This year has been a difficult one for farmers, but the dairy advice is to plan ahead for next year and implement a few management tips this autumn to help farmers see the year out on a high.
Milk price, poor grass growth, poor weather conditions, high costs of production and the uncertainty around derogation, has left farmers in poor form for the most part of the year.
However, in the last number of weeks, the mood has taken a turn, as milk price seems to be steadily rising, cows are holding their milk production reasonably well, and the weather appears to be playing a part in keeping cows out at grass.
While it is important to see off this lactation on a positive note, it is also important to implement a few strategies to give yourself the best possible start for the beginning of the new lactation.
Dairy advice
Having high quality silage suitable for milking cows is valuable at this time of the year, especially for freshly calve autumn cows but farmers should try and save some of this silage for the spring time.
As quite often when farmers don’t have that high quality silage, they tend to feed more meal to offset a major drop in milk, but this is a costly way of doing it.
The best response to high quality silage is going to be achieved after cows have freshly calved either this autumn or next spring.
If farmers don’t have enough milking cow silage, farmers should plan for next year by considering cutting 10 days earlier for the first cut to ensure you have quality, as bulk is not going to be affected too much.
Farmers should also start rectifying any potassium (K) issues on the silage ground – take out your soil samples and target K index one or two fields with some Muriate of Potash (MOP, 0:0:50).
MOP is expensive on a per tonne basis, but it is a lot more costly to have low index soils affecting your silage supplies, and usually only a couple of tonne is needed to resolve the issue.
Management tips
At this time of the year, it also advisable to start getting your roadways in order – any pinch points that have been identified, poor run-off of water, sharp turning points, poor, rocky surfaces and so on.
The last stretch of the roadway closest to the parlour just before the cows enter the collecting yard is the most important area to improve on, as cows usually walk across it four times in a day.
Maintaining and correcting farm roadways may be the difference in keeping your cows out that bit longer and extending the grazing season.
Poor roadways often become apparent when bad weather hits, which is not unusual in the late autumn time, which means having your roadways right and well-kept will make it easier to access paddocks.
If farmers feel they are going too tight this rotation, they should consider bringing the cows in part-time or implementing on-off grazing, or feeding more silage or meal, as we need flush covers next spring.
Next spring is when you want to see flush and leafy covers, as it is at that time of the year that you are going to see the biggest response to grass in terms of milk production, cow condition and welfare.
During the month of October, farmers need to be mindful of that – to not push their ground, soil and grass too hard.
Another tip for this time of the year, is to weigh your weanling heifers again, as you don’t want to have a group of underdone heifers by the time the breeding season comes around.
Underweight heifers at the time of breeding is going to have a serious impact on their long-term performance, fertility and milk production, so it is worth wile weighing now and getting them back on track over the winter months.
