The effect and subsequent reaction to the ongoing dry conditions across the six farms involved in the Dairylink Ireland project has been different.
In Tyrone and Cavan, grass growth has slowed down, but it is still growing. Second-cut silage crops have generally been good, and forage stocks for the winter ahead have built up, with a third cut still to come in.
Occasional rain showers and a wet day on Sunday past have helped the situation in these areas.
Project farms in Co Down are not in as good a position, and in general farms in the east of Co Down have difficult decisions to make as we move towards the end of July, with no significant rainfall in the forecast. Time is running out to build forage, and many farms have started feeding 2018 first-cut.
A key problem facing drought affected farms is the short term supply of feed.
Key problems
The key problems immediately facing these farms are how to supply enough feed to cows on a daily basis, and how to bridge a shortfall in fodder stocks for this coming winter. At this stage, many of the farms affected by drought have completely bare grazing blocks and any bales taken from the grazing area in May have been fed.
Some farms have opened first-cut silage pits and are on full winter feeding with cows now closed off the grazing block. Undoubtedly this has added cost to the system. However, the bigger issue on these farms is forage stocks for winter.
Even with the prospect of rain coming in the next 10 days, it will be August before grass gets moving and in many cases it will be growing from a very low average farm cover.
Some farms have opened first-cut silage pits and are on full winter feeding.
Addressing short-term and long-term shortages
Look at your livestock
As mentioned in previous articles, some of the Dairylink group have dried off cows and housed them on hay and 1kg of concentrates per day.Identify any passenger cows in the herd, use milk recording and fertility records to help with decision-making on this.Stop walking cows long distances if there is no grass. This is only leading to more energy loss and lameness issues.Look at the potential to remove drystock from the farm in a contract setup or house them to allow regrowth when rain comes.Consider housing the milking herd to build forage cutting area.Budget the forage
Many severely affected farms have little or no second-cut silage, so building third-cut forage stock must be a priority on these farms and remember there is essentially only August and September to achieve this.Be ready to get nitrogen on when the rain eventually gets here.Start building a feed budget for your herd, factoring in the next three to four weeks’ feeding. Some information to help with planning this is below.Look at purchased feed options to extend forage stocks, both forage and concentrate. Initial prices for grass and maize silage, hay and straw are strong.Factor in extra meal feeding into budgets as additional concentrate fed from the start of winter can have a significant impact on overall forage demand.Calculate your fodder requirements
The most important thing in these situations is to be proactive in finding solutions, and always keep a positive outlook. As outlined in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal, 50% forage and concentrate diets are a real option to stretch forage on farms.
For me, building forage stocks in the last two months of potential growth must be a priority on farms, taking steps now to reduce stock numbers and if the option of dry cow treatment is available, it should be used.
Calculating fodder budgets is very useful and will highlight the potential shortfall facing your own farm. It is only once you have established the degree of shortage that you can take appropriate action to solve the problem.
Both Dairylink project farms in Down have less tonnage than previous years due to a combination of less second-cut area and lower yields. They also have concerns over quality with the second cut as it was a very short, dry and low digestible material.
This highlights the importance of calculating the tonnage of silage available on your farm and comparing it with the likely winter demand, while factoring in forage used over the next three or four weeks. To calculate the volume of silage in a silo, work out the cubic capacity of the silo, then use the conversion factors in Table 1 to convert the volume of silage to tonnes.
When working out forage demand, the estimates in Table 2 will help calculate total demand from the various livestock on farm. These estimates are based on stock eating 25% DM silage.
The effect and subsequent reaction to the ongoing dry conditions across the six farms involved in the Dairylink Ireland project has been different.
In Tyrone and Cavan, grass growth has slowed down, but it is still growing. Second-cut silage crops have generally been good, and forage stocks for the winter ahead have built up, with a third cut still to come in.
Occasional rain showers and a wet day on Sunday past have helped the situation in these areas.
Project farms in Co Down are not in as good a position, and in general farms in the east of Co Down have difficult decisions to make as we move towards the end of July, with no significant rainfall in the forecast. Time is running out to build forage, and many farms have started feeding 2018 first-cut.
A key problem facing drought affected farms is the short term supply of feed.
Key problems
The key problems immediately facing these farms are how to supply enough feed to cows on a daily basis, and how to bridge a shortfall in fodder stocks for this coming winter. At this stage, many of the farms affected by drought have completely bare grazing blocks and any bales taken from the grazing area in May have been fed.
Some farms have opened first-cut silage pits and are on full winter feeding with cows now closed off the grazing block. Undoubtedly this has added cost to the system. However, the bigger issue on these farms is forage stocks for winter.
Even with the prospect of rain coming in the next 10 days, it will be August before grass gets moving and in many cases it will be growing from a very low average farm cover.
Some farms have opened first-cut silage pits and are on full winter feeding.
Addressing short-term and long-term shortages
Look at your livestock
As mentioned in previous articles, some of the Dairylink group have dried off cows and housed them on hay and 1kg of concentrates per day.Identify any passenger cows in the herd, use milk recording and fertility records to help with decision-making on this.Stop walking cows long distances if there is no grass. This is only leading to more energy loss and lameness issues.Look at the potential to remove drystock from the farm in a contract setup or house them to allow regrowth when rain comes.Consider housing the milking herd to build forage cutting area.Budget the forage
Many severely affected farms have little or no second-cut silage, so building third-cut forage stock must be a priority on these farms and remember there is essentially only August and September to achieve this.Be ready to get nitrogen on when the rain eventually gets here.Start building a feed budget for your herd, factoring in the next three to four weeks’ feeding. Some information to help with planning this is below.Look at purchased feed options to extend forage stocks, both forage and concentrate. Initial prices for grass and maize silage, hay and straw are strong.Factor in extra meal feeding into budgets as additional concentrate fed from the start of winter can have a significant impact on overall forage demand.Calculate your fodder requirements
The most important thing in these situations is to be proactive in finding solutions, and always keep a positive outlook. As outlined in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal, 50% forage and concentrate diets are a real option to stretch forage on farms.
For me, building forage stocks in the last two months of potential growth must be a priority on farms, taking steps now to reduce stock numbers and if the option of dry cow treatment is available, it should be used.
Calculating fodder budgets is very useful and will highlight the potential shortfall facing your own farm. It is only once you have established the degree of shortage that you can take appropriate action to solve the problem.
Both Dairylink project farms in Down have less tonnage than previous years due to a combination of less second-cut area and lower yields. They also have concerns over quality with the second cut as it was a very short, dry and low digestible material.
This highlights the importance of calculating the tonnage of silage available on your farm and comparing it with the likely winter demand, while factoring in forage used over the next three or four weeks. To calculate the volume of silage in a silo, work out the cubic capacity of the silo, then use the conversion factors in Table 1 to convert the volume of silage to tonnes.
When working out forage demand, the estimates in Table 2 will help calculate total demand from the various livestock on farm. These estimates are based on stock eating 25% DM silage.
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