Weather

What can we learn from last week? While the snow storm was a freak event and by far the worst in 36 years, who knows when the next one will come. Should we be more prepared for the next one? What would have happened if it continued for a few days more, or even longer? It seems to me that farms that fared the best had a plan in place and everyone on the farm knew what to do when the snow did come. That said, nobody could have planned for the 10ft drifts that blocked some farms in the worst-hit places.

However, lessons can still be learned. Some farmers ordered and got feed delivered in advance of the storm, even if they weren’t out. Same with milk replacer and salt for keeping yards and parlour floors from freezing over. Some farmers had blow-heaters ready to keep the parlour from freezing, or had material on hand to block up gaps and openings. Others had generators out and ready to go in the event of power outages. Those with big water storage tanks had enough water to keep cows watered. The key thing was to provide feed and shelter to stock. Most issues occurred where this was lacking.

The next snow event might not be for another 36 years, or it could be in 36 months’ time. Write down what you would do differently next time. Since the earthquakes, most farms in New Zealand have procedures in place for dealing with adverse events. We need to have something similar for floods, droughts, storms, snow and whatever else nature throws at us. Everyone working on the farm should be familiar with them.

Fodder

Everyone I talk to seems surprised at how quickly land is drying out since the snow. However, how quickly cows can go back out will depend on soil type and how much more rain we are going to get. Either way, it’s going to be a late spring and more silage and meal will be fed than planned.

Now is the time to take stock of what silage is left on the farm. As a rule of thumb, to calculate the amount of silage in a pit, measure the length x breadth x settled height in metres and divide by 1.35 to get tonnes equivalent. Then multiply by the dry matter to get the tonnes dry matter. A round bale of silage will have between 200kg and 300kg of on silage dry matter, depending on how well packed it was and how dry the grass was at baling.

The next step is to budget for how much you will need. Spring-calving cows will eat about 10kg of silage per day if getting 5kg or 6kg of meal. There is silage available to buy, but at a price. Getting cows out for a few hours grazing on dry days is possible, even on heavy soils. This will help to preserve stocks. You need to be prepared to accept some level of damage, as it is for the greater good.

More straw than planned was used over the last few days as the snow destroyed the beds in most sheds. The last thing you should do now is to skimp on straw, even if it is scarce. It would be better to turn young calves out to a paddock in late March than to have wet beds now.