As I write, we hope to begin the silage but the forecast is mixed and while we would go ahead with a certain amount of dampness, we can’t make silage with downpours threatened and all the time the potential of the crop is diminishing as digestibility drops.
We are now feeding the remaining beef cattle with silage made at least two, if not three, years ago as we get to the end of the pit.
The quality of preservation is still excellent with a golden colour and sweet smell but it’s more stem than leaf, as I am afraid this year’s will be, and so will need extra concentrates to get the same weight gain that we would expect from earlier-made material.
The remaining cattle that are still in are finishing rapidly and I would hope they will all be gone before grass cattle become widely available to the factories.
At current beef and concentrate prices, I don’t think I have ever seen such a wide ratio between them.
I would be interested to see a proper historical economic analysis carried out.
On the subject of the performance of finishing cattle, at long last we can now see the commercial beef value of the vast bulk of the cattle we have on hand based on the genetic makeup of each individual animal.
The sophistication of the ICBF information and its accessibility are truly extraordinary.
There is, as there should be, a real correlation between the performance of each animal and its commercial beef value.
At this stage, the practical implication is that the lower-value animal is staying longer on grass and non-concentrate feed and there are some we would be better off if we had never bought them.
Ideally we would sell them off but as we have to go to the factory with everything, it’s a question of getting the laggards to some kind of acceptable finish and letting them go.
The last week or ten days has seen explosive grass growth and as we go into June, some paddocks have covers that are too high with grass declining in quality.
Some we will have to close up for hay.
Meanwhile, the winter barley is visibly turning.
Despite the wet and windy weather there is no sign of lodging, but it’s not yet ripe enough to attract the crows so they are concentrating on the cattle feed in the slatted house. We are doing our best to keep them away but it’s a continuous hassle especially with the long hours of daylight at this time of year.
The oilseed rape is also just beginning to change colour.
We have amended our BISS form to remove the oilseed rape from the straw chopping scheme as we have gone ahead and done a deal with a local family who use it as a fuel for their solid fuel burner.
It will be weighed and valued after the harvest so I will be interested to see how much of a premium I get over what I would have earned by simply having the combine chopper turned on.
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