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We have been busy the last few weeks giving all the stock their various vaccinations and boluses prior to turn out.
Milk cows have had a booster vaccination for BVD and IBR plus a mineral bolus. In-calf heifers also had a mineral bolus, plus a booster for IBR and a primary course of two BVD injections.
Finally, the heifers in their first year grazing season have had a 10 in one clostridial vaccination, plus vaccinations for Leptospirosis and IBR, a mineral bolus, and an oral vaccine for lung worm.
We have not vaccinated against lungworm for about 15 years, but since converting to organic production we have reviewed our worming protocol. We will also take dung samples during the summer to monitor the worm status of stock to see if the cattle need any additional wormers.
Grazing
The milk cows have been out grazing during the day since mid-April and are being milked twice a day while at grass, instead of three times while inside.
TMR is still being fed in the trough, with a gradual reduction taking place in the amount fed as they transition to a full-time grazing system.
While some have not quite learned to respect the electric fence, it does not help when occasionally the fencing unit is not switched back on after the wire has been moved!
Currently they are getting 5kg of blend and producing 25.5 litres per head per day at 260 days in milk.
The cows are now being paddock grazed. While some have not quite learned to respect the electric fence, it does not help when occasionally the fencing unit is not switched back on after the wire has been moved! It is a good thing that we have good boundary fences.
Dry off
We be starting to dry off cows within the next week so are expecting total daily yields to fall.
As a result of work we have been doing with SRUC, more cows will only be given teat sealant at drying off. At the moment 76% receive a teat sealant alone.
Since looking more closely at dry cow therapy, our cases of clinical mastitis have fallen by about 20%
Both groups of cows - teat sealant only, or teat sealant with dry cow tubes - have achieved similar dry period protection rates of 92% and 93% respectively. The dry period protection rate is a measure of the number of cows that start the next lactation with a low SCC. The target is 90%.
Since looking more closely at dry cow therapy, our cases of clinical mastitis have fallen by about 20%.
We have also been recording the amount of milk a cow has been giving when it is dried off. Some are being dried off while giving 30 litres. But our results suggest yield at drying off does not appear to affect cell counts in the subsequent lactation.
Early turn-out
All the young stock are now turned out, which makes it the earliest turn out we have ever had, with all animals out grazing before the end of April. Ground condition has been ideal, and we also managed in April to get 38 acres of Planet spring barley undersown with a grass/clover mix.
Holiday
One member of staff is on holiday for two weeks, and the other has a week holiday next week, so it will be good to have a quiet spell with the main job being the milking of the cows. When we were calving all year round and the cows were kept inside, there never seemed to be a quiet time.
The last ewe lambed a couple of days ago and the lambs have had a great start this year with the good weather. We had a few caesareans with the Beltex ewes, but the ewes and lambs are all doing well.
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