It hasn’t got any easier. Having run out of grass silage, we’ve temporarily solved the problem by zero-grazing a few of the heavy paddocks left over from last autumn. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were having difficulty grazing them out properly and I was interested to see one of the BETTER farms in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal refer to the same problem.
What we have found for some reason is that trying to graze them out fully makes a mess of the paddock and the ground when compared with the freshly grown grass which is consumed much more easily and with much less poaching and ground damage. So what we have tried is to zero-graze and bring in round bales of grass, chop it in the feeder and add in about 2kg of maize silage per head. This mixture seems to give a more palatable feed, the intakes have improved and there is very little damage being done to the ground which, considering the weather we have had, is surprisingly firm.
This arrangement will last a few days and we will then have to reassess as we wait to decide if the cattle can stay out morning and night. Some areas that have not got any slurry, on less than perfectly drained ground, have the beginnings of a dull brown colour from low night-time temperatures and water-logging and will not be fit for grazing for a while.
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Our local factory is giving a report on the liver and lung conditions of each animal slaughtered. At this time of the year, coming to the end of the cattle, not only are carcase weights dropping off – in other words, we have a poor weight for age performance – but also we are getting the first reports of liver damage. Most of the liver damage is coming in cattle that have been bought as weanlings in the spring because we didn’t have enough room in the sheds in the autumn before last. I’m beginning to wonder if the fluke control regime in weanlings being sold after Christmas is inadequate and long-lasting damage is being done.
Meanwhile, I am buying nitrogen on a hand-to-mouth basis as the price continues to decline.
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It hasn’t got any easier. Having run out of grass silage, we’ve temporarily solved the problem by zero-grazing a few of the heavy paddocks left over from last autumn. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were having difficulty grazing them out properly and I was interested to see one of the BETTER farms in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal refer to the same problem.
What we have found for some reason is that trying to graze them out fully makes a mess of the paddock and the ground when compared with the freshly grown grass which is consumed much more easily and with much less poaching and ground damage. So what we have tried is to zero-graze and bring in round bales of grass, chop it in the feeder and add in about 2kg of maize silage per head. This mixture seems to give a more palatable feed, the intakes have improved and there is very little damage being done to the ground which, considering the weather we have had, is surprisingly firm.
This arrangement will last a few days and we will then have to reassess as we wait to decide if the cattle can stay out morning and night. Some areas that have not got any slurry, on less than perfectly drained ground, have the beginnings of a dull brown colour from low night-time temperatures and water-logging and will not be fit for grazing for a while.
Our local factory is giving a report on the liver and lung conditions of each animal slaughtered. At this time of the year, coming to the end of the cattle, not only are carcase weights dropping off – in other words, we have a poor weight for age performance – but also we are getting the first reports of liver damage. Most of the liver damage is coming in cattle that have been bought as weanlings in the spring because we didn’t have enough room in the sheds in the autumn before last. I’m beginning to wonder if the fluke control regime in weanlings being sold after Christmas is inadequate and long-lasting damage is being done.
Meanwhile, I am buying nitrogen on a hand-to-mouth basis as the price continues to decline.
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