organic farming

Did many get paid their balance? Nothing arrived here yet. AIB.

Can't be bothered to fire up the laptop to check on Agfood... (won't load on phone)

Should I top the long light grass or leave it?

Grass is high,long trawneens mostly and some thistle, flowers too.

I'm rotating, cattle, and have understocked. They're only eating the good stuff and trampling which is fine.

Is it better for sward, soil and nature to leave it at grazing or should I mow. I was thinking topping could create some organic matter but it'll kill all the flowers etc.

I could also cut some light silage, I'd rather wait till July for that for the sake of the insects and birds.

Cattle will be outwintered so this grass will eventually be eaten

Yes I may skip a field.

I move them every week or so, I'm relying on electric fences alot.

During the winter I have the shed open and a bale in it but they're not that interested.

I'm not pushed on making silage to sell, I'm fearing overusing the soil as I've no slurry or manure.

It's a fine line when to know when to top really. It's always good to top thistles as they add great amounts of nitrogen into the ground when topped.

I topped two grazed paddocks two days ago for this reason, also to cut rushes and try to control the creeping buttercup, I would normally leave this until July though but my fields aren't being inspected for ACRES until next year so I have a chance to do a bit of tidying.

With all that said, you could probably get away with leaving the fields and saving on a bit of diesel, as you say the cattle with eat it anyway.

Consider topping while cattle are in the field paddock. Do it especially as grazing slows if grass is stemmy. Late May/June is the critical time to graze out or top grazing areas. If you have excess grass topping will slow the next rotation and improve quality of grass.

With organics store cattle are going to be expensive. Too many went in to it just looking at the payment and had no plan. Worse you cannot buy non organic stock do them to organic standard and sell them conventional. You need more lads going into organics that will breed stock. It will get worse before it gets better.

There is a solution but it's heresy calves from the conventional dairy herd switched to organics at three months or less. Winer for organics winer for the dairy side, but sorry no chicken dinner.

Probably a tad early yet. Growth is too strong and you would have meadows in August. Probably start of August is the ideal time to start doing that depending on your land. If you had craggy light soul land you could start earlier

Anyone getting into organics should buy conventional stock before the start. Unless you want to go for niche, yes keep away from rare breeds. A good few may not fancy carrying fairly heavy unfinished cattle into the winter, that's my hope anyway.

How did you fare with the poor growth all along ,I have been spreading 25 units of N after grazing and only for long rotation of 35 days would be goosed.what do you do to keep the grass ticking over ,you must be all heads at this stage

Could badly do with a few bags of CAN, growth so slow on grazing ground.

are any of them organic friendly?

I would think a liquid foliar feeding system would resolve the nitrate derogation issue.

Yes, somewhere between 30 and 50 %. Also little volitisation and leaching, as it is absorbed in less than 5 hours. No need for all the shouting and roaring about dairy herds being decimated😉

there is no bord bia premium for killing organic cattle as organic cattle.

Really...i dont understand...so if i am not Bord Bia QA, they wont take my Organic stock?

Correct, really annoying. Almost the same inspection a few weeks apart, in my case.

In practise it would. Problem is also, a lot of fertiliser suppliers are the milk processors and grain merchants as well. They want to milk the dairy and tillage farmer both ways.

lovely stock blue.

A few my own below. On half kg or so for the last 3 weeks (they would get nothing only for the scheme that pays for meal feeding, ) as approach weaning. A long way behind where calves, especially young bulls would have been when the creep feeder was in the field from turnout.

A bull, would have been the right colour for a heifer.

a march born little tank

Oct born x2

Teagasc are looking for some organic weanlings for a study on finishing. About those weights if I read correctly. Enquire.

To be honest I would be happy with conventional prices as there is no real difference in my farming system apart from not buying the fertilizers. Then when you factor in the higher EU payments you are working out the same but with less work, less cattle and an easier life. But I wouldn't be able to take prices less than conventional when the product is better.

Ennis doing the same now too.