If using scratch cards on heifers make sure their tails are well clipped.
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Profit or production: Cows are milking well and have been all spring. Grass growth has taken off on most farms and we are now well past magic day, when growth overtakes demand. Looking at milk yields, many herds are doing over 2.2kg of milk solids per cow per day and have been for the past while. It’s great to see cows milking well, but we must never forget that high production doesn’t equal high profit. Farmers that are focused on profit will be more concerned now about achieving good grazing residuals and reducing meal costs than they will about getting high peak yields. If you want high yields you’ll get it by continuing to feed over 3kg of meal now, but feed costs will go out of line and grass quality will suffer because of poorer cleanouts because; a) cows don’t have the same appetite for grass and b) the farmer doesn’t want to push cows to make them clean it out for fear it affects yield. Profit focused farmers may have a lower peak yield, but it costs less money to produce it and tends to last for longer because grass quality will be better throughout the summer. I’m not saying that production isn’t important, of course it is, but profit is much more important. In my view, when grass is plentiful there’s no justification for feeding any more than 2kg of meal to cover for grass tetany and minerals. Those that can supply these elsewhere, don’t need to feed any meal and should still be able to produce 27l/cow/day on grass only.
Grass: Growth rates have taken off over the past week and many farms grew over 80kg/day for the past week. A big change in the weather this week will reduce growth rates, but not by much as soil temperatures are currently up to four degrees higher than normal and daylight length is increasing every day. This, along with sufficient nitrogen will ensure that grass growth will stay reasonably high over the next while. Don’t sleepwalk into a grass problem. Most farmers were never tight for grass in April when they normally would be. This means that the time to react to a surge in growth is less this year. Covers will get too strong and quality will deteriorate quickly. You’ll see this in a yellow butt after grazing and cows getting longer in paddocks than you expected. Close up ground for long term, silage. Set the demand at 70kg/day which is a stocking rate of 4.1 cows/ha. Aim to have an average farm cover of 650 to 730kg/ha which is a cover per cow of 160 to 180kg at that stocking rate. When the cover rises, skip those paddocks for bales and get them cut and back growing quickly.
Breeding: A lot of farmers are starting to breed heifers and cows around now. If using scratch cards on heifers make sure their tails are well clipped. They’ll do more swishing with long tails that could lead to false positives. If using sexed semen be extra careful when handling the sexed straws. You need to follow the AI protocol exactly. Some farmers and AI technicians get complacent about proper handling and AI technique as they get more experienced. By right, every AI operatore should go on a refresher course before the start of the season.
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Profit or production: Cows are milking well and have been all spring. Grass growth has taken off on most farms and we are now well past magic day, when growth overtakes demand. Looking at milk yields, many herds are doing over 2.2kg of milk solids per cow per day and have been for the past while. It’s great to see cows milking well, but we must never forget that high production doesn’t equal high profit. Farmers that are focused on profit will be more concerned now about achieving good grazing residuals and reducing meal costs than they will about getting high peak yields. If you want high yields you’ll get it by continuing to feed over 3kg of meal now, but feed costs will go out of line and grass quality will suffer because of poorer cleanouts because; a) cows don’t have the same appetite for grass and b) the farmer doesn’t want to push cows to make them clean it out for fear it affects yield. Profit focused farmers may have a lower peak yield, but it costs less money to produce it and tends to last for longer because grass quality will be better throughout the summer. I’m not saying that production isn’t important, of course it is, but profit is much more important. In my view, when grass is plentiful there’s no justification for feeding any more than 2kg of meal to cover for grass tetany and minerals. Those that can supply these elsewhere, don’t need to feed any meal and should still be able to produce 27l/cow/day on grass only.
Grass: Growth rates have taken off over the past week and many farms grew over 80kg/day for the past week. A big change in the weather this week will reduce growth rates, but not by much as soil temperatures are currently up to four degrees higher than normal and daylight length is increasing every day. This, along with sufficient nitrogen will ensure that grass growth will stay reasonably high over the next while. Don’t sleepwalk into a grass problem. Most farmers were never tight for grass in April when they normally would be. This means that the time to react to a surge in growth is less this year. Covers will get too strong and quality will deteriorate quickly. You’ll see this in a yellow butt after grazing and cows getting longer in paddocks than you expected. Close up ground for long term, silage. Set the demand at 70kg/day which is a stocking rate of 4.1 cows/ha. Aim to have an average farm cover of 650 to 730kg/ha which is a cover per cow of 160 to 180kg at that stocking rate. When the cover rises, skip those paddocks for bales and get them cut and back growing quickly.
Breeding: A lot of farmers are starting to breed heifers and cows around now. If using scratch cards on heifers make sure their tails are well clipped. They’ll do more swishing with long tails that could lead to false positives. If using sexed semen be extra careful when handling the sexed straws. You need to follow the AI protocol exactly. Some farmers and AI technicians get complacent about proper handling and AI technique as they get more experienced. By right, every AI operatore should go on a refresher course before the start of the season.
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