The average weight of the calved heifers only, over 33% of the herd, was 356kg for mostly jersey crossbred heifers. The average condition score is slightly on the low side but the average is less important.

What is important is to pick out the cows in very low condition score and put them on once a day milking to allow them gain condition. While on once a day milking these cows will be fed well, as well as if they were on twice a day milking because otherwise you would lose a lot of milk output that would be hard to re-gain.

The objective of the condition score measurement is to pull out any thin cows and put them into the second herd where they are on once a day milking. There are approximately 50 of the 305 milking cows on once a day milking at the moment – these are lame cows, cows in poor body condition score and a few cows with high cell counts.

Lameness problem

A lameness problem continues to linger in the herd from last year and it is slow to clear. There is little or no mortellaro but is more bruises and drops in hooves. A resurfacing job on roadways starts this week.

Since the roadways went in we have got away with no surfacing material as they settled into position. With the heavy rain last year now it is time to do the surfacing as they have become very rough on top. Cows are walking very tenderly on the roads and in single file when coming in and out for milking. We will update more on this in next report.

Farm grass cover has held firm at 150kg per cow (400kg average farm cover) – probably the minimum you would like to see on the farm as any lower would slow down re growths.

This has been the case for the last four weeks really. The last few paddocks will be rationed out and the cows are also getting hay bales and 6kg of meal morning and evening to top up the feed gap.

The farm is green to the butt and ready for growth if it arrives in the next few days. Another 30 to 40 units of nitrogen per acre is going out today (Weds) bringing the total to 70 to 80 units of nitrogen spread per acre. The entire farm got one bag of urea on 18 February.

Paddocks

There is a cover of 600kg to 700kg on the first paddocks of the second round. It will be seven or eight days before cows go into these paddocks so hopefully if we get some growth there will be close to 900/1000kg on these paddocks.

The oldest of the heifer calves are outside on 600grams of milk powder once a day and 1kg of meal at the contract rearing farm. The maiden heifers are also out grazing on the contract rearing farm. Pre-breeding heat detection will start in the next few days to allow farm staff get a handle on breeding 21/22 days before the start of breeding.

As part of the research trial we will be using 60 straws of sexed semen. Otherwise a panel of high EBI mostly Holstein Friesian sires have been selected.

The herd are milking on average approx 18 litres at 3.30% protein, 4.57% fat (1.5kg MS) and 110,000 SCC. Milk supply for this farm for 2013 is approx 80,000 litres ahead of 2012 due to the earlier calving date and large number of heifers calving into the herd.