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The farming year is progressing nicely here in north Wexford. We had a very good spring, with cows only missing two or three grazings. This helped to reduce the workload and maximise the amount of grass in the cows’ diet.
We have just finished harvesting our first-cut silage. Thankfully, the weather has worked with us and we were able to clamp some nice, dry grass, which should make excellent-quality feed for the herd this winter.
We will aim to get some slurry and fertiliser spread in the coming days, to kickstart growth for the second cut.
Grass growth is moving along well, with over 80kg DM/ha grown in the last week. Cows are grazing 24-36hr paddocks and are very content, grazing right down to 4cm. We are currently following cows with just over a bag of ASN (nitrogen + sulphur).
I am also spreading some paddocks with watery slurry via a trailing shoe, which helps us get back into these paddocks quicker without affecting graze-outs. I plan to walk the farm this week, and I expect that we will be able to skip a paddock or two in the rotation and take out some nice-quality bales.
Ground conditions
Ground is dry, but I don’t think we are as bad as other parts of the country further south and inland. A few passing, heavy showers should help keep things moving for now.
Cows are milking well at just over 26l/cow, at 3.51% protein and 4.16% fat. The new rotary parlour is working extremely well for both man and beast. Milking times have been slashed in half and cows are no longer standing in yards for long periods, meaning less lameness and more time spent in the paddock grazing.
Breeding
The improvements to milking also help us get out of the yard at a reasonable hour in the evening, which is very important. We started AI on 10 May and so far nearly 70% of cows have been submitted. They’re showing strong heats and are easily identified during milking. Any cows not bred in the next few days will be scanned to help identify any issues that may be preventing them from cycling.
Cows are topped-up each morning with fresh tail paint, where needed. The newly installed Waikato drafting system is taking the hard work out of AI, allowing us to draft cows stress-free, without leaving the parlour.
Replacement heifers have all been bred once to AI and are now off the milking platform, running with a team of Angus bulls.
A mixture of Friesian, Jersey and cross-bred bulls have been used this year, along with some Angus and Hereford straws for late calvers and cows we don’t want replacements bred from.
The vast majority of heifer calves are now weaned and will go to grass this week, with the remainder joining them in the near future.
The coming weeks will be filled with a variety of jobs, including fencing, reseeding, general maintenance and even some junior B hurling. There is also some work to be finished on new pens and a crush in the collecting yard.
Once breeding is finished, we would hope to take some time off away from the farm to recharge the batteries and enjoy the good weather.
It is important for both mind and body to relax and recuperate, especially after the heavy workload associated with spring calving.
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