I knew if I waited long enough I was bound to come up with some sort of an advantage to having a heavy farm and this is the year I’ve figured it out. Once every 23 years or so when we have the drought-type conditions that we are experiencing now (the last time I remember these conditions for any length of time was 1995), my heavy farm can cope better and seems to be able to carry on growing grass, due to moisture still being available to the plant deep down in the soil.
Growth has dropped significantly from last week's 101kg DM/ha to 68kg DM/ha this week. Yet, I’m still happy with that, as it is still above my grazing demand of 60kg DM/ha. After another week of dry weather, I’m not sure what the situation will be, but we dare not complain, it is absolutely glorious, especially if you have no vested interest in growing grass!
Is it the weather to spread fertiliser?
On drier farms, growth has all but stopped due to lack of moisture. I keep getting asked the question whether it makes any sense to spread fertiliser in this weather? My opinion is yes, it does. Obviously, per unit of nitrogen spread, you won’t grow as much grass as you would in optimum growing conditions. However, if you stop spreading in the hope of rain, you won’t grow any grass at all.
In this part of the world, there still seems to be a good dew at night, which will help the fertiliser to work. It’s funny to see two or more farmers congregated together staring into a smartphone, looking at the weather apps. Normally, we are scrolling as far forward as we can to see when we’re going to get a bit of dry weather; now, we’re scrolling forward to see when it’s going to rain!
Beef fertility farm walk
In conjunction with Whitehouse Veterinary Clinic and Ceva Animal Health, my farm played host to a beef fertility event last Wednesday evening. The event covered topics such as bull health and fertility. My bull was fertility tested and the semen was checked under a microscope.
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
A synchronisation programme was discussed using prids and hormone injections. A batch of heifers received prids and their first injection on the night. Correct condition score for breeding, along with the cost of keeping a bull versus synchronising and AI, plus a host of other topics were also discussed.
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
I just want to thank all the farmers who made an effort to attend and hope they gained something from the event. A bit of pressure from something like this is a great incentive to get the sheds washed!
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
Read more
Farmer writes: summer heat, the death of Elvis and a Mazda adventure
I knew if I waited long enough I was bound to come up with some sort of an advantage to having a heavy farm and this is the year I’ve figured it out. Once every 23 years or so when we have the drought-type conditions that we are experiencing now (the last time I remember these conditions for any length of time was 1995), my heavy farm can cope better and seems to be able to carry on growing grass, due to moisture still being available to the plant deep down in the soil.
Growth has dropped significantly from last week's 101kg DM/ha to 68kg DM/ha this week. Yet, I’m still happy with that, as it is still above my grazing demand of 60kg DM/ha. After another week of dry weather, I’m not sure what the situation will be, but we dare not complain, it is absolutely glorious, especially if you have no vested interest in growing grass!
Is it the weather to spread fertiliser?
On drier farms, growth has all but stopped due to lack of moisture. I keep getting asked the question whether it makes any sense to spread fertiliser in this weather? My opinion is yes, it does. Obviously, per unit of nitrogen spread, you won’t grow as much grass as you would in optimum growing conditions. However, if you stop spreading in the hope of rain, you won’t grow any grass at all.
In this part of the world, there still seems to be a good dew at night, which will help the fertiliser to work. It’s funny to see two or more farmers congregated together staring into a smartphone, looking at the weather apps. Normally, we are scrolling as far forward as we can to see when we’re going to get a bit of dry weather; now, we’re scrolling forward to see when it’s going to rain!
Beef fertility farm walk
In conjunction with Whitehouse Veterinary Clinic and Ceva Animal Health, my farm played host to a beef fertility event last Wednesday evening. The event covered topics such as bull health and fertility. My bull was fertility tested and the semen was checked under a microscope.
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
A synchronisation programme was discussed using prids and hormone injections. A batch of heifers received prids and their first injection on the night. Correct condition score for breeding, along with the cost of keeping a bull versus synchronising and AI, plus a host of other topics were also discussed.
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
I just want to thank all the farmers who made an effort to attend and hope they gained something from the event. A bit of pressure from something like this is a great incentive to get the sheds washed!
Farmer writes: the advantages of a heavy farm.
Read more
Farmer writes: summer heat, the death of Elvis and a Mazda adventure
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