Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

If the pattern presists, the reality is their probably needs to be 2-3 ton plus of dm in the form of maize/beet/concentrates and proper high quality silage, accounted for and made to keep cows properly feed and negate the effects of a year like last year and so far this spring…

But in fairness what the above does to profitability on your avergage farm producing 470-500kgs of ms a cow it destroys it, the margin simply isnt their to have to spend 700 a cow extra on forage/nuts, on top of the 1 ton been feed annually and the 4 months of grass silage been made on farm for the winter

The reality is milk price will have to increase or there just will be no dairy in Ireland. We have European costs and regulations and world market price, something has to change. Lots of rumours going around of lads packing it in after this year. A few lads planning on not putting cows in calf this year, going to finish out the year and then sell the lot. Tillage is f,,,,d as well. The European farming model is broken across all sectors.

those of you that have cow heat detection systems in and are serving OAD

Are ye serving early cows (ones that come bulling in the morning) twice or are you leaving them till the following morning ?

I’ve been just serving those cows the morning they’ve come bulling and leaving it at that but yesterday I had 14 bulling and 9 of those are still in the zone for ai this morning, I’ve 10 in the crush for ai this morning and 3 have only started bulling this morning

should I be serving these cows a second time or should I be doing them the following morning ?

Pre collars we only ever served OAD in the AM and what ever was on was served and that was it, and we got decent conception rates

I didn’t get a good conception rate to 1st serve last year and I’m wondering could this be sone of the reason

Hasn’t it given all the farmers on traditional dry land a taste of what it’s like to have to contend with 5+ month winters and maybe now they might have an appreciation for the shite heavy land forces you to deal with and adapt for every spring not just one in every five. If we didn’t have at least 5 months silage in the yard here come the 1st of November you’d be selling out every spring, adds significantly to costs but that’s the cards you’re dealt.

I'm not AIing much 2 fellas in DG said the just ai at 10 in the morning whatever shows up in previous 24 hours. Even if she's only just on the app. Both using sexed semen and conventional beef straw. 2 good lads would be no bullshit with them, both said they got on fine

One thing I noticed is that there wasn't much difference between wet ground and dry ground last autumn or this spring. Might learn to live with my wet fields a bit better.

I have to laugh at the lads blowing about getting to 200 cows. Now they have to drop 20 cows the whole thing is plucked. Not much hope for the rest of us.

On a normal year we’d have all the dry cattle and heifers out for the start of March full time on the out farms that are free draining limestone ground, this was delayed about a month this year. We were lucky we always have a good reserve of silage built up but that was severely ate into this spring and now building it back up will be the challenge.

I saw on twitter one of our main female farming influencers declaring her farm will be unviable if they go from 220kgN/ha to a no derogation scenario and they’re milking between 180/200 cows I would say, what hope is there for us peasants….talk about sensationalism.

5 months silage…? jaysus according to ginger we have the best land in our parish yet we make enough silage to do us for 9months…. always make plenty of silage… going filling the diet feeder there shortly for the cows… got 15mm rain here yesterday.. and got 15mm as well on tuesday… if we were to get a bit of heat now there will be savage grass about..

'wet and windy may fills the barns with corn and hay'

was talking to a lad not far from you who worked in the Dept. of Ag retired last year.. he told me 300-400 cows are being sold in Kerry each week… between marts dealers going straight to factories etc…

Imagine if they had to survive on 130 cows. It would be some fall back to earth.