Drought 2020

richie123

mahoney_j wrote: »

Never too late for urea as long as there’s moisture

Agree and same with slurry.

Danzy

Maybe shake it at dusk, when there is a sue starting. Grass still gets wet, here anyway.

declanflynn

Does anyone know the weight of a 150 gallon concrete water trough

Timmaay

declanflynn wrote: »

Does anyone know the weight of a 150 gallon concrete water trough

A 300gls one weights about 1100kg anyways! Something like 600kg would be my guess.

declanflynn

Timmaay wrote: »

A 300gls one weights about 1100kg anyways! Something like 600kg would be my guess.

Thanks, a Fleming bale lifter should be able for it?

Angus2018

Bone dry here and no sign of rain for the next two weeks so we have no choice but to cut our meadows. Its started going towards stem and will lose quality rapidly now. Best bet is to hope for a better second cut now.

I had to graze a meadow I had saved for hay this year. I was planning on selling it so I don't mind but I'm already back for the second grazing now. With no rain the dung from 3 weeks ago is still there so I've no choice but to graze it again. Not that I have a choice with grass barely growing.

This is summer 2018 all over again but the potential to be a lot worse with poor silage yields and peak May grass nowhere to be seen. As if the price wasn't bad enough already the weather gives East coast farmers two fingers.

Still waters

Raining nicely here all day and still at it, i hope it doesn't forget to head off tonight

charolais0153

Angus2018 wrote: »

Bone dry here and no sign of rain for the next two weeks so we have no choice but to cut our meadows. Its started going towards stem and will lose quality rapidly now. Best bet is to hope for a better second cut now.

I had to graze a meadow I had saved for hay this year. I was planning on selling it so I don't mind but I'm already back for the second grazing now. With no rain the dung from 3 weeks ago is still there so I've no choice but to graze it again. Not that I have a choice with grass barely growing.

This is summer 2018 all over again but the potential to be a lot worse with poor silage yields and peak May grass nowhere to be seen. As if the price wasn't bad enough already the weather gives East coast farmers two fingers.

Least ye have cattle out early in comparison, lot easier feed on solid ground than 6 inches of gutter, animals thrive better in dry weather imo

Tileman

Still waters wrote: »

Raining nicely here all day and still at it, i hope it doesn't forget to head off tonight

Where are you? No sign of rain here for next two weeks either

Dickie10

how much are second cut meadows going for to lease? per acre? the leasee to put out fertilizer

Still waters

Tileman wrote: »

Where are you? No sign of rain here for next two weeks either

I'm in north clare, it has turned into a heavy mist now but loads of moisture in the ground after it, I've awful heavy meadows so a dry year is suiting me, poor comfort for a lot of men tho, a few miles up from me towards ballyvaughan and they're looking at the grass turn brown

addaword

declanflynn wrote: »

Does anyone know the weight of a 150 gallon concrete water trough

About 800kg. The kilcarrig ones are about that anyway.

SouthWesterly

Had a heavy mist all night till about 9 this morning.

Timmaay

Angus2018 wrote: »

Bone dry here and no sign of rain for the next two weeks so we have no choice but to cut our meadows. Its started going towards stem and will lose quality rapidly now. Best bet is to hope for a better second cut now.

I had to graze a meadow I had saved for hay this year. I was planning on selling it so I don't mind but I'm already back for the second grazing now. With no rain the dung from 3 weeks ago is still there so I've no choice but to graze it again. Not that I have a choice with grass barely growing.

This is summer 2018 all over again but the potential to be a lot worse with poor silage yields and peak May grass nowhere to be seen. As if the price wasn't bad enough already the weather gives East coast farmers two fingers.

Is there any historical record as to the ground moisture deficit? It's hit earlier here this year than 2018, but I don't think by a huge amount, maybe 2wks, in 2018 I was feeding silage from early June onwards. I've reacted sooner here this year, let the afc build last few weeks, and took heifers off to reduce demand. There is also a reasonable bit of fodder left over from last winter, there was zero in 2018. 1st cuts in 2018 were desperate also. The saving grace in 2018 was the 2 inches of rain in early Aug (athlo that didn't quite take us out of the full drought here in East Wicklow, wasn't till October we escaped fully). In that sense this summer could well be worse than 2018, let's say we don't get anywhere near enough rain until Sept (and historically July and Aug have lower rainfall anyways). That will turn expensive quickly, and if the milk price stays where it is or lower, then it won't be worth feeding the cows the likes of 10kg+ bought in feed, what they do in nz in that case is cut back to oad or 16 hr milkings and take the hit in yield. However the equally likely scenario is the drought breaks properly at some stage over the summer, you get a serious bounce in growth then, basically a 2nd may in the year, even if it turns into a washout ground conditions hold up very well.

Final thing I'd say is do out your fodder budget now and if your anyway short buy in 1st cut right now before it's too late, 2nd cuts aren't worth a sh1t in years of a drought and are a pure waste of money. I've bought in a 1st cut here, and picked up some hay from last summer back in May, so I'm setup alot better than 2018 as things stand now.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Timmaay wrote: »

Is there any historical record as to the ground moisture deficit? It's hit earlier here this year than 2018, but I don't think by a huge amount, maybe 2wks, in 2018 I was feeding silage from early June onwards. I've reacted sooner here this year, let the afc build last few weeks, and took heifers off to reduce demand. There is also a reasonable bit of fodder left over from last winter, there was zero in 2018. 1st cuts in 2018 were desperate also. The saving grace in 2018 was the 2 inches of rain in early Aug (athlo that didn't quite take us out of the full drought here in East Wicklow, wasn't till October we escaped fully). In that sense this summer could well be worse than 2018, let's say we don't get anywhere near enough rain until Sept (and historically July and Aug have lower rainfall anyways). That will turn expensive quickly, and if the milk price stays where it is or lower, then it won't be worth feeding the cows the likes of 10kg+ bought in feed, what they do in nz in that case is cut back to oad or 16 hr milkings and take the hit in yield. However the equally likely scenario is the drought breaks properly at some stage over the summer, you get a serious bounce in growth then, basically a 2nd may in the year, even if it turns into a washout ground conditions hold up very well.

Final thing I'd say is do out your fodder budget now and if your anyway short buy in 1st cut right now before it's too late, 2nd cuts aren't worth a sh1t in years of a drought and are a pure waste of money. I've bought in a 1st cut here, and picked up some hay from last summer back in May, so I'm setup alot better than 2018 as things stand now.

I bought 14 acres of first cut earlier this spring. I wasn't keen on taking more than 8 or 9 but he sorted me out with a good bit the last few years so I took the rest of fields he had. Pretty glad I did now.

I was hoping to cut next week but I have a medical appointment so that would complicate the cut a bit but I'll have to see what can be worked around. Shearing on Monday as well so be a busy week either way.

wrangler

Dickie10 wrote: »

how much are second cut meadows going for to lease? per acre? the leasee to put out fertilizer

No one will rent second cut while this drought persists. it'll take substantial amount of rain to grow a second cut now

theaceofspies

wrangler wrote: »

No one will rent second cut while this drought persists. it'll take substantial amount of rain to grow a second cut now

Not quoting you but replying to this thread in general.

Funny how everyone moans when a real/potential fodder shortage is looming on the horizon and then are crying when they have to pay base prices (that's €25 to you and me) to farmers who rely on silage to clear their own books/fields.


Lots of silage left over from last year and there is still lots of opportunities to buy same from fellas at discount pices.


"the more things change the more they stay the same". Please (fellow Boards Farmers) don't complain if it turns nasty and you have to pay €50 a bale because the man who may have to accept €10 a bale right now wont bother others with his woes in 6 months if it works out for you.


Farming is so low margin now that we have all become Gamblers.

whelan2

Straw will be expensive apparently.

memorystick

whelan2 wrote: »

Straw will be expensive apparently.

Did your supplier say that? There be loads of feed come November 1.

whelan2

memorystick wrote: »

Did your supplier say that? There be loads of feed come November 1.

Yes.

Say my name

There's the possibility of thunderstorms breaking out in the coming days.

Midlands could be tomorrow.
West and north west then in the days after.
East on Sunday and then maybe southeast on Monday.

A very slight possibility but there's a chance.

Gods Gift

Very nice dairy man offered me €12 a bale for last years left over silage. He has also bought beet last week. He’s under pressure. 30 acres of reseeded ground is looking like a failer. Silage is way back on last year. Cows everywhere. Wants a field of barley off me to whole crop or sow redstart in it. I told him he wants wants wants the whole time.

Gods Gift

Flag leaf will be appearing soon on spring sown crops. So very little straw.

lab man

Wat is flag leaf, ive seen maize sown a month ago here in west clare saw it yesterdayit looks to me its dying

Reggie.

Gods Gift wrote: »

Very nice dairy man offered me €12 a bale for last years left over silage. He has also bought beet last week. He’s under pressure. 30 acres of reseeded ground is looking like a failer. Silage is way back on last year. Cows everywhere. Wants a field of barley off me to whole crop or sow redstart in it. I told him he wants wants wants the whole time.

Alot of reseeds are under pressure but will come in time

Limestone Cowboy

Still waters wrote: »

I'm in north clare, it has turned into a heavy mist now but loads of moisture in the ground after it, I've awful heavy meadows so a dry year is suiting me, poor comfort for a lot of men tho, a few miles up from me towards ballyvaughan and they're looking at the grass turn brown

Brown is right, the bit of drizzle yesterday evening wasn't long burning off today either.

davidk1394

Grass is slow to come back around here, the rain that fell last week was blown away by the wind we got over the weekend.

Gods Gift

A wet and windy May, fills the barns full of hay.

Reggie.

MT saying chance of thunderstorms sunday and monday but possibly could be looking at 2 or 3 weeks of this hot weather

mahoney_j

Reggie. wrote: »

MT saying chance of thunderstorms sunday and monday but possibly could be looking at 2 or 3 weeks of this hot weather

With corona virus on top and how it’s affected milk beef sheep etc 2/3 more weeks of this and it only may will be a disaster .at least there’s lots feed around but you’d gladly take a nice weeks rain now

greenfield21

Ah great news on the forecast, were very lucky to have got that recent rain compared to uk. Looks like another great year for grass.

Say my name

Reggie. wrote: »

MT saying chance of thunderstorms sunday and monday but possibly could be looking at 2 or 3 weeks of this hot weather

Hard to know who's right.

British met have rain on the long range forecast.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Buford T. Justice XIX

I was having problems keeping water to the cows the last few weeks, pressure from the pump was pretty poor so I reckoned I had a leak somewhere. I looked all along the lines of pipes and switched off sections of troughs but little difference.

Seeing as I was working off 3/4" pipes, I said I'b better put in bigger pipes and bury them instead of leaving them overground so I bought the pipes and booked a digger to sort it out.

Anyway, the water is fine since Sunday, I've reopened all the closed troughs and lines and pressure is good.

It looks like I may have to drill a deeper well or another well as it now looks like the poor pressure was due to the well running dry and it's now refilled after the rain last week. 300' deep and may need to go deeper:eek:

Say my name

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

It looks like I may have to drill a deeper well or another well as it now looks like the poor pressure was due to the well running dry and it's now refilled after the rain last week. 300' deep and may need to go deeper:eek:

Is that below sea level?

whelan2

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

I was having problems keeping water to the cows the last few weeks, pressure from the pump was pretty poor so I reckoned I had a leak somewhere. I looked all along the lines of pipes and switched off sections of troughs but little difference.

Seeing as I was working off 3/4" pipes, I said I'b better put in bigger pipes and bury them instead of leaving them overground so I bought the pipes and booked a digger to sort it out.

Anyway, the water is fine since Sunday, I've reopened all the closed troughs and lines and pressure is good.

It looks like I may have to drill a deeper well or another well as it now looks like the poor pressure was due to the well running dry and it's now refilled after the rain last week. 300' deep and may need to go deeper:eek:

Was topping a paddock this morning. Noticed a wet patch in the next one. Did some investigating it's either council sewerage or mains water. Been leaking a long time. In the dry weather it's very noticeable. My dad will ring them now to tell them.

SouthWesterly

Reggie. wrote: »

MT saying chance of thunderstorms sunday and monday but possibly could be looking at 2 or 3 weeks of this hot weather

I'm off work next week. Loads to do outside so half of me is happy. The other half needs rain.

SouthWesterly

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

I was having problems keeping water to the cows the last few weeks, pressure from the pump was pretty poor so I reckoned I had a leak somewhere. I looked all along the lines of pipes and switched off sections of troughs but little difference.

Seeing as I was working off 3/4" pipes, I said I'b better put in bigger pipes and bury them instead of leaving them overground so I bought the pipes and booked a digger to sort it out.

Anyway, the water is fine since Sunday, I've reopened all the closed troughs and lines and pressure is good.

It looks like I may have to drill a deeper well or another well as it now looks like the poor pressure was due to the well running dry and it's now refilled after the rain last week. 300' deep and may need to go deeper:eek:

Mines about a hundred feet and I've friends saying to water the veg garden. Not a hope in me tempting fate like that.

Interesting that I've gone with wood chips this year on the beds and the soil is, soaked under them. The exposed ground is, rock hard.

Reggie.

Say my name wrote: »

Hard to know who's right.

British met have rain on the long range forecast.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Hope the rain comes. MT says that Britain is to get a frontal system next week but will miss us as we are under a high pressure dome

Say my name

Reggie. wrote: »

Hope the rain comes. MT says that Britain is to get a frontal system next week but will miss us as we are under a high pressure dome

You get onto the crew to shoot down that dome. :pac:

It's hard to know really which way it'll go. Some forecasts have a low to the west and sw of Ireland Monday and others go further and have a full blown lp system over us by the end of next week.
They all seem to think a split of the high pressure system is on the cards whether we'll get a low pressure system in there and where and what strength has question marks over it.
I'm less concerned about drought than I was a few days ago put it that way. But then I've probably jinxed that..:p

Buford T. Justice XIX

Say my name wrote: »

Is that below sea level?

Well below sea level. Afaik, it depends on the the cracks and weaknesses of the layers of limestone as to how good your supply is. I might have to go deeper but my neighbour might find loads at 100 foot.

Reggie.

Say my name wrote: »

You get onto the crew to shoot down that dome. :pac:

It's hard to know really which way it'll go. Some forecasts have a low to the west and sw of Ireland Monday and others go further and have a full blown lp system over us by the end of next week.
They all seem to think a split of the high pressure system is on the cards whether we'll get a low pressure system in there and where and what strength has question marks over it.
I'm less concerned about drought than I was a few days ago put it that way. But then I've probably jinxed that..:p

Well **** ya anyway

Say my name

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

Well below sea level. Afaik, it depends on the the cracks and weaknesses of the layers of limestone as to how good your supply is. I might have to go deeper but my neighbour might find loads at 100 foot.

That's what everyone should read if they believe in the old primary school teachings of water levels below ground like it's all one uniform mass of sand with water level the same regardless.
Talk to any old timer and they'll go about underground streams and to anyone who's been in underground cave systems their head can understand this.

So the choice is deeper in the hope of getting a good underground stream or... get the rods out.

Balls of a job to have either way.

Mortelaro

I dont see any rain in East wickla in the next 10 days anyhow or even in the rest of the country
I'd expect any thunder showers in the west in the next few days to be isolated
Under one and you'll flood but 5 miles up the road nothing
Expect none then jump for joy if you get some

Interesting discussion there on wells
We have two on the farm here,the old one is a shallow well
Great soft water in it,I'd expect it to be under pressure by next month
2nd one is a 200ft bore,you can actually see the water moving in it,we hit an under ground river
Theres a lot of iron in it though.

80sDiesel

One field of mine is heavy ground with some rushes. Dried out now of course. I used my flail mower collector to cut it short to see if the dry spell would weaken the rushes and give the grass a go. Anyone tried that?

80sDiesel

One field of mine is heavy ground with some rushes. Dried out now of course. I used my flail mower collector to cut it short and remove the cuttings to see if the dry spell would weaken the rushes and give the grass a go. Wasting my time?

awaywithyou

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

I was having problems keeping water to the cows the last few weeks, pressure from the pump was pretty poor so I reckoned I had a leak somewhere. I looked all along the lines of pipes and switched off sections of troughs but little difference.

Seeing as I was working off 3/4" pipes, I said I'b better put in bigger pipes and bury them instead of leaving them overground so I bought the pipes and booked a digger to sort it out.

Anyway, the water is fine since Sunday, I've reopened all the closed troughs and lines and pressure is good.

It looks like I may have to drill a deeper well or another well as it now looks like the poor pressure was due to the well running dry and it's now refilled after the rain last week. 300' deep and may need to go deeper:eek:

drilled a new well here just over a year and a half ago.... 250ft.... old one which is still working away is 56ft.... guy that drilled it said that around ur area was the hardest place he ever came across to find water... all the wells he done were all 100's of feet deep... kinda surprised me tbh

Buford T. Justice XIX

Drought is fairly bad across in England.
https://twitter.com/CRMagri/status/1265301017236832257?s=19

endainoz

80sDiesel wrote: »

One field of mine is heavy ground with some rushes. Dried out now of course. I used my flail mower collector to cut it short and remove the cuttings to see if the dry spell would weaken the rushes and give the grass a go. Wasting my time?

I'd say it's worth a shot alright. Rushes are surely under pressure now in a lot of places.

Danzy

Yeah, this is a great year to give rushes a kick in the head.

selectamatic

80sDiesel wrote: »

One field of mine is heavy ground with some rushes. Dried out now of course. I used my flail mower collector to cut it short and remove the cuttings to see if the dry spell would weaken the rushes and give the grass a go. Wasting my time?

Worth doing but they'll come again. However if you get the regrowth sprayed when its about 4-6 inches you'll get a good kill.