
€430 is an expensive mistake, crap like that that bleeds away the cash!!!

not sure i put the timer on manual yesterday evening, one of the downsides of the timer having to be moved out of the dairy, used to be able to see if i had left it on... yup, if the fooker had told me when he actually hit the wall-monday- the damage mightnt have been as much, instead of me noticing it yesterday

bbam

whelan1 wrote: »

not sure i put the timer on manual yesterday evening, one of the downsides of the timer having to be moved out of the dairy, used to be able to see if i had left it on... yup, if the fooker had told me when he actually hit the wall-monday- the damage mightnt have been as much, instead of me noticing it yesterday

Next time you have an electrician in have him Run a cable in from the output side of the timer into the dairy. Install a waterproof light fitting on the wall and stick a red coloured bulb into it.
Saw this done many years ago and it's very effective as the red light in ye dairy will only be on when the water heater is on. If the heater is still in the dairy he could tap off the element for the bulb either.

hoseman

Did this for the water well,light ouside dairy,When pump is on light is on,

td5man

bbam wrote: »

Does the water heater not have a thermostat fitted? It would have probably turned off at that stage anyway?
€430 is an expensive mistake, crap like that that bleeds away the cash!!!

Ours is always on, supposed to use less electricity that way if the thermostat is set properly
what was wrong with the feeder, it must have hit the wall at speed to damage it.

bbam

td5man wrote: »

Ours is always on, supposed to use less electricity that way if the thermostat is set properly
what was wrong with the feeder, it must have hit the wall at speed to damage it.

I can't remember the figures exactly but I think for say a 22galon heater, if your using it twice weekly or more it's no more expensive to keep it on rather than cheeper to keep it on. I think the thermostat shouldn't be above 80 degrees. And if course that's for the highly insulated heaters.

whelan1

td5man wrote: »

Ours is always on, supposed to use less electricity that way if the thermostat is set properly
what was wrong with the feeder, it must have hit the wall at speed to damage it.

hes a fooking clown, our feeder is a 170 which is big enough, i dont know how many times i have gotten ito the tractor after him and the mirrors are facing up to space, this feeder is going over narrow roads to outfarm so how the fook can he see if anything is behind him i just said whats the point in me giving out because you are never wrong.... he said he uses the mirrors- bull****! anyway it could have been worse:cool:

dzer2

whelan1 wrote: »

hes a fooking clown, our feeder is a 170 which is big enough, i dont know how many times i have gotten ito the tractor after him and the mirrors are facing up to space, this feeder is going over narrow roads to outfarm so how the fook can he see if anything is behind him i just said whats the point in me giving out because you are never wrong.... he said he uses the mirrors- bull****! anyway it could have been worse:cool:

Verbal warning

Written warning

P45


Thats being nice if it was me P45 straight away and deduct damage from whats owed. You are better off with out your help less stress financial out put and less time sorting out the messes he leaves.

td5man

whelan1 wrote: »

hes a fooking clown, our feeder is a 170 which is big enough, i dont know how many times i have gotten ito the tractor after him and the mirrors are facing up to space, this feeder is going over narrow roads to outfarm so how the fook can he see if anything is behind him i just said whats the point in me giving out because you are never wrong.... he said he uses the mirrors- bull****! anyway it could have been worse:cool:

Mind the mirror they're expensive

whelan1

bbam wrote: »

Next time you have an electrician in have him Run a cable in from the output side of the timer into the dairy. Install a waterproof light fitting on the wall and stick a red coloured bulb into it.
Saw this done many years ago and it's very effective as the red light in ye dairy will only be on when the water heater is on. If the heater is still in the dairy he could tap off the element for the bulb either.

have one of those for the wash down pump in the parlour red light is in dairy, handy job

whelan1

td5man wrote: »

Mind the mirror they're expensive

mmaybe he's afraid to look in it, thats the one thing all our tractors have good mirrors, my husband makes sure of that

just do it

whelan1 wrote: »

hes a fooking clown, our feeder is a 170 which is big enough, i dont know how many times i have gotten ito the tractor after him and the mirrors are facing up to space, this feeder is going over narrow roads to outfarm so how the fook can he see if anything is behind him i just said whats the point in me giving out because you are never wrong.... he said he uses the mirrors- bull****! anyway it could have been worse:cool:

Is this the same fella as a while back?

whelan1

ye....are many suckler farmers having problems this year, had 2 guys looking for my cow lifter the other day for sucklers one having problems with cows going down before calving and the other one is having problems after, had another guy rang me this morning looking for a calf , he is having problems with the calves dying after they are born, reckons its bad hay he fed before christmas....

td5man

whelan1 wrote: »

mmaybe he's afraid to look in it, thats the one thing all our tractors have good mirrors, my husband makes sure of that

Oh mustnt like sitting behind tractors in the lorry

whelan1

td5man wrote: »

Oh mustnt like sitting behind tractors in the lorry

god your hillarious!

munkus

whelan1 wrote: »

ye....are many suckler farmers having problems this year, had 2 guys looking for my cow lifter the other day for sucklers one having problems with cows going down before calving and the other one is having problems after, had another guy rang me this morning looking for a calf , he is having problems with the calves dying after they are born, reckons its bad hay he fed before christmas....

Ya, not great this year. Had a lovely 3 week old bull calf drop dead, was flying around the field the day before. Knacker collecting the dead calf claimed that a mountain of calves have died this spring. Two cases of pneumonia this week as well.

pakalasa

With suckler cows, it is well worth feeding a bit of meal this winter. Far better than dealing with weak cows.

whelan1

pakalasa wrote: »

With suckler cows, it is well worth feeding a bit of meal this winter. Far better than dealing with weak cows.

yup think its a bit late for these guys now

just do it

pakalasa wrote: »

With suckler cows, it is well worth feeding a bit of meal this winter. Far better than dealing with weak cows.

Completely agree. It's also the knock on effects on the following years.

Paid a meal bill today :eek:

whelan1

[QUOTE=just do it;83583466

Paid a meal bill today :eek:[/QUOTE]
fully or in part;) a lad was telling mre today that some fellas have bills of up to 40,000 for meal for the winter:eek::eek::eek: not paid at all

just do it

whelan1 wrote: »

fully or in part;) a lad was telling mre today that some fellas have bills of up to 40,000 for meal for the winter:eek::eek::eek: not paid at all

Paid in full, and was only for the last 6 weeks. Cows on 2kg dairy nuts for another 4 weeks at which point I'll have the first 3 weeks of AI done. They need it though if you want them to rear a calf and come back in heat on what I now know is mediocre silage.

Had my silage analysed and looking at my lack of Spring grass has me thinking growing quality grass is now my main priority. I also weighed the weanlings before Christmas and growth rates were poor. Given I've wet land this means expensive drainage. Anyway I wouldn't want to be taking any drawings out of the farm now would I?!

td5man

just do it wrote: »

Paid in full, and was only for the last 6 weeks. Cows on 2kg dairy nuts for another 4 weeks at which point I'll have the first 3 weeks of AI done. They need it though if you want them to rear a calf and come back in heat on what I now know is mediocre silage.

Had my silage analysed and looking at my lack of Spring grass has me thinking growing quality grass is now my main priority. I also weighed the weanlings before Christmas and growth rates were poor. Given I've wet land this means expensive drainage. Anyway I wouldn't want to be taking any drawings out of the farm now would I?!

Same here re grass.

bogman_bass

bad day here. was vacinating for lepto and noticed that a cow had a start. tipped home for a tube and when I got back into the car I reversed over the dog. Jacked up the car and got her to the vets. I'll be honest I was in tears at that stage. can only imagine how devistating it would be to hit a person.
She was fit to stagger round so maybe the damage isnt that bad:(

whelan1

bogman_bass wrote: »

bad day here. was vacinating for lepto and noticed that a cow had a start. tipped home for a tube and when I got back into the car I reversed over the dog. Jacked up the car and got her to the vets. I'll be honest I was in tears at that stage. can only imagine how devistating it would be to hit a person.
She was fit to stagger round so maybe the damage isnt that bad:(

jeeny mac, had one of them days yesterday... hope dog is ok

delaval

just do it wrote: »

How's your student working out? If I remember rightly, this is the lad with no previous experience?

Working out very well, we ended up with 2 students and he is by far the better. He was actually afraid of cattle when he arrived, I think he would jump in to a bull fight now.
He is by far the best we ever had. He is full of brains and great work ethic. Stomach tubing calves, looks after all vaccinations and helps me with the penicillen cows and calves and has calved plenty of cows but he couldn't drive an ass out of a sandpit.
The other guy hates milking or work of any kind and is always watching the clock so we send him at slurry:mad::mad:

The good guy has a great future and I really hope agriculture won't lose him the other guy wouldn't be missed if he didn't turn up. I should have known he came from another farm where he 'was not happy':(:(

bob charles

Time for gargle, who's joining me. To Hell or to Connaught tonight!!

delaval

bob charles wrote: »

Time for gargle, who's joining me. To Hell or to Connaught tonight!!

Heading out the door now nothing calving tonight:):)
I intend doing what I can for the malt price:D:D

moy83

bob charles wrote: »

Time for gargle, who's joining me. To Hell or to Connaught tonight!!

If you're in my part of Connaught bob ill get you one .Im snaking out shortly for a couple of quick ones

Marooned75

Think ill head for a few swills myself

Juniorhurler

Well for ye all. I am here sitting with a child vomiting all night. Be careful what you wish for on your night out.

redzerologhlen

bob charles wrote: »

Time for gargle, who's joining me. To Hell or to Connaught tonight!!

Are you searching the whole country for a bit of talent bob

Conmaicne Mara

Manoffeeling wrote: »

It's very interesting the way Indians have been portrayed from the early silent movies to modern film.

To be honest I preferred the Westerns that didn't really have indians in them, Rio Bravo possibly being my favourite, thought I have a lot of time for The Man That Killed Liberty Valance too.

Just my rifle, my pony and meeee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ssbgThljU

Spent many a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching them on RTE when I was younger, there are good points to recessions after all, recycled films from way back when TG4 don't do too bad now, but I've not had TV since the switchover so don't know what's going on.

Kovu

Why do calves always come at night?:mad:

Richk2012

Kovu Murr wrote: »

Why do calves always come at night?:mad:

Jus asking myself that very question :rolleyes: ?!!!

just do it

Kovu Murr wrote: »

Why do calves always come at night?:mad:

Actually suits me