Grass growth has slowed on Tullamore Farm this week with growth dropping to 22kg over the past seven days.
Tuesday night marked the first frost of the winter and this is expected to slow growth further. Average farm cover has dropped to 564kg.
The plan was to close the farm on 1 December with a cover of 750kg/DM/ha. We may be a little below this figure depending on growth and housing over the next three weeks.
Heifer weanlings are due to be housed at the end of this week. Dairy X AA and HE continue to graze off some heavy covers and will move to kale towards the end of the month.
Kale
Cows moved on to kale on Friday 24 October and will continue to graze this crop until the end of January, just before calving begins.
Cows are being allocated 1m of kale daily along a 450m feed face. The crop was weighed this week and it is yielding 10.5t/DM/ha at 15% DM.
Cows are being allocated 9kg/DM/kale on a daily basis. They are also being fed one bale of silage every two to three days which equated to 1kg/DM/silage/day per cow on the kale.
Grazing conditions are very good with weather ideal over the past 10 days.
Electric fence
The electric fence has been disconnected to the rest of the farm with the full power going to the kale field.
This seems to have worked with “five lights” on the fence putting out 10,000 volts. Farm manager Ger O’Dwyer says fence power is a must to keep cows from going under or over the fence.
“If they get the habit of moving, you just can’t stop them.”
On the kale, he says that cows have settled in really well and at the moment with ground conditions very good, it’s very easy moving the fence on a daily basis.
Why kale?
Cows were selected to go on to kale based on a number of key criteria.
Cow condition – cows in good condition were put to kale.Feet/udders – any cows with feet or udder issues were kept off kale.First calving cows/maiden heifers – these animals were not put to kale in case body condition loss would be too severe.Cow age – older cows were also not put to kale because of teeth issues.Cows tails were all clipped prior to going on to kale. Each cow also received two mineral boluses to supplement with iodine and phosphorus which kale is deficient in.
The fence is being moved on a daily basis with about 9kg/DM/kale per cow being allocated on a daily basis.
Male weanlings
Male weanlings were housed on 27 October and are currently being fed 3kg of a 16% protein ration.
This is a simple barley based-ration with maize meal, beet pulp and wheat distillers with beans as a protein source.
They are also on the high-quality 78DMD silage. All weanlings were dosed with an Avermectin-based product and vaccinated for pneumonia prior to housing.
Heifer weanlings
Heifer weanlings continue to graze off heavy covers and will be housed at the end of this week.
All weanlings tails and backs will be clipped once settled in the shed.
Cull cows are being fed 4kg to 5kg of a finishing ration and will be slaughtered in the next two months.
Rams joined the ewes on Thursday, 2 November. Ewes continue to graze reseeded paddocks and will be kept outdoors until mid-December if ground conditions permit.
Fencing continues under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) scheme with a large proportion of the farm now fenced for sheep.
TAMS approved fencing is progressing well on Tullamore Farm. Fencing is costing €4.90/m plus 13.5% VAT.
Read more
Watch: Tullamore Farm November update
Tullamore Farm: sheep breeding gets under way
Grass growth has slowed on Tullamore Farm this week with growth dropping to 22kg over the past seven days.
Tuesday night marked the first frost of the winter and this is expected to slow growth further. Average farm cover has dropped to 564kg.
The plan was to close the farm on 1 December with a cover of 750kg/DM/ha. We may be a little below this figure depending on growth and housing over the next three weeks.
Heifer weanlings are due to be housed at the end of this week. Dairy X AA and HE continue to graze off some heavy covers and will move to kale towards the end of the month.
Kale
Cows moved on to kale on Friday 24 October and will continue to graze this crop until the end of January, just before calving begins.
Cows are being allocated 1m of kale daily along a 450m feed face. The crop was weighed this week and it is yielding 10.5t/DM/ha at 15% DM.
Cows are being allocated 9kg/DM/kale on a daily basis. They are also being fed one bale of silage every two to three days which equated to 1kg/DM/silage/day per cow on the kale.
Grazing conditions are very good with weather ideal over the past 10 days.
Electric fence
The electric fence has been disconnected to the rest of the farm with the full power going to the kale field.
This seems to have worked with “five lights” on the fence putting out 10,000 volts. Farm manager Ger O’Dwyer says fence power is a must to keep cows from going under or over the fence.
“If they get the habit of moving, you just can’t stop them.”
On the kale, he says that cows have settled in really well and at the moment with ground conditions very good, it’s very easy moving the fence on a daily basis.
Why kale?
Cows were selected to go on to kale based on a number of key criteria.
Cow condition – cows in good condition were put to kale.Feet/udders – any cows with feet or udder issues were kept off kale.First calving cows/maiden heifers – these animals were not put to kale in case body condition loss would be too severe.Cow age – older cows were also not put to kale because of teeth issues.Cows tails were all clipped prior to going on to kale. Each cow also received two mineral boluses to supplement with iodine and phosphorus which kale is deficient in.
The fence is being moved on a daily basis with about 9kg/DM/kale per cow being allocated on a daily basis.
Male weanlings
Male weanlings were housed on 27 October and are currently being fed 3kg of a 16% protein ration.
This is a simple barley based-ration with maize meal, beet pulp and wheat distillers with beans as a protein source.
They are also on the high-quality 78DMD silage. All weanlings were dosed with an Avermectin-based product and vaccinated for pneumonia prior to housing.
Heifer weanlings
Heifer weanlings continue to graze off heavy covers and will be housed at the end of this week.
All weanlings tails and backs will be clipped once settled in the shed.
Cull cows are being fed 4kg to 5kg of a finishing ration and will be slaughtered in the next two months.
Rams joined the ewes on Thursday, 2 November. Ewes continue to graze reseeded paddocks and will be kept outdoors until mid-December if ground conditions permit.
Fencing continues under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) scheme with a large proportion of the farm now fenced for sheep.
TAMS approved fencing is progressing well on Tullamore Farm. Fencing is costing €4.90/m plus 13.5% VAT.
Read more
Watch: Tullamore Farm November update
Tullamore Farm: sheep breeding gets under way
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