December, January and most of February were far milder and drier than normal. Most of the weather stations in the country received between half and three-quarters of their long-term average rainfall, while air temperatures were around 1oC higher than normal.
However, late February and March were more like a typical spring, with more wet than dry days. The result was that cows spent more time inside on concrete than outside grazing in the fields. As we approach the end of March, this is a critical time for setting up the farm for optimal performance over the next few months.
Grass
Generally speaking, there is more grass on farms than budgeted and less ground grazed than you would like. Grass growth is higher than normal because soil temperatures are higher and more fertiliser was spread in January – there was an excellent response to this early nitrogen.
At this stage, most grass budgets would be targeting average farm cover of between 600kg and 700kg/ha with a planned start of the second round in the first week of April. With many average farm covers closer to 1,000kg/ha, what will this mean?
The first consequence is that it will be unlikely that all the first round will be grazed as the last paddocks will be gone too strong so will be closed for silage. This in itself isn’t a major problem provided there is enough grass for the second round. April grass growth is notoriously variable and depending on the weather could be anywhere from 30kg to 70kg/day in the first two weeks of the month.
Keep an eye on demand. You don’t want to set it any higher than 45kg/day going into early April. That is a stocking rate of 2.8 cows/ha with 2kg of meal being fed per cow. Feeding 4kg of meal allows for a stocking rate of 3.2 cows/ha. You should avoid feeding silage in April – it reduces energy and protein intake, which has a negative effect on milk yield, milk proteins, body condition score and feeding it increases workload.
With more grass on farms, is there an opportunity to spread less nitrogen? There are two ways to look at this. Firstly, the grass that is on farms now used up both chemical and background nitrogen in its growth. So spreading nitrogen now will help to replenish this and keep grass growing for the next few weeks.
But if average farm cover is high, it is not more grass that you need now. In such instances, it probably makes sense to spread 60% to 70% of normal rates to keep grass growth ticking along. You could then spread what was saved this time at a later date, such as spreading extra nitrogen in the autumn to build up grass covers. For those who need to build up soil fertility, now is an ideal time to spread compound fertilisers, not forgetting the importance of sulphur on most soil types.
Cows
Believe it or not, the start of the main breeding season is a month away on most farms. The last couple of weeks have been tough on cows, even those that were housed fully as the period of negative energy balance lasted longer with no grass in the diet.
A good share of cows in herds look scruffy and thin. Have they a health problem or are they just in low body condition score? A good time to check cows is when closing them into the paddock after milking. Cows that are lying down soon after going into a fresh grass break obviously don’t have much appetite, which is never a good sign.
Give washouts to cows that held a cleaning or had a hard calving. You really need all your senses when milking at this time of year. Pick up dirty cows by smell and sight – dirty cows will have a rotten smell and often have a white discharge from their vagina.
Thin cows should be put on once-a-day milking now. This is the best tool we have to improve body condition score (BCS). The loss in milk will be small – an increase in her fat and protein percent will compensate somewhat but the extra days in milk next year as a result of getting her back in calf earlier is the big prize.
Keep the once-a-day cows in the main herd and let them back to twice-a-day milking when BCS improves or whenever they are bred. Try to limit the once-a-day duration to six weeks to reduce the long-term effects.
Cows not yet calved are automatically at high risk of not going back in calf at the end of the coming breeding season. Many of these cows are now getting fat because of the length of their dry period. Put them on restricted silage to prevent them getting too fat. A BCS of 3.25 is optimal at calving.
Some farmers also put the fat late-calving cows on once-a-day milking as they calve. The objective is not to improve their BCS but to prevent excessive BCS loss after calving. Any more than a BCS score loss of 0.5 after calving is detrimental to subsequent fertility performance.
Pre-breeding heat detection should be carried out on herds that have a problem with fertility, ie most herds in the country. Pre-breeding heat detection helps to improve submission rate as it identifies the non-cycling cows early. The target submission rate is 90%.
People
April should offer everyone working on the farm a chance to take some time off before the breeding season starts. While this can put pressure on the system, it is worthwhile. It can be harder to take time off if you are working on your own. Try to line up a reliable person to milk and feed the calves while you are away for a few days. The simpler the system is, the easier it is to get help.
The February milk payment, which arrived this week, will be well and truly gobbled up by the costs associated with the season: fertiliser, meal, labour, etc. It is easier to do a cashflow budget now than it was last January because we have a better handle on how many cows will be milked and what costs have already been incurred and the likely milk price for the next few months.
Budget
A cashflow budget doesn’t have to be anything elaborate – you can work out monthly income and expenditure on the back of an envelope. The important thing is not to get carried away spending now that milk prices have improved. While things are not as tight as last year, we still need to keep costs under control and rebuild the cash buffer for the next downturn. The cost-cutting tactics used last year are not just for tight times, they are for all times.
Measure grass to know what your average farm cover is.Aim to start the second round with an average farm cover of 500kg/ha in early April.Put thin cows on once-a-day milking.Do a cashflow budget for the year.
December, January and most of February were far milder and drier than normal. Most of the weather stations in the country received between half and three-quarters of their long-term average rainfall, while air temperatures were around 1oC higher than normal.
However, late February and March were more like a typical spring, with more wet than dry days. The result was that cows spent more time inside on concrete than outside grazing in the fields. As we approach the end of March, this is a critical time for setting up the farm for optimal performance over the next few months.
Grass
Generally speaking, there is more grass on farms than budgeted and less ground grazed than you would like. Grass growth is higher than normal because soil temperatures are higher and more fertiliser was spread in January – there was an excellent response to this early nitrogen.
At this stage, most grass budgets would be targeting average farm cover of between 600kg and 700kg/ha with a planned start of the second round in the first week of April. With many average farm covers closer to 1,000kg/ha, what will this mean?
The first consequence is that it will be unlikely that all the first round will be grazed as the last paddocks will be gone too strong so will be closed for silage. This in itself isn’t a major problem provided there is enough grass for the second round. April grass growth is notoriously variable and depending on the weather could be anywhere from 30kg to 70kg/day in the first two weeks of the month.
Keep an eye on demand. You don’t want to set it any higher than 45kg/day going into early April. That is a stocking rate of 2.8 cows/ha with 2kg of meal being fed per cow. Feeding 4kg of meal allows for a stocking rate of 3.2 cows/ha. You should avoid feeding silage in April – it reduces energy and protein intake, which has a negative effect on milk yield, milk proteins, body condition score and feeding it increases workload.
With more grass on farms, is there an opportunity to spread less nitrogen? There are two ways to look at this. Firstly, the grass that is on farms now used up both chemical and background nitrogen in its growth. So spreading nitrogen now will help to replenish this and keep grass growing for the next few weeks.
But if average farm cover is high, it is not more grass that you need now. In such instances, it probably makes sense to spread 60% to 70% of normal rates to keep grass growth ticking along. You could then spread what was saved this time at a later date, such as spreading extra nitrogen in the autumn to build up grass covers. For those who need to build up soil fertility, now is an ideal time to spread compound fertilisers, not forgetting the importance of sulphur on most soil types.
Cows
Believe it or not, the start of the main breeding season is a month away on most farms. The last couple of weeks have been tough on cows, even those that were housed fully as the period of negative energy balance lasted longer with no grass in the diet.
A good share of cows in herds look scruffy and thin. Have they a health problem or are they just in low body condition score? A good time to check cows is when closing them into the paddock after milking. Cows that are lying down soon after going into a fresh grass break obviously don’t have much appetite, which is never a good sign.
Give washouts to cows that held a cleaning or had a hard calving. You really need all your senses when milking at this time of year. Pick up dirty cows by smell and sight – dirty cows will have a rotten smell and often have a white discharge from their vagina.
Thin cows should be put on once-a-day milking now. This is the best tool we have to improve body condition score (BCS). The loss in milk will be small – an increase in her fat and protein percent will compensate somewhat but the extra days in milk next year as a result of getting her back in calf earlier is the big prize.
Keep the once-a-day cows in the main herd and let them back to twice-a-day milking when BCS improves or whenever they are bred. Try to limit the once-a-day duration to six weeks to reduce the long-term effects.
Cows not yet calved are automatically at high risk of not going back in calf at the end of the coming breeding season. Many of these cows are now getting fat because of the length of their dry period. Put them on restricted silage to prevent them getting too fat. A BCS of 3.25 is optimal at calving.
Some farmers also put the fat late-calving cows on once-a-day milking as they calve. The objective is not to improve their BCS but to prevent excessive BCS loss after calving. Any more than a BCS score loss of 0.5 after calving is detrimental to subsequent fertility performance.
Pre-breeding heat detection should be carried out on herds that have a problem with fertility, ie most herds in the country. Pre-breeding heat detection helps to improve submission rate as it identifies the non-cycling cows early. The target submission rate is 90%.
People
April should offer everyone working on the farm a chance to take some time off before the breeding season starts. While this can put pressure on the system, it is worthwhile. It can be harder to take time off if you are working on your own. Try to line up a reliable person to milk and feed the calves while you are away for a few days. The simpler the system is, the easier it is to get help.
The February milk payment, which arrived this week, will be well and truly gobbled up by the costs associated with the season: fertiliser, meal, labour, etc. It is easier to do a cashflow budget now than it was last January because we have a better handle on how many cows will be milked and what costs have already been incurred and the likely milk price for the next few months.
Budget
A cashflow budget doesn’t have to be anything elaborate – you can work out monthly income and expenditure on the back of an envelope. The important thing is not to get carried away spending now that milk prices have improved. While things are not as tight as last year, we still need to keep costs under control and rebuild the cash buffer for the next downturn. The cost-cutting tactics used last year are not just for tight times, they are for all times.
Measure grass to know what your average farm cover is.Aim to start the second round with an average farm cover of 500kg/ha in early April.Put thin cows on once-a-day milking.Do a cashflow budget for the year. 
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