Dairy Farming General

blackdog1

mahoney_j wrote: »

Just read another article in the journal re lely and guys that use their robots.obe thing that always get to me is how ****e most of their milk solids are.guybthis week housed all year herd average 9700 ltrs(which is proably a rolling average and not deliever )and fat 4.0% (good in fairness and 3.15 p.nothing about production costs,no grass ,nothing about solids just more milk

Plus they use the heatime collars and after a few years a share of them break down and arnt cheap to replace. Add that to the maintenance costs and it gets very expensive. 9000 litres is great but as you said what amount of feed is needed?. I could push my cows like that but prefer to get 7500 average on 1.2-1.5 tonnes of meal. Would hate to have the diet feeder running all year.

Greengrass1

Cows in here all day no point letting them out just to stand under a ditch.
3 cows bulling though. Lovely to see.
Any thing that is milking is in super condition.
Well set up for may I hope for a good conception rate

Ruxin

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Cows in here all day no point letting them out just to stand under a ditch.
3 cows bulling though. Lovely to see.
Any thing that is milking is in super condition.
Well set up for may I hope for a good conception rate

Same here lots of rain this morning keeping them in tonight as well hopefully it they will be back out tomorrow.

Greengrass1

Ruxin wrote: »

Same here lots of rain this morning keeping them in tonight as well hopefully it they will be back out tomorrow.

Mine going out now. To a field that will be reSeeded not mush on it so not putting up wires

Greengrass1

https://youtu.be/EyhOmBPtGNM
found this this morning thought it was extremely relatable farming

Greengrass1

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/increases-in-dairy-herd-and-milk-output-are-a-formula-for-disaster-317850.html#.VQFUHwLxlzA.twitter

just do it

Timmaay wrote: »

In the process of building a 6/7ton hopper in the loft to feed the new parlour here! Cost of about 200 quid in materials against 2k for a new bin. I'll probably just put up a bin in the future but for now this will do grand, I've enough money sank into this whole project so far!

Just coming back to this Timmaay, what are the dimensions? What height roof? I was considering having an A frame roof with the parlour along one side. Roof apex at 12ft and gable at 10ft. I'd have the dairy to the side and use the remaining for tractor and a few bales.

just do it

Timmaay wrote: »

Could have the machine running on Friday! But still concrete work, wash down pump and a decent few other smallish jobs to be done. And I'm hoping to go skiing on the 21st! So thinking of waiting until after that!

A well earned break. A week of milking before you go and the you'll be leaving with a grin like a cheshire cat

just do it

Greengrass1 wrote: »

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/increases-in-dairy-herd-and-milk-output-are-a-formula-for-disaster-317850.html#.VQFUHwLxlzA.twitter

I take it she's not in Danone's marketing department!

Timmaay

just do it wrote: »

I take it she's not in Danone's marketing department!

Has a fair few reasonable points! Only things I can argue with is the baby formula mix is on one dairy product, and the huge profit margin on it sure as sh1t is not coming back to us farmers, and then on the NZ pollution, Ireland is a long way ahead on this front with our obligation to store slurry over the winter and not contaminate watercourses etc.

Greengrass1

Timmaay wrote: »

Has a fair few reasonable points! Only things I can argue with is the baby formula mix is on one dairy product, and the huge profit margin on it sure as sh1t is not coming back to us farmers, and then on the NZ pollution, Ireland is a long way ahead on this front with our obligation to store slurry over the winter and not contaminate watercourses etc.

See the really big thing about the lower class in China is water quality. Babies will be alot worse off if fed with this water aswell as not really being able to afford powder

Timmaay

just do it wrote: »

Just coming back to this Timmaay, what are the dimensions? What height roof? I was considering having an A frame roof with the parlour along one side. Roof apex at 12ft and gable at 10ft. I'd have the dairy to the side and use the remaining for tractor and a few bales.

The loaf is over the old parlour, and would probably end up a junk space if I got a meal bin ha. Anyways its not that big 2bh, the loft roof is an A frame, maybe 12ft high at the highest point. I'll basically have the hopper in the middle of the loft, basically just afew 4x2s on edge with laminate flooring as the lining inside the hopper (laminate flooring because it nice and cheap, easy to work with, smooth/hard surface which the nuts will slide on easy). Plenty of support timbers also, the bulk of the nuts will be up high to be able to keep them flowing down the hopper so quite a high centre of gravity.

Also I'll admit straight out the only reason I'm doing this is I have the loft there now and it wont be used, I had zero intentions ever to make a loft over the new parlour, the far simpler job would be to get a meal bin and be done with it ha.

mf240

Greengrass1 wrote: »

See the really big thing about the lower class in China is water quality. Babies will be alot worse off if fed with this water aswell as not really being able to afford powder

Once they get plenty of beastings theyll be grand.

Timmaay

Greengrass1 wrote: »

See the really big thing about the lower class in China is water quality. Babies will be alot worse off if fed with this water aswell as not really being able to afford powder

Agreed, it happened here back in the 70s/80s supposedly also, infant formula makers bribing doctors/hospitals to use their products. That's business unfortunately though, the world is a fcuked up place ultimately and when it comes to business morals are often totally optional.

keep going

Myself and a neighbour are thinking of contract rearing each others heifers, I rear them fro calves to say 15 april next year and he grazes them fromthen until 15 sept say as he has more land available. We are neighbours so in tb breakdown we are both locked up anyway but it just means one lot of animaks with your cows for each of us. Can anybody work out suitable rates per day for either job.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Greengrass1 wrote: »

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/increases-in-dairy-herd-and-milk-output-are-a-formula-for-disaster-317850.html#.VQFUHwLxlzA.twitter

Jaysus, that's as jaundiced a view of agriculture as I've ever seen. I particularly loved the whole pollution of our waterways by agriculture without any mention of where urban waste ends up.

As my father used say, a week of hunger would soften her cough.

Greengrass1

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Jaysus, that's as jaundiced a view of agriculture as I've ever seen. I particularly loved the whole pollution of our waterways by agriculture without any mention of where urban waste ends up.

As my father used say, a week of hunger would soften her cough.

The women that wrote that is going to be on country wide tomorrow morning aswell as Harold Kingston from ifa.
should be a good debate
An taisce are worse though

mahoney_j

Thinking of going with 2* 18 6 12 on milk block today .nice frost last night and more forecast tonight and tomorrow.any risk with it in frosty weather.going with urea on outside block.seem to rember reading somewhere bout spreading compounds in frosty weather

frazzledhome

mahoney_j wrote: »

Thinking of going with 2* 18 6 12 on milk block today .nice frost last night and more forecast tonight and tomorrow.any risk with it in frosty weather.going with urea on outside block.seem to rember reading somewhere bout spreading compounds in frosty weather

Not that I'm aware of. With urea the risk is it sitting on the ground for too long not a prob today

kowtow

Greengrass1 wrote: »

See the really big thing about the lower class in China is water quality. Babies will be alot worse off if fed with this water aswell as not really being able to afford powder

Nobody has ever really explained to my satisfaction why a group of peoples who are largely genetically lactose intolerant, and have been for thousands of years, is supposed to become dependent on our dairy products in order to survive.

There is a very naive belief in parts of the West that China is less "developed" than we are, and that it will become Western in it's ways as it opens up and engages more with the rest of the world. The reality is that the Chinese have been "civilized" a good deal longer than we have in the West and that they will continue to develop on their own terms - as an economic powerhouse, given that they are significantly richer than we are - but not on our terms. They regard Europeans as an uncivilized, dirty, and inferior race.

Those who imagine that the Chinese will get richer and spend their wealth converting to democracy, milk, levis jeans & apple pie are not only sadly mistaken but extraordinarily arrogant.

Greengrass1

frazzledhome wrote: »

Not that I'm aware of. With urea the risk is it sitting on the ground for too long not a prob today

Would half a bag of urea now be to little?
30 units already out

mahoney_j

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Would half a bag of urea now be to little?
30 units already out

Yep bag gg especially if you have 65% plus grazed and hoping to start round 2 on April 1.you silage ground closed yet??With my second round fert going out now I'll have 80 units bag n and 2500 gallons slurry out on milk block.early silage ground has 5500 gallons slurry in 2 splits got as well as been grazed.3* 18 6 12 out in it 2 morrow

C0N0R

mahoney_j wrote: »

Yep bag gg especially if you have 65% plus grazed and hoping to start round 2 on April 1.you silage ground closed yet??With my second round fert going out now I'll have 80 units bag n and 2500 gallons slurry out on milk block.early silage ground has 5500 gallons slurry in 2 splits got as well as been grazed.3* 18 6 12 out in it 2 morrow

No fert out and no grass grazed yet, going with urea in next few days, have some can, should I throw can on some to get an earlier response?

votuvant

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Jaysus, that's as jaundiced a view of agriculture as I've ever seen. I particularly loved the whole pollution of our waterways by agriculture without any mention of where urban waste ends up.

As my father used say, a week of hunger would soften her cough.

I think the journalist is Eamon Ryans wife (Green Party).

Could that explain her view?

freedominacup

kowtow wrote: »

Nobody has ever really explained to my satisfaction why a group of peoples who are largely genetically lactose intolerant, and have been for thousands of years, is supposed to become dependent on our dairy products in order to survive.

There is a very naive belief in parts of the West that China is less "developed" than we are, and that it will become Western in it's ways as it opens up and engages more with the rest of the world. The reality is that the Chinese have been "civilized" a good deal longer than we have in the West and that they will continue to develop on their own terms - as an economic powerhouse, given that they are significantly richer than we are - but not on our terms. They regard Europeans as an uncivilized, dirty, and inferior race.

Those who imagine that the Chinese will get richer and spend their wealth converting to democracy, milk, levis jeans & apple pie are not only sadly mistaken but extraordinarily arrogant.

Kowtow you need to have a leaf through "Why the West has won, for now". Taken over human history advances in civil society and technology have seedsawed between either end of the silk road. The Chinese had the ascendency for quite a while but they dropped the ball several hundred years ago and haven't really regained it .

The whole China has been civilized far longer than the West is a simplistic enough view. They certainly do have their own culture to say the least but it would appear to be heavily influenced currently by western consumerism at least. Every luxury brand story you read will make some reference to the influence the Chinese market is having on profits and the brands future plans for Chinese domination. You don't need a big slice of the ASEAN pie to have a huge market for your goods. Even a piece of the discretionary spend is massive.

A good friend of mine goes there annually on a press the flesh trip meeting customers and trying to generate new business. It is a completely different culture with a completely different set of values in everything from how food is sold to how development is planned and carried out to how the country is governed and there haven't been huge changes to these things in the 15 years or so that he has been travelling there.

In short I'd agree with most of what you posted bar the whole ancient civilisation bit. That's a bit sixties pop culturey for me.

freedominacup

C0N0R wrote: »

should I throw can on some to get an earlier response?

No. Unless it's after lime you should never spread it again.

Greengrass1

mahoney_j wrote: »

Yep bag gg especially if you have 65% plus grazed and hoping to start round 2 on April 1.you silage ground closed yet??With my second round fert going out now I'll have 80 units bag n and 2500 gallons slurry out on milk block.early silage ground has 5500 gallons slurry in 2 splits got as well as been grazed.3* 18 6 12 out in it 2 morrow

Well I convinced dad to go with half a bag urea so I may stick to that now.
I'll still gave 60 units out with my low sr
I can stretch out first round till 10th if I need to which I doubt I will
only 2/3 of silage ground grazed git 2 bags of 15 10 10 after was grazed it'll get 0 7 30 and another 2 bags in 2 wks I think dad said

Looked at reseed this morning.
Not overly enarmered with it tbh.
Around head lands has great regrowth and us very visable can see nothing in middle of field yet
it got 30 u N on Tuesday hardly washed off with all the rain?
I doubt there has been much growth in last 3 days but why is it up so much around headlands and not middle of field

kowtow

freedominacup wrote: »

In short I'd agree with most of what you posted bar the whole ancient civilisation bit. That's a bit sixties pop culturey for me.

Agreed - it is certainly a big simplification, and you are absolutely right that even a niche market in a country so large is a chunk of change worth having.

But I grew up for a few years in Hong Kong (before handover) and I remember even then the dire trouble Western businesses got into when they made the mistake of reading China like a Western market. The Chinese people(s) are extra-ordinary in their self-identification, racist by any current European political definition, and no matter the extent to which they might want western goods they hold Western culture in low regard.

I think my bugbear is the arrogant simplicity of the message as it comes across in Ireland - that we are somehow helping the Chinese to something that they are too ignorant or poor to have obtained on their own.

And whilst I have little sympathy with the original examiner article, I have been smiling all morning at the idea that we religiously ensure that our calves get sufficient colostrum, while depending for our very existence on the hope that Chinese infants don't. If bottled milk for babies is really that good why aren't we expanding our markets for it in the UK, in Europe and in (due course in) the US? Don't all Mothers want Irish grass milk powder for their babies?

In any case - milk is a wonderful, magical substance and we have the means here to produce the best of it and the best from it. Seems a terrible pity that the best we can do is dehydrate it, blow it into silos, shift it around by the loader bucket full and then hope Chinese mothers choose it because it doesn't actually kill people.

Surely, as an industry, we can aspire to a bit more than that.

oxjkqg

Twould be lovely to get the cows out

freedominacup

kowtow wrote: »

And whilst I have little sympathy with the original examiner article, I have been smiling all morning at the idea that we religiously ensure that our calves get sufficient colostrum, while depending for our very existence on the hope that Chinese infants don't. If bottled milk for babies is really that good why aren't we expanding our markets for it in the UK, in Europe and in (due course in) the US? Don't all Mothers want Irish grass milk powder for their babies?

In any case - milk is a wonderful, magical substance and we have the means here to produce the best of it and the best from it. Seems a terrible pity that the best we can do is dehydrate it, blow it into silos, shift it around by the loader bucket full and then hope Chinese mothers choose it because it doesn't actually kill people.

Surely, as an industry, we can aspire to a bit more than that.

In fairness to the ifa they took the infant formula companies to task a number of years ago on their marketing in Africa. Maybe for our longer term benefit we should have a bit more finesse in how we market in China.

C0N0R

freedominacup wrote: »

No. Unless it's after lime you should never spread it again.

It's left over from last year, this is our first venture into the unknown world of urea and if you doesn't work for us I know I'll have getting some amount of blame!

Dawggone

@kowtow.
I agree with your rather glib (:)) post re lactose intolerance etc but I think you may be missing the bullseye.
Let's take it for granted that the Chinese will slavishly follow the consumerism of the west in all ways including dairy...what will happen when the mother and father of recessions hits China?


@freedom.
I read "Why the west rules, for now" 4 or 5 years ago and remember putting it away thinking Morris (author I think) was not taking all angles into account. He seemed to take a fairly narrow view of what really matters between both ends of the Silk Road. He failed, imo, to take into account the huge chasm between both cultures...not to mention omitting India.


It is my (totally ignorant!) opinion that China is in for a very hard fall economically. This may have huge reprocussions for dairy (back on topic) especially Oceania and Ireland.

I rather like the look of India as an emerging market...building momentum slowly...strong banks backed by gold...fantastic work ethic etc.

Apologies typing from the seat of a tractor.

Forgot to add that Kowtow is bang on about the lack of vision in the processing industry in Ireland. Sure I've being banging on about that one trick pony for long time...

just do it

kowtow wrote: »

They regard Europeans as an uncivilized, dirty, and inferior race.

Those who imagine that the Chinese will get richer and spend their wealth converting to democracy, milk, levis jeans & apple pie are not only sadly mistaken but extraordinarily arrogant.

Hold your horses there kowtow, I don't know if that holds true. I know a few people over there and they are very well received and the natives seek them out and enjoy their company. Sure the cultures are different, and hopefully never fully converge or we'll end up with a very boring world. But I don't think the differences are perceived to be as negative as you paint.

Muckit

mahoney_j wrote: »

Just read another article in the journal re lely and guys that use their robots.

God he was no advertisement for robotic milking. The time he saved milking he spent eating l'd say

Greengrass1

Lesson learned
kept two heifers we bred last may that never had and re bred there in Dec
one bulling there now.
never keeping anything that doesn't go incalf again be it a cow or heifer

td5man

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Lesson learned
kept two heifers we bred last may that never had and re bred there in Dec
one bulling there now.
never keeping anything that doesn't go incalf again be it a cow or heifer

Keep saying that too, might actually listen to myself someday.

whelan2

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Lesson learned
kept two heifers we bred last may that never had and re bred there in Dec
one bulling there now.
never keeping anything that doesn't go incalf again be it a cow or heifer

scanned autumn calvers there now
10 heifers 1 not incalf, doesnt have the gear, not a twin to a bull
35 cows 5 not in calf -4 sets of fecking twins-
had only 45 days serving , very happy
scanned 4 angus one very old one not in calf.
cows that are not in calf are all the late calvers

sandydan

as far as im aware, lactose intolerance can be overcome by being fed a milk product from infancy, but some people can become lactose intolerant regardless,
as far as Chinese civilization is concerned,. i never understood the the relevance of what is referred to as the Opium Wars. a war manufactured imo by the East India Trading Company ( which essentially became the British Navy in the Far East) to get the Chines to Part with Silver .at that time China was the only country with abundance of silver and banned trading it. the west wanted it and the EITC started trading opium with Chinese smugglers in return for silver,the Chinese Emperor reacted by attacking the warehouses and slaughtering all concerned with the "trade".So the EITC which had big navy and armies, used this excuse essentially to get British financial support to continue "trading" .This was essentially the reason why the now Chinese Premier only visited Ireland a few years ago inspecting farms and not UK, those Wars are remembered as cause of inflicting massive misery in China, a fact not well known in EU or US. imo because of our history Irish are reasonably well regarded by Chinese.
i was told that a visiting delegation to Ireland allegedly had no room in their suitcases to accept a specially commissioned gift for each. the cases were allegedly packed with Baby Formula.
btw when Brendan OConnor showed that photo of Dame Edna now EU commisioner or ex water rates minster on the Saturday-night Show he said it 3 of those are milking it and it wasn''t the babies.

mf240

kowtow wrote: »

Nobody has ever really explained to my satisfaction why a group of peoples who are largely genetically lactose intolerant, and have been for thousands of years, is supposed to become dependent on our dairy products in order to survive.

I heard Andrex are opening a factory out there now.

There hoping to clean up.

Dawggone

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Looked at reseed this morning.
Not overly enarmered with it tbh.
Around head lands has great regrowth and us very visable can see nothing in middle of field yet

Could it be that the headlands got a better strike?
Grass seeds need soil to be fine and firm. It often happens that the headlands are firmer...

Greengrass1

Dawggone wrote: »

Could it be that the headlands got a better strike?
Grass seeds need soil to be fine and firm. It often happens that the headlands are firmer...

Got no rain for 4 wks when sown and dew sat on headlands longer during the day has a bit to do with it too I think

Dawggone

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Got no rain for 4 wks when sown and dew sat on headlands longer during the day has a bit to do with it too I think

Firmer soil retains more moisture...

In the process of redrilling Lucerne that had the same problem last autumn, and it was Cambridge rolled 3 times.

Greengrass1

Dawggone wrote: »

Firmer soil retains more moisture...

In the process of redrilling Lucerne that had the same problem last autumn, and it was Cambridge rolled 3 times.

I only rolled it once. Roller was full of water though

Buford T. Justice XIX

mf240 wrote: »

I heard Andrex are opening a factory out there now.

There hoping to clean up.

Now that's a sh!te joke

;-)

Markcheese

kowtow wrote: »

Nobody has ever really explained to my satisfaction why a group of peoples who are largely genetically lactose intolerant, and have been for thousands of years, is supposed to become dependent on our dairy products in order to survive.

There is a very naive belief in parts of the West that China is less "developed" than we are, and that it will become Western in it's ways as it opens up and engages more with the rest of the world. The reality is that the Chinese have been "civilized" a good deal longer than we have in the West and that they will continue to develop on their own terms - as an economic powerhouse, given that they are significantly richer than we are - but not on our terms. They regard Europeans as an uncivilized, dirty, and inferior race.

Those who imagine that the Chinese will get richer and spend their wealth converting to democracy, milk, levis jeans & apple pie are not only sadly mistaken but extraordinarily arrogant.

They're trying western foods - styles ect .
Not so long ago a Chinese takeaway here was something similar (something different ) . I know most Chinese people wouldn't even look twice at our how meins and chop sueys but hey .
We don't really need the whole Far East to convert to a western diet - just a few to dabble in it - well so I reckon any how

trixi2011

Markcheese wrote: »

They're trying western foods - styles ect .
Not so long ago a Chinese takeaway here was something similar (something different ) . I know most Chinese people wouldn't even look twice at our how meins and chop sueys but hey .
We don't really need the whole Far East to convert to a western diet - just a few to dabble in it - well so I reckon any how

was at a conference in nz about the Chinese markets about 5 years ago. They had some graphs on how the diets were changing to more western food and one of the drivers was the introduction of mc donalds to the urban centres.

atlantic mist

http://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/news/eu-still-chasing-superlevy-from-italian-farmers-317899.html

no chance our lads would give that a shot?? cant burn the banks but they catch us for being a little bold producing to much to feed the world!!

kowtow

On a slightly different note I am enjoying Minister Coveneys recent string of announcements, particularly that dairy expansion of 300,000 cows is expected to create 10,000 jobs (including all those in farming and related industries).

It's great to think that every thirty additional cows will pay the salary of one additional person somewhere, in the processing plant, in the creamery, in the DVO or the agriculture department, in the PR & marketing agencies and of course on the farm itself.

Except not quite on the farm itself, because there - where the real work is done day in day out, where the extra cow will be born, fed, served, calved, cursed, coddled, milked, cured and cared for 365 days a year for every day of her working life and a couple of years before - the average dairy farmer will be expected to *add* 30 cows to the average herd, taking every risk - financial and physical needed to grow her feed (because it must not be bought), to house her, milk her and nurture her, regardless of milk price, or else (according to this weeks news) he must go and get a second job to support the cows he already milks.

Something very unbalanced about this value chain.

freedominacup

atlantic mist wrote: »

http://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/news/eu-still-chasing-superlevy-from-italian-farmers-317899.html

no chance our lads would give that a shot?? cant burn the banks but they catch us for being a little bold producing to much to feed the world!!

The very least they should do would be to make w bit of that billion they raised from the QE available. 1.307% over 30 years. A 10k superlevy would be costing around €460/year to pay off. The eu would get their money when it was due and guys who are over would hardly feel the payment. Everybody happy.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Just registering a few sucks here and found 4 had calved to the second last insemination or else were at least 21 days premature. All normal sized and healthy as stones so i put the second last AI bull down as the sire.

Dos this happen often to any of you or what do you do if it happens?