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Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    Personally I'd be of the opinion to leave them where they are but I won't use a bull without a linear (type) proof.

    I have to laugh when u can buy the likes of dragon, spock,legend, acres eight for 8-10 euro but lads reckon spending 20 euro plus on genomic sires with the magical 350 plus ebi is a silver bullet, printing press for ai companies more like


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,920 ✭✭✭freedominacup


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    I have to laugh when u can buy the likes of dragon, spock,legend, acres eight for 8-10 euro but lads reckon spending 20 euro plus on genomic sires with the magical 350 plus ebi is a silver bullet, printing press for ai companies more like

    Spock? Still?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,485 ✭✭✭Keepgrowing


    Spock? Still?

    Loads of water


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    Spock? Still?

    Yeah probably my favourite bull I have cows milking off, handy calved, perfect outcross for cows with oman breeding, lovely quiet cows too and the main thing lots of milk.....
    Think I have the last batch of straws Eurogene had left in flask of him, have 8 smashing spock heifers for the bull next spring, their going to make lovely cows


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,103 ✭✭✭alps


    Mooooo wrote: »
    How many bulls did you use dawg. In order to protect against the duds the advice is to use a panel of 5 minimum,

    You can't protect against the duds......except to use proven...

    The cost of duds is not properly factored into the equation. Suppose we use 5 test bull and we end up with 5daughters...1from each bull.

    2 daughters end up 50€ /lact more profitable
    is average
    1 is slightly less than average
    And 1 is a complete dud...

    The sums on year 1 will go something like this
    +50
    +50
    +0
    -20
    -1300

    In the physical application of actual farming, you cannot offset the actual financial hit of a dud....not to mind having 5 or 6 of them...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    But they are "proven" dawg. Genomically provern. This is still just using extremely complicated algorithms for a best guess result. This opinion is from someone who was in on the ground floor of quantitative genetics long before the processing power was freely available to do the maths quickly.

    I think that I'd prefer daughter proven rather an algo proof from now on.

    I used 24 different Bulls...maybe I'll get lucky.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    Dawggone wrote: »
    I think that I'd prefer daughter proven rather an algo proof from now on.

    I used 24 different Bulls...maybe I'll get lucky.

    You any eldweiss daughters milking dawg, used a good bit of him on the less milky ladies this spring


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    jaymla627 wrote:
    You any eldweiss daughters milking dawg, used a good bit of him on the less milky ladies this spring


    I have yearlings of that bull very strong animals. The bull calves were the best looking calves I ever had from 100% holstein. Each of them made 150+ as 2 week old calves


  • Registered Users Posts: 728 ✭✭✭MF290


    I worked a Keenan 100 on a 4600 ford years ago. They can be geared for smaller tractors when ordering new.

    Heard of a 165 that was on one for years, reducer gear on it. 75hp ran our 100 with ease for 10 years, we'd 75hp on a 350 for a few months this winter .... Puts the tractor under a bit too much pressure though


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,051 ✭✭✭kevthegaff


    MF290 wrote:
    Heard of a 165 that was on one for years, reducer gear on it. 75hp ran our 100 with ease for 10 years, we'd 75hp on a 350 for a few months this winter .... Puts the tractor under a bit too much pressure though


    Unkle finished 1000 cattle a year with a universal and 100 keenan, we had a 100 serious work got through


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,854 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    Timmaay wrote: »
    Stan uses a fair few of them and gets on well enough I think? The only particular bad unproven bull I've used here the last few years is KSK, utterly crap milker and small cows so won't even make much as culls. And I got 9 more of them coming into the parlour next spring ugh.
    ye very disappointed with ksk heifers, I used sexed Ksk too :cool: have some ABO and PBM heifers that are smashers though


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    You any eldweiss daughters milking dawg, used a good bit of him on the less milky ladies this spring

    I've a few.
    Milky and sizeable. Not overly sold on mobility.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,065 ✭✭✭awaywithyou


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    You any eldweiss daughters milking dawg, used a good bit of him on the less milky ladies this spring

    Is that the correct name for that bull?? Searching for him on icbf with your spelling.... Not being recognised...

    Never again using genomic Bulls here..... Except for pkx.... I think genomics is a waste of time and ebi isn't much better..... Hard to rely on ebi when icbf are constantly messing with it....


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    Is that the correct name for that bull?? Searching for him on icbf with your spelling.... Not being recognised...

    Never again using genomic Bulls here..... Except for pkx.... I think genomics is a waste of time and ebi isn't much better..... Hard to rely on ebi when icbf are constantly messing with it....

    Edelweiss.

    Damn you to hell for taking the name of EBI in vain!

    :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    Is that the correct name for that bull?? Searching for him on icbf with your spelling.... Not being recognised...

    Never again using genomic Bulls here..... Except for pkx.... I think genomics is a waste of time and ebi isn't much better..... Hard to rely on ebi when icbf are constantly messing with it....

    S2195 is the code, wouldn't be using a bull like him across all your cows only use him here on the jersey crosses and smaller cows to put a bit more power into their heifers hopefully....
    Progressive have a great selection of daughter proven bulls now their able to get abs bulls, the likes of laurhill classic, pello and pesky are top quality daughter proven bulls, all oman sons though if you want outcrosses eldweiss is a option, kodak red, delta gravity....
    Very old school here in that if I come across a bull that I like and he's producing the goods I keep using him every year, don't see the point in chasing the next best thing when the bulls im using are producing the goods


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,354 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    Dawggone wrote: »
    Edelweiss.

    Damn you to hell for taking the name of EBI in vain!

    :)

    That bull all whitewater +500 kg milk ,negative for sokids ,negative for health ,negative for fertility .nothing would lead me to use him
    And the ebi/genomics bashing continues .delievering in a huge way in this herd by end of this year full herd will be genotyped and see no reason to move away from it .


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    Timmaay wrote: »
    Stan uses a fair few of them and gets on well enough I think? The only particular bad unproven bull I've used here the last few years is KSK, utterly crap milker and small cows so won't even make much as culls. And I got 9 more of them coming into the parlour next spring ugh.


    Was disappointed with ksk as heifers- but they are maturing well as second Calvers


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    stanflt wrote: »
    Was disappointed with ksk as heifers- but they are maturing well as second Calvers

    She's 3 weeks away from calving at the moment but looks to have transformed


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,354 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    S2195 is the code, wouldn't be using a bull like him across all your cows only use him here on the jersey crosses and smaller cows to put a bit more power into their heifers hopefully....
    Progressive have a great selection of daughter proven bulls now their able to get abs bulls, the likes of laurhill classic, pello and pesky are top quality daughter proven bulls, all oman sons though if you want outcrosses eldweiss is a option, kodak red, delta gravity....
    Very old school here in that if I come across a bull that I like and he's producing the goods I keep using him every year, don't see the point in chasing the next best thing when the bulls im using are producing the goods

    Not chasing the next big thing ,am chasing more solids ,more production ,more fertilityandcsokuds cruically profit from fty in parlour and grazed grass .genotyping and genomic Bulls delievering exactly that


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    Is that the correct name for that bull?? Searching for him on icbf with your spelling.... Not being recognised...

    Never again using genomic Bulls here..... Except for pkx.... I think genomics is a waste of time and ebi isn't much better..... Hard to rely on ebi when icbf are constantly messing with it....


    Pkx look great. But won't fill the tank


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    What about fr2380
    Positive for milk
    Plus 37 kg solids

    And positive on type

    All on new ebi figures

    Great cow family


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    I'm not getting involved...

    I've some good Dutch/French/US/Canadian lines here but I'm certainly not an enthusiast.
    I'll leave the finer points to you guys.

    Production seems to be well covered by Hols... Work on 1. Mobility 2. Solids 3. Fertility.

    Btw I'm not breeding replacements anymore. I'm just making an observation on my (limited) experience on genomically tested sires...that's all.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    mahoney_j wrote: »
    That bull all whitewater +500 kg milk ,negative for sokids ,negative for health ,negative for fertility .nothing would lead me to use him
    And the ebi/genomics bashing continues .delievering in a huge way in this herd by end of this year full herd will be genotyped and see no reason to move away from it .


    Your basing your assumptions on a randomly generated computer ebi....daughter proven bull who's dams 2nd lactation 305 day average was 8900 kgs at 4.8bf/4.2pr wouldn't call that white water, he's on the extreme scale of bulls I use but he's ideal for crossbred small cows, a heifer calf of this combo is my dream cow fertility solids and milk along with being hard as nails


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,354 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    Your basing your assumptions on a randomly generated computer ebi....daughter proven bull who's dams 2nd lactation 305 day average was 8900 kgs at 4.8bf/4.2pr wouldn't call that white water, he's on the extreme scale of bulls I use but he's ideal for crossbred small cows, a heifer calf of this combo is my dream cow fertility solids and milk along with being hard as nails

    Your correct ,serious X off a jex or the likes of low milk Bulls like tih ,but wouldn't touch on any sort of decent volume hol type cow .as for randomly generated computer figure well disagree


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    mahoney_j wrote: »
    Your correct ,serious X off a jex or the likes of low milk Bulls like tih ,but wouldn't touch on any sort of decent volume hol type cow .as for randomly generated computer figure well disagree

    The thing I find head scratching if in the morning you went to say buy a bull, you have two choices both bulls have the same sire but different dams.....
    Dam a is say edelweiss dam her milk recored figured are as before 8900 litres 2nd lactation 4.8%/4.2%pr dam b is say the high ebI bulls vincents dam who had 3 rd lactation milk recorded figures of 5680 kgs of milk at 3.85% far 3.62% pr.....
    Going of the much vaunted ebi system vincents dam will give you a higher solids bull that will apparently hands down outperform the "whitewater" edelweiss dams bull, it really doesn't make any logically sense to me that could be the case but hey what does a simple minded lad like me know the icbf couldn't be wrong


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    The thing I find head scratching if in the morning you went to say buy a bull, you have two choices both bulls have the same sire but different dams.....
    Dam a is say edelweiss dam her milk recored figured are as before 8900 litres 2nd lactation 4.8%/4.2%pr dam b is say the high ebI bulls vincents dam who had 3 rd lactation milk recorded figures of 5680 kgs of milk at 3.85% far 3.62% pr.....
    Going of the much vaunted ebi system vincents dam will give you a higher solids bull that will apparently hands down outperform the "whitewater" edelweiss dams bull, it really doesn't make any logically sense to me that could be the case but hey what does a simple minded lad like me know the icbf couldn't be wrong
    EBI is calculated across the entire industry so it should show the average improvement/disimprovement that a bull will cause across a range of farm types and systems and farmers.

    For me, the big success of EBI is the continued improvement of days in milk and there is a whole lot more to do in that regard. It probably isn't a higher priority on a farm with 2 calving periods but Kerry had little/no winter milk bonuses so an animal HAS to calve in spring and go back in calf again to calve down every 365 days. We have practically no option to produce winter milk so a late calving cow will be culled. The high output cow above would do well to stay in a simple grass to milk system for a few years and would probably be culled after 2 calvings. The second cow would be a much better bet for grass to milk as she wouldn't be pushed as much to get the extra DM intake that the first cow would need to stay in the herd.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    The thing I find head scratching if in the morning you went to say buy a bull, you have two choices both bulls have the same sire but different dams.....
    Dam a is say edelweiss dam her milk recored figured are as before 8900 litres 2nd lactation 4.8%/4.2%pr dam b is say the high ebI bulls vincents dam who had 3 rd lactation milk recorded figures of 5680 kgs of milk at 3.85% far 3.62% pr.....
    Going of the much vaunted ebi system vincents dam will give you a higher solids bull that will apparently hands down outperform the "whitewater" edelweiss dams bull, it really doesn't make any logically sense to me that could be the case but hey what does a simple minded lad like me know the icbf couldn't be wrong

    Edelweiss dam only ever calved once and this is her lactation details are no where near what you mentioned above


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    For me, the big success of EBI is the continued improvement of days in milk and there is a whole lot more to do in that regard. It probably isn't a higher priority on a farm with 2 calving periods but Kerry had little/no winter milk bonuses so an animal HAS to calve in spring and go back in calf again to calve down every 365 days. We have practically no option to produce winter milk so a late calving cow will be culled. The high output cow above would do well to stay in a simple grass to milk system for a few years and would probably be culled after 2 calvings. The second cow would be a much better bet for grass to milk as she wouldn't be pushed as much to get the extra DM intake that the first cow would need to stay in the herd.


    Your right and your wrong. If you breed a high producing bull to a low producing cow you should have no problem with a grass based system. If you breed to a higher producing cow you'll just have to feed more. Again not a problem. I've seen edelweiss heifers and they are crackers and according to French farmers I know they are doing the business. They're no milking cows in Ireland yet so those figures will probably go up when he gets a proof here. I find in general foreign Bulls get lower ebi to start and generally improve whereas Irish tend to get higher genomic ebi and then go down a bit.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    stanflt wrote:
    Edelweiss dam only ever calved once and this is her lactation details are no where near what you mentioned above


    Very common in France with excellent cows. They usually put them on a flushing programme. I'd be surprised if a cow that good calves again...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    Your right and your wrong. If you breed a high producing bull to a low producing cow you should have no problem with a grass based system. If you breed to a higher producing cow you'll just have to feed more. Again not a problem. I've seen edelweiss heifers and they are crackers and according to French farmers I know they are doing the business. They're no milking cows in Ireland yet so those figures will probably go up when he gets a proof here. I find in general foreign Bulls get lower ebi to start and generally improve whereas Irish tend to get higher genomic ebi and then go down a bit.
    That's the nub of the problem.

    Most farmers in the country are nowhere near good enough grassland managers to go down the route of producing cows that need a lot of DMI to produce and go in calf. Lacking in P,K and lime, most grassland wouldn't produce even 10t DM/ha, never mind the 15t and upwards that a minority of farmers are doing.

    And an added bonus of those high tonnage grasslands is the much higher ME levels in the grass when fed to animals. Instead, farmers would have to feed higher levels of ration to those cows taking them towards uneconomical levels of feeding to keep those cows in the herd.

    The EBI system suits the vast majority of farmers in the country with a small minority being better served by using those high input/high output genetics.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,920 ✭✭✭freedominacup


    That's the nub of the problem.

    Most farmers in the country are nowhere near good enough grassland managers to go down the route of producing cows that need a lot of DMI to produce and go in calf. Lacking in P,K and lime, most grassland wouldn't produce even 10t DM/ha, never mind the 15t and upwards that a minority of farmers are doing.

    And an added bonus of those high tonnage grasslands is the much higher ME levels in the grass when fed to animals. Instead, farmers would have to feed higher levels of ration to those cows taking them towards uneconomical levels of feeding to keep those cows in the herd.

    The EBI system suits the vast majority of farmers in the country with a small minority being better served by using those high input/high output genetics.

    The green cert in various iterations is around long enough that the first cohorts to get it are now drawing the pension. Why aren't the skills more widely available.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    Very common in France with excellent cows. They usually put them on a flushing programme. I'd be surprised if a cow that good calves again...


    Excellent cow??? Did one lactation- had a falsified second lactation with no calving records???!!

    Lasted one yr- has no other offspring so if she was flushed it would show up as an embryo transfer but no data exists- at least ebi uses real data


    Waiting on jay for an answer


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    stanflt wrote:
    Excellent cow??? Did one lactation- had a falsified second lactation with no calving records???!!
    Are you saying the French who have one of the biggest and best breeding programmes in the World falsified information..... I'd be very surprised.
    stanflt wrote:
    Lasted one yr- has no other offspring so if she was flushed it would show up as an embryo transfer but no data exists- at least ebi uses real data

    That's assuming icbf have all the information. You'll have to go to the ploughing and ask a Eurogene rep.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    Are you saying the French who have one of the biggest and best breeding programmes in the World falsified information..... I'd be very surprised.



    That's assuming icbf have all the information. You'll have to go to the ploughing and ask a Eurogene rep.

    its not icbf data

    its ihfa data


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    Are you saying the French who have one of the biggest and best breeding programmes in the World falsified information..... I'd be very surprised.



    That's assuming icbf have all the information. You'll have to go to the ploughing and ask a Eurogene rep.

    look the dam up yourself


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    The green cert in various iterations is around long enough that the first cohorts to get it are now drawing the pension. Why aren't the skills more widely available.
    That's the question, isn't it.

    Many continue on doing the same things they have always done, they're paying the bills and are happy enough with that and are fiercely resistant to change.

    Many are older farmers who can draw enough to live on and are content. Many are younger farmers working off farm and happy enough if the farm breaks even as they have other income.

    Older lads like myself just starting to catch up (or try to) with the top lads.

    We are lucky to have an organisation like Teagasc to drive the knowledge base in improving grassland management but it surely hasn't been avoiding your notice that many, many on here, the vast majority younger than the average farmer, have a resistance built up to accepting anything that Teagasc or the Farmers Journal promote as well.

    Look, the knowledge is out there but I would question the desire of many to find it or use it. Jaysus, I'm no textbook farmer by any degree but I admit I have been slow at times to put the knowledge to use and I would be keen to progress the farm.

    Discussion groups will work for a lot and peer pressure will work for some more but it's up to everyone to find their own route to improvement and a lot of those routes may not include the only structure in place today to pass on knowledge, the discussion group. What that may be, I have no idea but I know a lot of farmers would be intimidated by the results of the best or loudest in a group and just stay quiet.

    Ah bugger, that's longer than I meant when I started and I better go do some stroke of work again before school runs. I just don't know is the answer, freedom.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    stanflt wrote:
    its not icbf data

    stanflt wrote:
    its ihfa data


    It doesn't really matter now anyway Stan....the bull is proven now. He has thousands of daughters in France and that information will be way more useful than the mothers.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter now anyway Stan....the bull is proven now. He has thousands of daughters in France and that information will be way more useful than the mothers.



    yes but ye all are so quick to blame icbf and claim this and that

    one thing for sure is at least their data is transperent

    all info on bulls can be backed up unlike foreign bulls


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    stanflt wrote: »
    yes but ye all are so quick to blame icbf and claim this and that

    one thing for sure is at least their data is transperent

    all info on bulls can be backed up unlike foreign bulls

    Your claim about edelweiss is rocky to be fair, just looked up laurelhill classics dams details and she is down as only having completed 3 lactactions, she was sold in her 4th lactation in the dispersal sale of that herd as incalf and projected to do 12000kgs in that lactation back in 2013....
    Best get on to your buddies in the ihfa to update their data bases, may ask my eurogene rep about it to, best not to slander companies unless your 100% sure of the facts


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    stanflt wrote:
    yes but ye all are so quick to blame icbf and claim this and that

    I'm a buyer your a seller your going to defend them even if they make mistakes. Most of us are very happy with the work icbf does but we don't think they are infallible.

    stanflt wrote:
    one thing for sure is at least their data is transperent

    Most countries data is transparent. I don't know where you get this idea from.

    stanflt wrote:
    all info on bulls can be backed up unlike foreign bulls

    Again don't understand this statement. Proven Bulls are proven Bulls. Figures back this up. Genomic bulls can't be backed up until they get a proof... Foreign or domestic.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    Your claim about edelweiss is rocky to be fair, just looked up laurelhill classics dams details and she is down as only having completed 3 lactactions, she was sold in her 4th lactation in the dispersal sale of that herd as incalf and projected to do 12000kgs in that lactation back in 2013....
    Best get on to your buddies in the ihfa to update their data bases, may ask my eurogene rep about it to, best not to slander companies unless your 100% sure of the facts


    where was she sold to- i could look up the old sales cateloq


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    blackdog1 wrote: »
    I'm a buyer your a seller your going to defend them even if they make mistakes. Most of us are very happy with the work icbf does but we don't think they are infallible.




    Most countries data is transparent. I don't know where you get this idea from.




    Again don't understand this statement. Proven Bulls are proven Bulls. Figures back this up. Genomic bulls can't be backed up until they get a proof... Foreign or domestic
    .


    when you use a foreign bull and his milk figures bear no resemplance to his data


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,155 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    stanflt wrote:
    when you use a foreign bull and his milk figures bear no resemplance to his data

    That's only if you use the countries own data. Icbf converts it to suit Irish system. The data is correct for that country but not ours. Take edelweiss he's +800 kg of milk in France and 2.4 protein. Which is correct for a French farmer in France. Icbf take that data and convert it to be correct on Irish farms based on past experience with French bulls. So he ends up with +500kg milk +0.01 protein. Now this could go up or down depending on how his Irish daughters milk.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,777 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    stanflt wrote: »
    where was she sold to- i could look up the old sales cateloq

    Cyril and martin Millar coleraine county londonderry her six month old daughter was sold at same sale for north of 4000 euro and surprise surprise she doesn't show up as being in existence on the ihfa database, this cow like edelweiss mother apparently only had one calf, pretty piss poor database by the looks of it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,564 ✭✭✭stanflt


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    Cyril and martin Millar coleraine county londonderry her six month old daughter was sold at same sale for north of 4000 euro and surprise surprise she doesn't show up as being in existence on the ihfa database, this cow like edelweiss mother apparently only had one calf, pretty piss poor database by the looks of it



    Yeah database not the greatest- missing data like that would put me off a bull- I'm sure others would be put off also

    Checked French bull figures and can't see any data for dam- she may have been sold out of the country


    There should be cross border data shared to give us proper data


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,920 ✭✭✭freedominacup


    That's the question, isn't it.

    Many continue on doing the same things they have always done, they're paying the bills and are happy enough with that and are fiercely resistant to change.

    Many are older farmers who can draw enough to live on and are content. Many are younger farmers working off farm and happy enough if the farm breaks even as they have other income.

    Older lads like myself just starting to catch up (or try to) with the top lads.

    We are lucky to have an organisation like Teagasc to drive the knowledge base in improving grassland management but it surely hasn't been avoiding your notice that many, many on here, the vast majority younger than the average farmer, have a resistance built up to accepting anything that Teagasc or the Farmers Journal promote as well.

    Look, the knowledge is out there but I would question the desire of many to find it or use it. Jaysus, I'm no textbook farmer by any degree but I admit I have been slow at times to put the knowledge to use and I would be keen to progress the farm.

    Discussion groups will work for a lot and peer pressure will work for some more but it's up to everyone to find their own route to improvement and a lot of those routes may not include the only structure in place today to pass on knowledge, the discussion group. What that may be, I have no idea but I know a lot of farmers would be intimidated by the results of the best or loudest in a group and just stay quiet.

    Ah bugger, that's longer than I meant when I started and I better go do some stroke of work again before school runs. I just don't know is the answer, freedom.

    At the end of the day dairy cow nutrition is pretty straightforward. Junior cert maths and the ability to read a few tables of requirements is all that's needed but it's constantly portrayed as rocket science by teagasc and the ifj not to mention the myriad of consultants and feed company nutritionists that are getting fat on farmers lack of knowledge in this area. Teagasc have to accept a deal of the blame for this as they were charged with training and upskilling us for the past half century.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    At the end of the day dairy cow nutrition is pretty straightforward. Junior cert maths and the ability to read a few tables of requirements is all that's needed but it's constantly portrayed as rocket science by teagasc and the ifj not to mention the myriad of consultants and feed company nutritionists that are getting fat on farmers lack of knowledge in this area. Teagasc have to accept a deal of the blame for this as they were charged with training and upskilling us for the past half century.

    Mega +1.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,987 ✭✭✭yosemitesam1


    At the end of the day dairy cow nutrition is pretty straightforward. Junior cert maths and the ability to read a few tables of requirements is all that's needed but it's constantly portrayed as rocket science by teagasc and the ifj not to mention the myriad of consultants and feed company nutritionists that are getting fat on farmers lack of knowledge in this area. Teagasc have to accept a deal of the blame for this as they were charged with training and upskilling us for the past half century.

    A good part of the problem is its a case of the blind leading the blind, I wouldn't have considered any lecturer's I came across in ag college to be an expert, it was literally a case of a lad got his ag degree and either started teaching straight away or did a bit of filling in forms for a while first.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,920 ✭✭✭freedominacup


    A good part of the problem is its a case of the blind leading the blind, I wouldn't have considered any lecturer's I came across in ag college to be an expert, it was literally a case of a lad got his ag degree and either started teaching straight away or did a bit of filling in forms for a while first.

    Not a huge amount of expertise needed. Anyone who did an ACP ag degree should have a comprehensive knowledge of the topic. Most ag advisors would have this background.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭Dawggone


    Not a huge amount of expertise needed. Anyone who did an ACP ag degree should have a comprehensive knowledge of the topic. Most ag advisors would have this background.

    It's not in the interest of the feed industry.

    The magic of the nutritionist is akin to shamanism.

    " Double double boil and trouble
    fire burn, and cauldron bubble"


This discussion has been closed.
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