Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Gawddawggonnit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122484587#Comment_122484587

Lovely healthy looking maize. Shame about the second cob.

I think these pics demonstrates perfectly the feed content of the biomass. This got a pass of the mulcher to make way for the irrigation reels. It was green from top to bottom when mulched. Took the pics last night.

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IMG_1621.jpeg

mahoney_j

if that was around here an inconclusive us a reactor ….not sure I’d fight it tbh …just get them out asap and fingers crossed for clear test next time …..and none of the kill out with legions …..I’d got on very well with valuations on mine …all the pedigree certs ,milk recording etc added to bottom line …..just pure pain in the hole been locked up now ….only positive I’m looking at now is there is worse times of year I could be locked up …all things well I’ll be free again by Christmas

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486657#Comment_122486657

The odds are stacked against you nowadays. Between wildlife situation, over zealous testing and approach that being handed down from high, bad eggs who personally know how to do any bovine keepers in. It's the toughest time in the history of the state to keep cattle.

You should never be smug or think you have it cracked because sure as hell you'll be down in the next test.

Siamsa Sessions

Fairly heavy academic reading but this 2019 paper has lots of info on TB: stats on how’s it spread, Dept approach to it, what might be done to eventually eradicate it, etc.

Noel O’Connor is worth following on Twitter too. He’s giving regular updates since his farm got TB in 2021:

https://x.com/1noeloconnor

https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13620-019-0140-x

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486657#Comment_122486657

That's exactly my point. ICBF think they can breed out TB and they have made a balls of the health sub index in the process. Jay is breeding for health for years and still got TB. Dunno what your getting cranky about TBH.

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486635#Comment_122486635

Trust that was lost in translation.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486635#Comment_122486635

The funny thing is its all wws bred heifers/cows that are inconclusive, my semex bred immunity plus sired cows/heifers hadnt as much as a lump, one bull in particular renegade is the sire of 9 of the heifers, but he actually has a good tb resistance score/health traits

Screenshot_20240810_111444_Chrome.jpg

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486817#Comment_122486817

😀😀I just got locked up maby I am been cranky 🤣…don’t think jay would be placing much faith in hearth under ebi …..but for international bulls on own country figures I’d have more faith ….even in tb resistant element …..cow may get it but higher score bulls are been shown to have more resistance

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122482308#Comment_122482308

I do not think you are correct there. Strictly by the planning law when you go above a certain area in a yard it 300 sq meters,any one shed has to be under 200 sqM. After that everything needs planning especially if it's an above ground structure. You may get away without planning for a tank.under an existing shed.

TBH you answered the question earlier in a post, the reason you said you did not go for TAMS grant aid was because you considered the grant would be partially eaten up by conforming to the regulations and because the requirements for "planning".

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.farmersjournal.ie/amp/more/buildings/planning-requirements-for-farm-building-developments-201486

If planning was required for TAMs just be are you do it without TAMs will not negate that requirement. I suspect that your yard was non planning compliant before you started.

If you ever get a council inspection it will cost you anyway to get compliant. Lad lea e it on the long finger until they are forced to comply in situations like that

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122482666#Comment_122482666

The problem is a lot of lads have pushed on to a stage where cost is an issue. The had with 60 pushing to 90 is not where you have a serious issue. Most lads with fairly decent facilities and decent land base can manage 90 fairly comfortably. It's when you do not have the land base and go into the 100++is where it starts to get hairy. Costs can climb very fast. Take it at present where farm may have to drop cows or rent land to get under 220kg/ha. What stacked up at 250kgs/ha coukd be a serious issue now especially with the department requiring notice of slurry exports and N allowance in exported slurry halved.

When do you stop future proofing a system

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486845#Comment_122486845

When do you stop future proofing a system

Depends on your own age, your health, your responsibilities/dependencies, your lifestyle and what you want to happen to the place after you. If you are 60 then whatever system you are operating at now will probably see you out. If you are 30, then it probably won't.

And at the risk of repeating myself, the original post was aimed at someone who gave the impression that they actually have plenty of spare capacity at the minute. It wasn't telling a fella already in derogation with 60 cows to buy the block of land next door, put in a rotary parlour and push up numbers further to get to 250kg.

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486845#Comment_122486845

Land is the new quota and in time there will probably be some from of quota reintroduced into dairy through regs anyway. I would say very little derogation farmers export slurry unless they’ve an arrangement with a tillage farmer for crops etc, it was nearly always farmers not in derogation exporting slurry to stay out of it.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486661#Comment_122486661

isn’t that why they say to cut the stubble high ?

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486669#Comment_122486669

AAre Your reactors gone?

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486921#Comment_122486921

Ya agree with most of that ...basshas great knowledge of beef and the workings of it but his limited knowledge of hands on daily running of a dairy farm leaves big holes in his post's

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122487544#Comment_122487544

unfourtnately not ….valuations done and accepted ….Dvo isn’t blood testing the reactors and refused a request to blood test remainder of herd

orm0nd

Neighbour rang me. He's locked again some fellow bounding him on the outfarm gone down. Both of them lost a lot of cows last year but both were gone clear.

Clear test here a fortnight ago tg.

QA1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122489348#Comment_122489348

don’t blood test the heard anyway

Blood take out too many false positives and still leaves real positives in the herd blood is not accurate just my opinion

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122489736#Comment_122489736

if I’ve reactors in September I’ll knock walls down to get them blood remaining animals ….I know I may loose few Faldo positives but hopefully it will weed out the problem

cjpm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490027#Comment_122490027

Your faith in the TB eradication program is admirable

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490027#Comment_122490027

Wouldn’t be so sure of that, local farmer here lost 7 to skin test blooded them then lost around 50 more none of them killed out with lesions. That would drive you insane.

yewdairy

The blood test seems to lead to a greater number of reactors but shorter periods of restriction. Had tb here 20 years ago went on for 3 years loosing a couple of cows at a time.

Was talking to our local vet and he was saying the amount of tb has massively reduced over the last 30 years. Fewer herds restricted and lower number of animals. Was surprised when he said that. Highly unlikely to be eradicated with a reservoir of infection in wildlife though.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490149#Comment_122490149

was just locking out cows there before finishing up for morning ….dept started laying snares to try trap badgers in a known set in a fort just over my ditch …..there’s 12 plus burrows and all active ….they lay traps last Tuesday and check every morning ….was chatting to neighbour who owns the fort ….they took snares away Friday morning and will re lay them again tomorrow 🙄🙄🙄🙄….seems badgers do be off for weekend and stay in there sets ….things like this just show how much the dept really want to try control this

mahoney_j

I have very little faith in it tbh …..but from talking to lads that have had issues with tb …they said blood test early and take the hot early to try remover infected animals from the herd ….yes it will take false positives as well which is infuriating but what do you do …..

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490162#Comment_122490162

How many did they catch since they laid the snares last Monday week?

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490171#Comment_122490171

not 1

Finty Lemon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490089#Comment_122490089

No visible lesions in the factory doesn't mean that disease wasn't present. With 7 failing the skin test its 100% guarantee there's disease in that herd. I've seen it happen where cattle had no lesions but showed positive on lymph node cultures in the lab.

Quoting lesions or no lesions is Confusing people, you'd wo.der why the Dept still do it.

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490207#Comment_122490207

I don’t think they’ll ever figure out a proper way to communicate the ins and outs of tb to the foot soldiers on the ground. Either way that man is getting out in the spring now he’s fed up of it all, on the 5 mile stretch of road we’re on between the two neighboring parishes 4 farmers are getting out of milking next spring around 300 cows between them and they’ll only be 3 left along that road suppling milk next year some change even in my short lifetime. Sad to see

older by the day

Another neighbour has 17 reactors this week. It's time to start searching and killing. The badgers around here must be rotten with it. Its either a covid type cull job with the testing or it's the fact that this generation of farmers have taken their eye off the ball, when it comes to wildlife.

atlantic mist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490162#Comment_122490162

the dept were snaring down here, leave open traps over weekend, hunters left snares and left a hole where badgers were, dept went nuts, have called to every farmers in area looking for names anyone hunting land to create a database of illegal hunting

the people hunting are keeping these diseases under control, covid highlighted the importance on keeping control of wildlife, i had 4 foxes trying to eat a calf as she was being born this spring, i would not have been a fan of hunting growing up but have changed my view completely

they have eradicated tb from other countries so its really a failing on the behalf of the department of ag, france/australia seem to have managed it

the splash plate slurry spreading was great at keeping badgers off land….its interesting to see them walk between the lines of the low emission slurry spreading

awaywithyou

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122490207#Comment_122490207

if the lumps on the neck are rock hard you can be sure tb is present… if the lumps are very soft its debatable… plenty of experience of TB here back in 2011/12/13… wouldnt wish it on anyone… the blood test craic for TB is basically an unofficial cow reductions scheme… a joke… sure a farmer hasnt a clue whats a reactor or not on blood.. least with skin you can see something concrete like a lump… blood test result are just a heap of numbers on a page… Avoid blood test at all costs…