A sideline arable enterprise complements the feeding and reseeding policy on Roger McCracken’s 150-cow dairy farm near Ballywalter, Co Down.
Around 25 acres of barley are grown on the farm each year, with the rest of the 200-acre land block laid out in grass.
As part of a Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) conference last month, Roger hosted visitors at his farm on the Ards Peninsula and explained that barley is grown in a rotation to allow a different area to be reseeded each year.
The cereal area is usually split between winter barley and spring barley, although this can depend on weather conditions each year.
Roger said that he likes winter barley as it allows stubble ground to be ploughed early, usually in August, which means there is a fresh grass sward by October that can be grazed by young stock.
He maintained that weeds are also less persistent in a grass sward following a cereal crop, compared with a conventional grassland reseed.
The arable enterprise produces around 75t of barley each year, which is rolled and mixed with a 32% crude protein blend as part of a total mixed ration (TMR) for milking cows.
The TMR also includes 8kg of wholecrop, which is bought in from a neighbouring farm, and home-grown grass silage.
The TMR includes 2kg of rolled barley, 2kg of high protein blend, 8kg of wholecrop and grass silage.
The McCrackens carry out all their own ploughing, harrowing and spraying, with a contractor used for sowing, combining and baling straw.
Roger told visitors that it takes £76/t to grow the barley and the bought-in blend costs £285.
The TMR includes 2kg/head of rolled barley and 2kg/head of a high-protein blend.
This 50/50 mix is 21% crude protein and costs Roger around £180/t, which represents a significant saving when compared with dairy blend prices from feed mills.
However, Roger hasn’t much scope to increase the use of the cheaper homegrown blend at present, as the milking herd runs as one group so concentrate feed rate through the diet feeder has to be kept relatively low.
The Holstein dairy herd is fed to yield in the parlour, with cows yielding 8,800l at 4.30% butterfat and 3.40% protein from a total concentrate feed rate of 2.5t/cow.
Cows on the McCracken farm are yielding 8,800l at 4.30% butterfat and 3.40% protein from 2.5t/cow of concentrates.
Roger said that calving runs from September to April and the calving interval is around 410 days, but the plan is to get this under 400 days.
He runs around 60 heifers and aims to have around 50 joining the milking herd every year.
“This allows us to be hard when picking cows for culling at the other end and means we have a fairly young herd,” Roger said.
Cows are milked in a 12-a-side double-up parlour and teats get a dry wipe before cupping as well as a spray afterwards.
Some people talk about unit idle time, but I talk about man idle time
This routine allows one person to milk while someone else scrapes cubicles and feeds cows.
Roger said that having 24 units in the parlour means that the pit is busy during milking, but he added that he prefers this over waiting on cows to milk out.
“Some people talk about unit idle time, but I talk about man idle time,” he said.
There is also a backing gate in the collecting yard which keeps cows coming onto the parlour and adds to labour efficiency in the pit.
Turnout
Roger told visitors that he doesn’t put the milking herd out to grass by day until April as cows are easier to get in-calf when housed.
He maintained that an earlier turnout would often mean housing cows again if conditions deteriorate, which would impact yields.
Cows are usually out full time by the end of April and go back out to grass a few days after calving in the autumn.
Last year, cows were housed by night from 25 September and stayed at grass until 25 October.
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A sideline arable enterprise complements the feeding and reseeding policy on Roger McCracken’s 150-cow dairy farm near Ballywalter, Co Down.
Around 25 acres of barley are grown on the farm each year, with the rest of the 200-acre land block laid out in grass.
As part of a Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) conference last month, Roger hosted visitors at his farm on the Ards Peninsula and explained that barley is grown in a rotation to allow a different area to be reseeded each year.
The cereal area is usually split between winter barley and spring barley, although this can depend on weather conditions each year.
Roger said that he likes winter barley as it allows stubble ground to be ploughed early, usually in August, which means there is a fresh grass sward by October that can be grazed by young stock.
He maintained that weeds are also less persistent in a grass sward following a cereal crop, compared with a conventional grassland reseed.
The arable enterprise produces around 75t of barley each year, which is rolled and mixed with a 32% crude protein blend as part of a total mixed ration (TMR) for milking cows.
The TMR also includes 8kg of wholecrop, which is bought in from a neighbouring farm, and home-grown grass silage.
The TMR includes 2kg of rolled barley, 2kg of high protein blend, 8kg of wholecrop and grass silage.
The McCrackens carry out all their own ploughing, harrowing and spraying, with a contractor used for sowing, combining and baling straw.
Roger told visitors that it takes £76/t to grow the barley and the bought-in blend costs £285.
The TMR includes 2kg/head of rolled barley and 2kg/head of a high-protein blend.
This 50/50 mix is 21% crude protein and costs Roger around £180/t, which represents a significant saving when compared with dairy blend prices from feed mills.
However, Roger hasn’t much scope to increase the use of the cheaper homegrown blend at present, as the milking herd runs as one group so concentrate feed rate through the diet feeder has to be kept relatively low.
The Holstein dairy herd is fed to yield in the parlour, with cows yielding 8,800l at 4.30% butterfat and 3.40% protein from a total concentrate feed rate of 2.5t/cow.
Cows on the McCracken farm are yielding 8,800l at 4.30% butterfat and 3.40% protein from 2.5t/cow of concentrates.
Roger said that calving runs from September to April and the calving interval is around 410 days, but the plan is to get this under 400 days.
He runs around 60 heifers and aims to have around 50 joining the milking herd every year.
“This allows us to be hard when picking cows for culling at the other end and means we have a fairly young herd,” Roger said.
Cows are milked in a 12-a-side double-up parlour and teats get a dry wipe before cupping as well as a spray afterwards.
Some people talk about unit idle time, but I talk about man idle time
This routine allows one person to milk while someone else scrapes cubicles and feeds cows.
Roger said that having 24 units in the parlour means that the pit is busy during milking, but he added that he prefers this over waiting on cows to milk out.
“Some people talk about unit idle time, but I talk about man idle time,” he said.
There is also a backing gate in the collecting yard which keeps cows coming onto the parlour and adds to labour efficiency in the pit.
Turnout
Roger told visitors that he doesn’t put the milking herd out to grass by day until April as cows are easier to get in-calf when housed.
He maintained that an earlier turnout would often mean housing cows again if conditions deteriorate, which would impact yields.
Cows are usually out full time by the end of April and go back out to grass a few days after calving in the autumn.
Last year, cows were housed by night from 25 September and stayed at grass until 25 October.
Read more
TB skin test has ‘huge limitations’ in chronic herds
‘Succession planning is not a sign of weakness’
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