Dairy Chitchat 3

Mooooo

Wildsurfer wrote: »

If the aqua drains are outside the pen and you use a board to keep back straw they will be fine as you can keep them swept regularly. From my experience here with auto feeder: I have a concrete area around each feeder station and as calves get bigger its very hard to keep clean as they spend so much time loitering there especially when it starts weaning them off as they keep trying to get milk. Not sure what the solution is though!

Calf slats on that area? Could hose down then maybe

liosnagceann75

cute geoge wrote: »

where? l

Agridirect

Castlekeeper

Does anyone know if propcorn treated grain deters birds or rodents? Thinking of buying some ex farm.

atlantic mist

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/finishing-1500-head-of-cattle-with-a-fully-automated-feeding-system-in-co-cork/

there must be some few pound in the beef game, automatic feeding system!!

cute geoge

atlantic mist wrote: »

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/finishing-1500-head-of-cattle-with-a-fully-automated-feeding-system-in-co-cork/

there must be some few pound in the beef game, automatic feeding system!!

A tax write off by a multi millonaire ,he has made his money not out of farming anyway

Buford T. Justice XIX

cute geoge wrote: »

A tax write off by a multi millonaire ,he has made his money not out of farming anyway

The easiest way to make a million in farming is to start with 2 million.

Castlekeeper

Castlekeeper wrote: »

Does anyone know if propcorn treated grain deters birds or rodents? Thinking of buying some ex farm.

I found an easier way of supporting our own tillage farms. All Irish nut and ration from Dairygold.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/irish-cubed-and-coarse-launched-by-dairygold/?utm_content=buffer5e464&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Water John

What's the buffer?

jaymla627

Water John wrote: »

What's the buffer?

You couldn't really get away with a high cereal ration like the above to feed at high feed rates without soya hulls and sugar beet pulp in the mix, its grand rambling on about an all Irish ration but once you start feeding high rates of wheat/barley your looking for trouble maize meal is such a more safer feed

GrasstoMilk

jaymla627 wrote: »

You couldn't really get away with a high cereal ration like the above to feed at high feed rates without soya hulls and sugar beet pulp in the mix, its grand rambling on about an all Irish ration but once you start feeding high rates of wheat/barley your looking for trouble maize meal is such a more safer feed

My feed rep said the same thing when I asked him about all native grains in the ration.
Not enough beans in the country to balance it for protein either

Waffletraktor

jaymla627 wrote: »

You couldn't really get away with a high cereal ration like the above to feed at high feed rates without soya hulls and sugar beet pulp in the mix, its grand rambling on about an all Irish ration but once you start feeding high rates of wheat/barley your looking for trouble maize meal is such a more safer feed

Only one's making money at that craic is the merchant. Uncle was quoted 585quid per ton for Glanbia's fancy oats scheme seed to get on the merry go round, a markup of about 300 quid per ton at a minimum as they were offering 185 for the crop(2019) about 30 for royalties and same again for cleaning+dressing. you'll move grain along way for 10/ton leaving room for seed bonus to grower and storage.
The real clincher is using their serviced agronomy(thieving parrasitic scum) to get the 'top up's', is like getting glanbia to do a veterinary service to decide your herd health care programme to supply milk with a nice mark up on everything aswel.

Say my name

Would it make a difference if the grain was maxammon treated?
How would it impact on needing a buffer and protein?

jaymla627

Waffletraktor wrote: »

Only one's making money at that craic is the merchant. Uncle was quoted 585quid per ton for Glanbia's fancy oats scheme seed to get on the merry go round, a markup of about 300 quid per ton at a minimum as they were offering 185 for the crop(2019) about 30 for royalties and same again for cleaning+dressing. you'll move grain along way for 10/ton leaving room for seed bonus to grower and storage.
The real clincher is using their serviced agronomy(thieving parrasitic scum) to get the 'top up's', is like getting glanbia to do a veterinary service to decide your herd health care programme to supply milk with a nice mark up on everything aswel.

Their 25-30% dearer than independents on most inputs, was cheaper here to buy a specific 20% dairy ration made to my spec and ingredients of a independent merchant then deal with them and that's including getting a 35 euro discount of them if I bought x amount to activate a top-up, you'd more then likely end up with malt sprouts and whey premate in their ration by "mistake" to booth

newholland mad

jaymla627 wrote: »

You couldn't really get away with a high cereal ration like the above to feed at high feed rates without soya hulls and sugar beet pulp in the mix, its grand rambling on about an all Irish ration but once you start feeding high rates of wheat/barley your looking for trouble maize meal is such a more safer feed

GM at it's best. Then wrap it all up with a picture of a cow grazing lovely green grass.

Castlekeeper

jaymla627 wrote: »

You couldn't really get away with a high cereal ration like the above to feed at high feed rates without soya hulls and sugar beet pulp in the mix, its grand rambling on about an all Irish ration but once you start feeding high rates of wheat/barley your looking for trouble maize meal is such a more safer feed

A common theory, tested at Teagasc Grange for years and found to be false, once feed was increased gradually and adequate fibre provided. All cattle were fattened there using straight rolled barley without performance or health issues.

Apparantly protein is usually over used and prescribed when feeding with grass silage.

Castlekeeper

Waffletraktor wrote: »

Only one's making money at that craic is the merchant. Uncle was quoted 585quid per ton for Glanbia's fancy oats scheme seed to get on the merry go round, a markup of about 300 quid per ton at a minimum as they were offering 185 for the crop(2019) about 30 for royalties and same again for cleaning+dressing. you'll move grain along way for 10/ton leaving room for seed bonus to grower and storage.
The real clincher is using their serviced agronomy(thieving parrasitic scum) to get the 'top up's', is like getting glanbia to do a veterinary service to decide your herd health care programme to supply milk with a nice mark up on everything aswel.

While not disagreeing with you on the merchant systems, I feel that's up to the grain farmers, their big boys and it's not a very big battle. I think that there is a lot of merit in using Irish feed, especially when it's costing me nothing significant to do so.

jaymla627

Castlekeeper wrote: »

A common theory, tested at Teagasc Grange for years and found to be false, once feed was increased gradually and adequate fibre provided. All cattle were fattened there using straight rolled barley without performance or health issues.

Apparantly protein is usually over used and prescribed when feeding with grass silage.

Finishing animal versus a dairy cow have totally different needs, would be feeding 40% in rations here in native grains here in the form of oats/wheat/Barley, for a stable slow release energy you need about 25% maize in a ration for a milking cow

Castlekeeper

jaymla627 wrote: »

Finishing animal versus a dairy cow have totally different needs, would be feeding 40% in rations here in native grains here in the form of oats/wheat/Barley, for a stable slow release energy you need about 25% maize in a ration for a milking cow

That's the norm alright. I'm not into high meal feeding here anyway so the benefits are negligible and I'm looking to avoid imported feed if it can be do be reasonably.

Castlekeeper

jaymla627 wrote: »

Finishing animal versus a dairy cow have totally different needs, would be feeding 40% in rations here in native grains here in the form of oats/wheat/Barley, for a stable slow release energy you need about 25% maize in a ration for a milking cow

You're quite right with regard to high rates for dairy cows, but it never occurred to me to use such a mix for that purpose, hence my first reply. I didn't mean to disagree with you, sorry, just the early morning brain was on a different tack.

Timmaay

Tim Tim Tim your too old to head out and sink jagers with all the lads until 3.30am and expect to be up to tb test 7.30am. All done now thank fook, bed for the afternoon looks like the best plan.

visatorro

3.92 pr
4.41 ft
166 sec
13 litres
2 kg of meal

I'm running around 1.1 solids a day.
I think that's fairly poor. A lot to work on.

Cows out day and night still. Nibbling at silage on way out.

Nearly everything else housed.

whelan2

Not long home and the dry cows broke in with the milkers. Fook it anyway

Sacrolyte

visatorro wrote: »

3.92 pr
4.41 ft
166 sec
13 litres
2 kg of meal

I'm running around 1.1 solids a day.
I think that's fairly poor. A lot to work on.

Cows out day and night still. Nibbling at silage on way out.

Nearly everything else housed.

Nice solids. An extra kilo might make a difference.

Timmaay

Visa if the cows are only nibbling silage, and 2kg meal then it's mostly grass in the diet so still? Very cheap diet so, I've been feeding strong for most of October because grass isn't there, it's given me extra milk solids, however more cost, time and effort.

whelan2

visatorro wrote: »

3.92 pr
4.41 ft
166 sec
13 litres
2 kg of meal

I'm running around 1.1 solids a day.
I think that's fairly poor. A lot to work on.

Cows out day and night still. Nibbling at silage on way out.

Nearly everything else housed.

Many fresh cows in that?

straight

visatorro wrote: »

3.92 pr
4.41 ft
166 sec
13 litres
2 kg of meal

I'm running around 1.1 solids a day.
I think that's fairly poor. A lot to work on.

Cows out day and night still. Nibbling at silage on way out.

Nearly everything else housed.

All replacements in here. Cows will stay in by night the next wet night.
Milking 18 litres.
Pr - 4.03
Fat - 4.73
Lactose - 4.6
About 1.6kms.
On 4kg of meal, grass day and night and silage at milking time.

mahoney_j

Timmaay wrote: »

Visa if the cows are only nibbling silage, and 2kg meal then it's mostly grass in the diet so still? Very cheap diet so, I've been feeding strong for most of October because grass isn't there, it's given me extra milk solids, however more cost, time and effort.

But if u didn’t put it in where would u be at now ....im stocked over 4 per he on milk block ,about 5 days grass left feeding 4 kg in parlour and for last few weeks 3 kg dm silage with 2 kg of maize meal beet pulp mix prior to pm milking .out day/night sitting at just over 19 Ltrs 5.03 fat 4.11 p

visatorro

Nothing fresh. 5 calved in Sept. They're average 18 litres. They are getting over 3kg. Everything else is spring. Carrying a few culls/hobbly bastards. Good few on 1.5 kg.

It's a simple diet because I don't be here to monitor it. I don't have high yielding cow's. Id like higher yields. More or less a flying herd here now.
Have plenty of grass. It's fairly watery I'd imagine but it's too strong to leave over winter. Would be tight here for slurry storage so I'll leave them out as long as I can.

Timmaay

mahoney_j wrote: »

But if u didn’t put it in where would u be at now ....im stocked over 4 per he on milk block ,about 5 days grass left feeding 4 kg in parlour and for last few weeks 3 kg dm silage with 2 kg of maize meal beet pulp mix prior to pm milking .out day/night sitting at just over 19 Ltrs 5.03 fat 4.11 p

Mp SR of 3 here. If I had the grass I'd happily be feeding less, bar its too wet when grass dm too low. But as visa says he's too busy with off farm work to be messing around with a more complicated diet, in that case and considering he has the grass he's dead right to scrap any extra litres above them most profitable litres he gets from the very simple system of what the cow grazes herself and the few kg in the parlour. And yep mj your cows would shed bsc like anything if you forced them in that system, but a good fat br fr or jex who will keep it on her back will be grand.

visatorro

Sacrolyte wrote: »

Nice solids. An extra kilo might make a difference.

It's a kind of stubbornness from the old crowd here. We've given them cu**s enough money all year f**k them!

jaymla627

visatorro wrote: »

It's a kind of stubbornness from the old crowd here. We've given them cu**s enough money all year f**k them!

They'll be whinging more in Feb/March when theirs no milk cheques coming in and non existant calf sales money on top of your nov/dec cheques amounting to not alot, your litres are probably gone to low to justify anymore then 3.5kgs, what's lactose like good indicator if cows are getting enough energy in diet

mahoney_j

Timmaay wrote: »

Mp SR of 3 here. If I had the grass I'd happily be feeding less, bar its too wet when grass dm too low. But as visa says he's too busy with off farm work to be messing around with a more complicated diet, in that case and considering he has the grass he's dead right to scrap any extra litres above them most profitable litres he gets from the very simple system of what the cow grazes herself and the few kg in the parlour. And yep mj your cows would shed bsc like anything if you forced them in that system, but a good fat br fr or jex who will keep it on her back will be grand.

Wouldn’t shed bcs they’d just drop litres way quicker and go dry faster ,grass has been 10/12%!dm for most of last 2 months so typical cow on only 2/3 kg meal will be no where near able to rake in required dm intakes ,bit more feeding will give more milk and more days in milk which =more profit

Mooooo

In by night here with the last 4 days, getting variable enough bales by night and upped ration to 5kg, grass by day. Have no solids results since silage went in, was at 4.55bf and 4.24p on grass and 4kg doing around 17L when at grass fulltime. Milk collections have been changing so I think the my are closer to 16L now. Will be recording this week so will see where cow's are at yields and lactose wise and take samples for sensitivity testing to prepare for dry off. Will start drying the 15th Nov or thereabouts. Have extra heifers milking this year so may dry off a larger number in the first tranche

Timmaay

mahoney_j wrote: »

Wouldn’t shed bcs they’d just drop litres way quicker and go dry faster ,grass has been 10/12%!dm for most of last 2 months so typical cow on only 2/3 kg meal will be no where near able to rake in required dm intakes ,bit more feeding will give more milk and more days in milk which =more profit

This is definitely a decent bit more than 10% dm.

mahoney_j

Timmaay wrote: »

This is definitely a decent bit more than 10% dm.

About 12/13 if it’s simillar day to here ,dry but lighter covers =more moisture .test every Monday here and last 2 months range 10 to 12.5% max

Timmaay

mahoney_j wrote: »

About 12/13 if it’s simillar day to here ,dry but lighter covers =more moisture .test every Monday here and last 2 months range 10 to 12.5% max

You surely can't read in to much to them figures, spring grass the same, low dm but always feeds better that most silage, the lowest dm silage I ever saw was 19%, water streaming off the sheargrab on it, and the cows milked absolutely rubbish (this was winter of 2013 after nearly all 1st cut 2012 silage was made wet).

Cows back to 1kg in the parlour here lol, but 6kg maize and 4kg leafy silage, and the rest grass (so say 5kg?). Abit more grass would be nice, I might be little low on overall diet protein?, but reasonably cheap diet still.

mahoney_j

Timmaay wrote: »

You surely can't read in to much to them figures, spring grass the same, low dm but always feeds better that most silage, the lowest dm silage I ever saw was 19%, water streaming off the sheargrab on it, and the cows milked absolutely rubbish (this was winter of 2013 after nearly all 1st cut 2012 silage was made wet).

Cows back to 1kg in the parlour here lol, but 6kg maize and 4kg leafy silage, and the rest grass (so say 5kg?). Abit more grass would be nice, I might be little low on overall diet protein?, but reasonably cheap diet still.

Lab tested ,I trust them grass great feed but limited and will only do so much ,good and I mean really good silage will enhance both litres and solids yield and protein % rose here once silage in .quite happy with feed levels in and return here will stay twice a day till late November and then oad till Xmas week once grass gone all bales 4 kg 16% in parlour and 2 kg maize/beet pulp /distillers on silage.simple diet and will keep cows motoring

Signpost

Anyone know a factory killing cows atm? I've 2 ladies who I want to offload before I house them as very bad in feet. Don't really want to sell them to dealers as they are slow to get up and need a bit of tlc so would sit better on conscience just to check them in myself. Tried phoning the usual suspects but can't get a month let alone a date when they would take cows in?

Freejin

What dry cow tubes are fellas going for this year? Any prices on Cephaguard anywhere?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Some supply management coming into force in the US.
https://www.dairybusiness.com/agri-mark-dairy-co-op-to-impose-penalty-on-farms-that-make-too-much-milk/

visatorro

Freejin wrote: »

What dry cow tubes are fellas going for this year? Any prices on Cephaguard anywhere?

42.50 for 20 tubes.

Mooooo

Fcuking dogs or something put a hole in the front of the silage pit and the damn easterly blowing here all day ripped the the plastic in both sheets from top to bottom. On the feckin pit I was hoping to open last as well. Balls. Two land drains blocked as well near a shaggin road so more messing to sort those.

whelan2

Dry cows had no water in their drinker today. It's a big concrete drinker with a heavy bridge. Took apart ball valve, all clear. Took off water pipe at the elbow, no water. Bear in mind theres a holly Bush at the back of the drinker. Builders had disconnected the water pipe to wash down stuff and didnt realise I had cows in field were pipe leads to. My arms are all cuts from the holly. There are berries on it

Mooooo

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

Some supply management coming into force in the US.
https://www.dairybusiness.com/agri-mark-dairy-co-op-to-impose-penalty-on-farms-that-make-too-much-milk/

Wait till the bigger crowds start making powder and horsing it out on world markets. See nz dairy are saying the push against them based on clean water policies or something could cost the industry 10bn dollars and increase dairy insolvency from 2% to 12%

visatorro

jaymla627 wrote: »

They'll be whinging more in Feb/March when theirs no milk cheques coming in and non existant calf sales money on top of your nov/dec cheques amounting to not alot, your litres are probably gone to low to justify anymore then 3.5kgs, what's lactose like good indicator if cows are getting enough energy in diet

Normally 4.4
Urea 25 last test

whelan2

Dried off 10 this morning. Down below 9 rows now , yipee

Mooooo

whelan2 wrote: »

Dried off 10 this morning. Down below 9 rows now , yipee

What were you at at peak. Will be back to 10 rows next year, was at 8 this year and it's grand

whelan2

Mooooo wrote: »

What were you at at peak. Will be back to 10 rows next year, was at 8 this year and it's grand

11 rows. Will be 12 next year until I build a new parlour. Not looking forward to it. 10 rows is enough

Panch18

whelan2 wrote: »

11 rows. Will be 12 next year until I build a new parlour. Not looking forward to it. 10 rows is enough

10 rows is definately enough!!

What size parlour are you thinking of putting in?

whelan2

Panch18 wrote: »

10 rows is definately enough!!

What size parlour are you thinking of putting in?

24 unit. 15 unit atm