In the latest management notes from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) dairy advisor Michael Garvey examined May performance on dairy farms.
He said: “Typical performance for May from the Co Armagh farms that we have been working with over the last few years in relation to milking performance, milk from forage, feed rate per litre of milk has been:
Garvey commented: “What has become apparent over this time is the importance of margin over concentrate (MOC) as an indicator of performance and the role of milk yield in establishing that margin. MOC is principally dependant on the litres of milk produced and as yield per cow rises so does MOC per cow. The message is to maximise your MOC and use yield per cow as a simple daily measure of your herds performance.”
He outlined at this stage farmers may have groups of cows on the farm:
He advised: “Cows yielding in excess of M+ require additional concentrates. Supplement concentrates in the parlour at 0.45 kg of concentrate per litre of milk above the M+.
Wholecrop
“Iain Johnston, our CAFRE Crop Development Adviser in Armagh tells me that winter wheat for whole crop should have received its first fungicide spray at growth stage 31 – start of stem extension. If this has not been done then it should be carried out as soon as possible,” noted Garvey.
He said at growth stage 37 – when the flag leaf is out, the crop is ready for its second fungicide spray – probably early May.
“In all cases seek advice from a qualified Agronomist,” he stressed.
