All of the good weather during Christmas and right through January seems to have been undone by the terrible weather over the last few weeks.
River banks are full and overflowing in many places and ground conditions have gone from being very good to very bad in a matter of days.
This isn’t new territory for anyone, but what has caught farmers by surprise is just how quickly conditions have changed. Normally, the weather starts to improve as the calving season progresses, but this year it seems to be getting worse.
One of the knock-on effects of bad weather is that the number of grazings being achieved on farms is low as ground conditions are wet. It’s fair to say that not every farmer intends to get out to grass in February anyway. For a significant cohort of farmers who are on heavy soils February grazing is only ever going to be a bonus. Then there are those on dry ground who will more or less get out to grass no matter what the conditions are.
However, the middle ground of farmers with neither exceptionally dry nor exceptionally wet land are those that are really struggling this February. The majority of dairy farmers in the country can be put into this group. Not being able to get cows out to grass has a number of consequences, not least to workload but also to costs and cow performance. The following is some advice for dealing with common problems.
Diet
The problem with feeding silage to freshly calved cows is that it is low in both protein and energy levels. Even if feeding 5kg or 6kg of meal with it, the diet will be insufficient to provide the energy and protein that the cow needs.
In terms of energy, feeding 5kg of meal with a UFL of 0.95 along with 10kg of 68% DMD silage will give a total energy intake of 12.35 UFLs. According to the literature, this is sufficient to produce about 1.45kg milk solids per cow per day.
This presumes an intake of 15kg per cow per day but the reality is that this is probably above the upper limit for many cows that aren’t calved that long. The result is lower UFL intake and the cow going into negative energy balance. Now, most cows are in a state of negative energy balance anyway after calving but not getting access to sufficient grass really worsens this situation.
The net result of this is that cows will be losing excess body condition score, which is not something you want to see. Travelling around the country this week, I have seen a share of thin cows, particularly first calving heifers. These cows must be put on once a day milking to reduce the loss of body condition.
The natural reaction for a lot of farmers will be to feed extra meal to try and bridge that gap between the energy being consumed and the energy that is actually required.
In reality, feeding more than 5kg of meal to a typical Irish cow calved a few weeks isn’t really an option and it leaves the cow open to stomach upsets.
Two options
There are really only two options in this scenario and neither of them are easy. The first is to find better quality silage to feed the milking cows. In some cases it will be in the yard and silage tests will help to identify where it is. In other cases there could be an opportunity to purchase good quality bale silage depending on what’s available locally.
Alternative forage such as maize is one of the possible options, and there are people that specialise in delivering this either loose or in bales. It’s important for those that are considering this to to know that it’s better quality than the silage they already have.
Another issue with these alternative feeds is that by the time it’s purchased and paid for the weather can change and then the farmer is left feeding it when they should be out grazing.
The second option is to persist with grazing and use every facility, trick and technique available to get cows out to grass. This is easier said than done especially when weather is so changeable but it’s an area that some farmers can focus on.
However, it’s not possible without doing some damage, and that is something that some people will have to accept. Sometimes it’s a mindset issue where the
shed is the default position, whereas others will always consider grazing before going for the shed.
On protein, indoor diets tend to be deficient in protein. If 10kg of grass silage is being fed along with 5kg of say an 18% protein meal, the protein level in the overall diet is 14%, short of the 16% to 17% target for dietary protein.
Increasing to a 20% protein meal increases the protein level in the overall diet to 14.5%, which is a very small effect. These high protein meals are very expensive and not needed when there is some grass in the diet.
One of the main issues with indoor diets is not just that the quality of the feed is lower than grass, but also that intakes are less when the digestibility of the feed is lower. So not only are cows eating a lower quality feed but they also eat less of it compared to high quality feeds.
Preventing health issues
Most farmers notice an increase in cow health issues when freshly calved cows are indoors as opposed to being outside grazing, if even for part of the time. Mastitis increases as cubicles never get an opportunity to dry out and cows are more exposed to bad bugs on cubicle beds. Extra cleaning and disinfecting of cubicle beds adds to the workload but it does make a difference at reducing mastitis.
Hydrated lime has a higher pH than ordinary lime and many farmers either use a blend of ordinary and hydrated lime under milking cows. The key thing is to not use too much hydrated lime as this can cause sores on teats, legs and the udder. Watching cows that are off form is a key animal husbandry task for this time of year.
The best thing to do is to keep a watch on cows feed intake. A healthy cow will eat all her nuts and go to the feed face to eat silage when she comes back from milking. A cow that is off-form very often won’t eat all her nuts or will go and lie down after milking.
This signals she needs to be looked at. It could signal a multitude of problems but in all situations early diagnoses usually leads to better outcomes.
Jeremy Hichen is calving down 236 cows near Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford. Only a handful of grazings have been missed so far this year which tells you it’s a dry farm.
Lucy O’Gorman is working on the farm full time and is responsible for looking after grazing and she’s doing a brilliant job with excellent residuals and little or no damage.
The herd grazing in the sunshine with the Blackstairs Mountains in the background.
Calving is going well with 60% calved and no major issues to report. Lucy works six days a week during February and March and then drops back to five days a week for the rest of the season. She does three night checks a week and Jeremy does the rest. A night check involves calling back to the farm at 8:30pm and tagging and feeding any newborn calves and checking cows.
Working hours
Jeremy says the night check could take 20 minutes or two hours depending on the night. Whoever does the night check starts the next day at 6:30am while the other person starts at 5:30am.
Finish time is usually 5:30pm, but can often run over. Cows close to calving are put in a large straw bedded shed. Mating starts on 1 May for the cows and the heifers were synchronised for breeding on 4 May.
With 60% calved it’s been a busy few weeks but Jeremy is really happy with how it’s gone so far; “I do think we each need to have a few slack days where we get some rest at home. Thankfully things have been going well but that could all change quickly. A combination of cold and wet weather plus us being tired could be a recipe brewing,” he says.
Grazing management has been excellent with great clean outs and little or no damage.
Genetics wise the herd is mixed with Holstein and Jersey crossbreds grazing side by side. Jeremy is conscious of minding the Holstein type cows so that they don’t lose too much body condition score after calving. Any cow he’s worried about gets green tape on the tail and will be milked once a day for a week or more after calving. One cow had a stomach upset last week but made a full recovery.
A dozen or so cows get an oral drench after calving just to give them an energy and metabolic boost.
Jeremy’s breeding policy is to use a combination of proven Holstein Friesian and Jersey bulls. The first batch of bull calves were sold locally last weekend which has freed up shed space for the next batch of calves.
Jeremy's heifer calves are being fed milk replacer on an automatic feeder.
Wet weather has hampered grazing on many farms and freshly calved cows are housed when normally they would be out grazing.This has knock-on effects on animal health and performance and it can accelerate body condition score loss. Trying to feed as high a quality silage as possible is an important measure.Keep an eye on the feed intakes of freshly calved cows to make sure they are adequate.
All of the good weather during Christmas and right through January seems to have been undone by the terrible weather over the last few weeks.
River banks are full and overflowing in many places and ground conditions have gone from being very good to very bad in a matter of days.
This isn’t new territory for anyone, but what has caught farmers by surprise is just how quickly conditions have changed. Normally, the weather starts to improve as the calving season progresses, but this year it seems to be getting worse.
One of the knock-on effects of bad weather is that the number of grazings being achieved on farms is low as ground conditions are wet. It’s fair to say that not every farmer intends to get out to grass in February anyway. For a significant cohort of farmers who are on heavy soils February grazing is only ever going to be a bonus. Then there are those on dry ground who will more or less get out to grass no matter what the conditions are.
However, the middle ground of farmers with neither exceptionally dry nor exceptionally wet land are those that are really struggling this February. The majority of dairy farmers in the country can be put into this group. Not being able to get cows out to grass has a number of consequences, not least to workload but also to costs and cow performance. The following is some advice for dealing with common problems.
Diet
The problem with feeding silage to freshly calved cows is that it is low in both protein and energy levels. Even if feeding 5kg or 6kg of meal with it, the diet will be insufficient to provide the energy and protein that the cow needs.
In terms of energy, feeding 5kg of meal with a UFL of 0.95 along with 10kg of 68% DMD silage will give a total energy intake of 12.35 UFLs. According to the literature, this is sufficient to produce about 1.45kg milk solids per cow per day.
This presumes an intake of 15kg per cow per day but the reality is that this is probably above the upper limit for many cows that aren’t calved that long. The result is lower UFL intake and the cow going into negative energy balance. Now, most cows are in a state of negative energy balance anyway after calving but not getting access to sufficient grass really worsens this situation.
The net result of this is that cows will be losing excess body condition score, which is not something you want to see. Travelling around the country this week, I have seen a share of thin cows, particularly first calving heifers. These cows must be put on once a day milking to reduce the loss of body condition.
The natural reaction for a lot of farmers will be to feed extra meal to try and bridge that gap between the energy being consumed and the energy that is actually required.
In reality, feeding more than 5kg of meal to a typical Irish cow calved a few weeks isn’t really an option and it leaves the cow open to stomach upsets.
Two options
There are really only two options in this scenario and neither of them are easy. The first is to find better quality silage to feed the milking cows. In some cases it will be in the yard and silage tests will help to identify where it is. In other cases there could be an opportunity to purchase good quality bale silage depending on what’s available locally.
Alternative forage such as maize is one of the possible options, and there are people that specialise in delivering this either loose or in bales. It’s important for those that are considering this to to know that it’s better quality than the silage they already have.
Another issue with these alternative feeds is that by the time it’s purchased and paid for the weather can change and then the farmer is left feeding it when they should be out grazing.
The second option is to persist with grazing and use every facility, trick and technique available to get cows out to grass. This is easier said than done especially when weather is so changeable but it’s an area that some farmers can focus on.
However, it’s not possible without doing some damage, and that is something that some people will have to accept. Sometimes it’s a mindset issue where the
shed is the default position, whereas others will always consider grazing before going for the shed.
On protein, indoor diets tend to be deficient in protein. If 10kg of grass silage is being fed along with 5kg of say an 18% protein meal, the protein level in the overall diet is 14%, short of the 16% to 17% target for dietary protein.
Increasing to a 20% protein meal increases the protein level in the overall diet to 14.5%, which is a very small effect. These high protein meals are very expensive and not needed when there is some grass in the diet.
One of the main issues with indoor diets is not just that the quality of the feed is lower than grass, but also that intakes are less when the digestibility of the feed is lower. So not only are cows eating a lower quality feed but they also eat less of it compared to high quality feeds.
Preventing health issues
Most farmers notice an increase in cow health issues when freshly calved cows are indoors as opposed to being outside grazing, if even for part of the time. Mastitis increases as cubicles never get an opportunity to dry out and cows are more exposed to bad bugs on cubicle beds. Extra cleaning and disinfecting of cubicle beds adds to the workload but it does make a difference at reducing mastitis.
Hydrated lime has a higher pH than ordinary lime and many farmers either use a blend of ordinary and hydrated lime under milking cows. The key thing is to not use too much hydrated lime as this can cause sores on teats, legs and the udder. Watching cows that are off form is a key animal husbandry task for this time of year.
The best thing to do is to keep a watch on cows feed intake. A healthy cow will eat all her nuts and go to the feed face to eat silage when she comes back from milking. A cow that is off-form very often won’t eat all her nuts or will go and lie down after milking.
This signals she needs to be looked at. It could signal a multitude of problems but in all situations early diagnoses usually leads to better outcomes.
Jeremy Hichen is calving down 236 cows near Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford. Only a handful of grazings have been missed so far this year which tells you it’s a dry farm.
Lucy O’Gorman is working on the farm full time and is responsible for looking after grazing and she’s doing a brilliant job with excellent residuals and little or no damage.
The herd grazing in the sunshine with the Blackstairs Mountains in the background.
Calving is going well with 60% calved and no major issues to report. Lucy works six days a week during February and March and then drops back to five days a week for the rest of the season. She does three night checks a week and Jeremy does the rest. A night check involves calling back to the farm at 8:30pm and tagging and feeding any newborn calves and checking cows.
Working hours
Jeremy says the night check could take 20 minutes or two hours depending on the night. Whoever does the night check starts the next day at 6:30am while the other person starts at 5:30am.
Finish time is usually 5:30pm, but can often run over. Cows close to calving are put in a large straw bedded shed. Mating starts on 1 May for the cows and the heifers were synchronised for breeding on 4 May.
With 60% calved it’s been a busy few weeks but Jeremy is really happy with how it’s gone so far; “I do think we each need to have a few slack days where we get some rest at home. Thankfully things have been going well but that could all change quickly. A combination of cold and wet weather plus us being tired could be a recipe brewing,” he says.
Grazing management has been excellent with great clean outs and little or no damage.
Genetics wise the herd is mixed with Holstein and Jersey crossbreds grazing side by side. Jeremy is conscious of minding the Holstein type cows so that they don’t lose too much body condition score after calving. Any cow he’s worried about gets green tape on the tail and will be milked once a day for a week or more after calving. One cow had a stomach upset last week but made a full recovery.
A dozen or so cows get an oral drench after calving just to give them an energy and metabolic boost.
Jeremy’s breeding policy is to use a combination of proven Holstein Friesian and Jersey bulls. The first batch of bull calves were sold locally last weekend which has freed up shed space for the next batch of calves.
Jeremy's heifer calves are being fed milk replacer on an automatic feeder.
Wet weather has hampered grazing on many farms and freshly calved cows are housed when normally they would be out grazing.This has knock-on effects on animal health and performance and it can accelerate body condition score loss. Trying to feed as high a quality silage as possible is an important measure.Keep an eye on the feed intakes of freshly calved cows to make sure they are adequate. 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: