Shinagh Dairy Farm Report 12-4-2011
Profitable Science Based Farming
This Week’s Priorities
Touch up tail paint on all cows as required, record heats on breeding chart.
Start breeding heifers on Thurs 14th to start calving ahead of the main herd in 2012 on the 22st Jan.
Select paddocks to close for silage and fertilise accordingly.
If weather permits be ready to spray paddocks for docks.
Purchase clover-safe dock spray and have ready on farm for spraying opportunity, likely products that will be used are Undersown or Eagle.
Ensure Mg flakes are put in the water trough each milking to cover for grass tetany.
Source 1.5 cwt of ASN per acre for applying 21 units of sulphur per acre to all ground next rotation, including the top up of nitrogen on the silage ground.
Tasks completed last week
Paddocks closed and fertilised for silage, half nitrogen applied for grazing allowed against silage requirement of 100 units per acre.
Paddocks selected for reseeding and closed in preparation for spraying off with glyphosate.
First batch of calves went to grass.
All ground (except that out for reseeding) got 1 bag of urea per acre , bringing total nitrogen applied up to 2.5 bags of urea per acre out this year.
Grass Details
There is 74.72ha on the home farm available for grazing this spring. At this stage between ground out for reseeding and silage the grazing area available is 40 ha. Within this 4.7 ha will be cut for bales as soon as possible because the grass cover is too high. The farm is on budget (see attached budget) at a farm cover of 823 kg/DM/Ha. Our stocking rate on the cow ground is now 6.2 LU / ha after we have closed up for silage and reseeding. Growth rate last week was 90 kg/DM/Ha. We have set the grass demand at 85kg/DM/day for the next 3 weeks. Cows are getting magnesium in the water to cover for grass tetany. The herd is going into covers of 1400 and grazing to 3.5-4 cm. All the 15.6 ha of fresh reseeded ground last autumn has been grazed twice, and we are waiting the opportunity to spray this ground for docks at the first opportunity.
Calving
Calving is nearly finished. There are 197 cows calved, 99% of the herd (197 calved out of 199 expected to calve). The 6 week calving rate was 86%.
Breeding Heifers
24 breeding heifer have arrived on the farm and another 16 heifers have been sourced and we are waiting on blood test results for Neospora and Johnnes before they arrive to the farm. The breeding plan for these heifers is to tail paint all heifers and AI them on observed heat for 7 days, starting Wed 13th April. Any heifers not bred in those 7 days will get a PG injection and will be bred to observed heat over the next 4 days. All heifers will be put in calf to Jersey (both AI and stock bull) for ease of calving.
Nitrogen
There was 1 bag of urea per acre blanket spread this week on the grazing and silage ground (excluding the ground closed for reseeding). This brings the total nitrogen to 116 units per acre spread to date.
Milk Solids
The herd produced 7.67kg of milk solids per cow in Feb, and 28.9kgs per cow in March (total solids produced divided by all cows, 198). Current milk yield is 15.1 litres per cow per day at 4.34% Fat and 3.32% protein (1.19 kgs of milk solids a day) and an SCC of 110. We feel we were grazing too high a cover during this and have since skipped paddocks for baling and are now going into covers of 1400. We expect milk yield and solids to increase this week as a consequence. On the basis that a herd of heifers milk 78% of a mature herd this is the equivalent of a mature herd milking 19.4 litres per day (1.53 kgs of milk solids a day).