There is no one solution to suit all dairy farms in managaing the current drought conditions, Tirlán chair Ger O’Brien said at the Tirlán drought management webinar on Thursday

With over 40% of the year’s milk solids yet to be produced, the importance of maintaining healthy and productive cows was raised.

“We can see at these times when cows drop excessively in milk yield, it is very hard to get both their yield and protein constituents back up, so this is why we want to focus on maintaining cows’ production at the moment,” Bryan Harte senior technical specialist at Tirlán said.

Soil moisture deficit

Tirlán highlighted that soil moisture deficits are over 70mm and 80mm in some areas in the south and east of the country, with grass growth effectively stopping at this level.

Elsewhere, soil moisture deficits are over 50mm in many areas, resulting in significantly slower grass growth.

To manage current restricted grass growth, Harte recommended a number of ways farmers can reduce the impacts of the drought on their dairy farm, including:

  • If the farm is located in a dry area and grass cover is low, graze the grass quickly before it burns up and is lost.
  • Extend the rotation length to 25-30 days to help with grass recovery. For example, on a 100-acre platform this equates to 4 acres/day.
  • Actions can be taken to extend or replace grass. For example, any additional stock can be removed from the milking platform, areas closed for silage can be brought in to graze or by zero grazing and concentrates can be increased and silage can be introduced.

    • Buffer feeding

    Where some grass is still available on the farm with about seven to 10 days of grazing ahead, Harte recommends buffer feeding with 3-3.5 silage bales/day/100 cows and 6-7kg of parlour feed.

    Where there is almost no grass, buffer feeding should be increased to about 4-4.5 silage bales/day/100 cows, with 6-8kg of parlour feed.

    If silage becomes tight in this situation, he explained that another feed source such as soya hulls may be needed as a midday feed depending on the farm, at about 3-3.5kg and silage feeding can be reduced to 3-3.5 bales/day/ 100 cows.

    As a cows’ diet becomes higher in concentrates, digestive upset or loose dung may occur and water demand also increases.

    It was also highlighted in the webinar that planning for silage for the coming winter should begin now as a lot of silage may need to be made late in the year.

    It is much easier to keep calves and heifers happy in the current conditions, Harte said.

    If grass is low, a round feeder and a couple of kilos of concentrates a day should suffice.

    When rain does arrive, farmers should not stop buffer feeding and it should be continued for about 10 days to allow grass to build up.

    Fertiliser

    Land is continuing to mineralise nitrogen even in the dry conditions, it is staying in the ground and will be available to the plant when rain arrives, Harte said.

    “We need to consider this when we go to spread bag fertiliser, we won’t need to go with the normal full rates, land is not lacking nitrogen at the moment, its lacking moisture,” he stated.

    Milk solids

    Harte also highlighted the importance of silage quality when buffer feeding or feeding alone, saying if milk solids drop, the first place to check is the dry matter quality of the silage.

    He recommended to get it tested and match the amount fed to the quality of the silage.

    A drop in milk solids is not generally due to insufficient protein in the diet but more of a lack of energy or kilograms of feed, he explained.

    Animal welfare

    A number of animal husbandry measures were highlighted by Joris Somers head of animal health and welfare at Tirlán during the webinar which included:

  • Provide adequate drinking water capacity close to parlour exit as cows drink 30-50% of water intake in the first hour after milking.
  • Set paddocks to include at least two drinking points.
  • Allow shade from tall hedges for daytime grazing paddocks.
  • Select paddocks closer to the yard for grazing during the day.
  • Consider housing stock and buffer feeding during the hottest hours of the day if necessary.
  • Offer mineral licks, boluses or extra concentrates to supplement key nutrients during lower forage intake.
  • Limit time spent in collecting yard.
  • Ensure there is ventilation in sheds, parlour and collecting yard.
  • Use fly treatments.
  • Use pre and post teat disinfection to reduce mastitis risk.
  • Don’t forget about shade, ventilation and water supply on out-farms.