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Milk quality
Milk liners need to be changed after 2,500 milkings or every six months, whichever comes first. Over time, the liner loses its elasticity, becomes stretched and loses its shape, resulting in slower milkings and potentially causing teat end damage. This in turn will increase the risk of mastitis and SCC problems.
If more than seven rows are going through the parlour, then more than two liner changes per year will be required. Work out how many rows are going through the parlour at each milking, multiply by two if milking twice a day and divide this number by 2,500 to work out how many days you get from a new set. Liners should be checked throughout the year for cracks and splits. A split liner can cause mastitis.
While temperatures have not been as high as last year, there have been some reports of bulk tanks coming under pressure to cool milk. By right, the bulk tank should be finished cooling 20 minutes after milking, but on many farms it’s still cooling two hours later. The most energy efficient item on the farm is a correctly sized plate cooler with sufficient quantity of cold water going through it. The proper ratio is 2:1 water to milk.
Reseeding
This week’s Focus is on reseeding. While the long-term results are better with spring reseeding, there is still time to carry out reseeding this autumn. With fodder stocks replenished on most farms, it’s a good chance to improve swards. However, time is running out so act fast. A field sprayed off today won’t be grazed again until early October and we know weather and ground conditions can be mixed then so getting a good clean-out can be a challenge. However, it’s better to do it than not, as spring reseeding doesn’t suit everyone, particularly those on heavy land.
Once again, soil fertility is vital. By right, this should be corrected before the field is reseeded to give the new seeds the best chance. If buying lime to spread on fields for reseeding, buy a bit extra and cover the fields that are low in pH too. Spend a bit of time picking grass seed varieties. In fairness, the quality of mixtures available at most of the co-ops and merchants has increased a lot, particularly over the last decade.
Silage
Paddocks of surplus grass and fields closed for second-cut silage should be harvested as soon as possible. Leaving them grow will increase bulk, but at the expense of grass in September. Farmers will be starting to build up grass for autumn in the next fortnight and this is very hard to do if there’s fields out for silage. There’s less than six weeks left in the open period for chemical fertiliser, so realistically the most that will be spread is two more rounds of nitrogen on fields that were cut for silage. A good policy is to go with a compound that is high in potash on silage ground, as cutting silage really depletes potash levels. Buying straight nitrogen and straight potash will work out cheaper than buying it in a compound, but you then need to spread twice.
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