Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Team of bulls is the biggest cop out and should be seen as a red flag. Should confidently be able to pick a handful of the top bulls that fit your philosophy to cover you for inbreeding and calving ease.

Definitely, you have to be a good farmer, when all you have is heavy ground. The wetter ground around here is only starting to grow grass now. You have to push the first rotation out to the 10th of May this year. I'd gladly put up with a couple of weeks of drought.

Another big difference is whether ground is north or south facing. Makes a big difference in spring

that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it

As I said in my post I have my criteria set, I picked the bulls I picked because they suited my criteria and what I’m picking for is coming through in the herd and I’m happy with the type of stock coming through. You mightn’t like them if they were your cows, like wise I mightn’t like your choice of cow or anyone else’s choice of cow

I didnt pick a bull because he had super duper high ebi and I didn’t pick the amount I picked because ICBF said so, it’s just the way it ended up being

If you don’t want to use Irish bulls that’s fine, but they’re working for me plenty of other ppl.

Grass getting tight here now. Bit of heat needed and -3 forecast tonight. Silage going back into the diet this evening.

Anyone know anything about how good an electric golf cart would be for cow work? You can get a lift kit for them which would get over any low/small tyre issue.

I see a number of electric agricultural carts lately but they're not cheap. Plenty of second hand electric golf carts for sale for very small money.

I'd be concerned with them on hills.

Any views appreciated.

What was his opinion on summer scour syndrome?

Ya, finbarr is an associate professor in the vet school I believe. The man is really worthwhile listening to imo. That was my point.

Read the journal or listen to teagasc and you will see plenty about keeping cows "keen" or "with an edge" on them. I was on a walk the other day with a top teagasc man and it's clear the guy is just a spoofer. The back calculations never work in grass measuring because teagasc are under allocating grass at 18KgDM. The same hero advised me before to mow a field because the calculator said that my heifers wouldn't eat the field in 3 weeks. One week, I said. They had it cleared in 5 days.

They keep changing their mind about clover, MSS, sulphur, etc. They seem to be trying to learn from emailing and googling European and NZ systems.

Alot of their research seems half baked to me and printed as fact. They should be run over and over and across different land type and conditions. Like the not feeding cows by day "research" so they will calve during the day or the mats on slats "research" which was redone recently but with different results. That's after every salesman in the country quoting their "research" as fact.

They are such money grabbers now. I give them 700 euro or something every year and they want 375 euro to apply for a tams grant on a new milk tank. I think it was even more for a grant on my dribble bar.

I don't come on here to whinge about teagasc but the point I was making was I found the UCD man so knowledgeable and capable in comparison.

I'm farming 7 years and I've had seven different advisors of varying levels of helpfulness and knowledge. No continuity from them. I never considered a private advisory service until recently.

Do you think? I'd say I'll manage it myself..... Anyone I do business with play ball and there's some give and take. I don't bother with grabbers in general.

Think you'd be better with a diesel utility vehicle like an rtv or gator with 4wd. Worth the money you can do a lot more work with them. Wouldn't fancy a golf cart in wet or bumpy conditions. You'd see the odd few clean utv'son DD less than 5k at times.

Both Kubota and Kawasaki are very reliable. John Deere can be hit & miss. You're limited with a golf cart is my point compared to an utv. To say they're all unreliable is a bit of a wide sweeping statement.

we only get paid for the milk we sell

Ya, I usually pay most attention to the production index too. It's just something I heard recently about proven bulls.

Only bad drivers get stuck. Most important thing if you're buying a jeep is the 4wd works

Ha Ha ha smart ass.

Seriously, I'll put it differently for you, a jeep isn't good around here where you've to leave it on the roadway half the year or you're making tracks around a field.

What age is the bull?

This would be his third season. So think he was 18 months when he arrived.

When they are by the montbeliarde the cards are mox. It's just if there's back breeding of monty and then back to friesian it's frx. The only way to negate that with both fr and mo is to use a monty bull on a friesian cow and then use that bull calf/stock bull for breeding.

Calf sales went ok. The very start was the worst but picked up as it went on. Mox bulls probably averaged 120 overall. The last of them were hitting 150 euro no problem and out of heifers. I got pole axed at the very start with a pen of three in a mart making 55 each. Learned after that. Lims I didn't break the 300 but got to 290. Averaged I'd say 240 overall. Main thing I'm still selling and I'm not overly disheartned selling calves. But there are more going breeding this way dairy in the southeast so I'm getting competition from them now too. A local montbeliarde heifer sale had big interest and sale of stock. The same breeder had friesians in the mart and barely sold. Monty were making 2k Fr were lucky making 1k.

Not sure if you've seen this. Claims Irish made with high ground clearance and already lithium battery with a 6 year warranty with ability to road register with road kit. 10k seems dear. But the gator versions are looking for 30k.

You'd imagine safer than a quad for any workers and benefit there for any elderly of ease of access to drive. Looks like it'd be simple to change for wider agricultural rims and tyres too.

http://donedeal.ie/quads-for-sale/hdk-electric-utility-vehicle-golf-buggy-cart/33649509