Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist
Ruminant Not Nutritionist Great So Far This Has Writes Brian Silage Been Year, Quality Reidy
- Request a silage analysis for nutrients and minerals so that you can construct a winter feed budget.
- I recently tested some 2024 first-cut silages, and unfortunately, there are not too many good ones in pits or bales.
- Most were made from grass growing since August/September of last year and had not received the required nutrition, coupled with being cut late and over-wilted.
- Continue to apply fertiliser. Growth has improved recently, so push on grass now for either grazing or extra silage.
- Plan to get your straw supply in for the winter once the harvest starts. Winter grain harvest will begin very soon.
- Continue to routinely treat stock for parasites - especially calves. Alternate dosing active ingredients and methods to prevent resistance. Use dung or milk samples to guide your treatment requirements.
- Any concentrates being fed at present should be based on the herds requirement for energy and protein on top of available grass.
- Yield should determine the volume of meal being fed once grass intake has been accurately established. Milk urea should help decide what protein percentage is appropriate.
- Autumn calving will begin in the next few weeks. This will ensure that newborn calves get sufficient colostrum within the first six hours of life.
- Restrict energy intake while keeping dry matter intakes up to keep dry cows' condition under control. Continue to keep dry cow minerals in front of cows.
- Many are creep-feeding spring calves. Make sure that the concentrate being fed contains good-quality ingredients to encourage intake.
- Young calves/weanlings on grass may not thriving well unless they are being fed meal or are getting a fresh pick of grass regularly.
- These cattle are often seen grazing poor quality, strong and headed out grass which is of absolutely no use to them.
- Late-born bucket-reared calves should also continue to be supplemented at this stage in order to maintain growth rates before housing.
- Cattle to be finished off grass should be fed some meal to achieve a good cover at this stage of the year. Low-protein, high-energy meals are sufficient for this purpose.
- Young bulls on ad-lib feeding indoors are close to finishing now, and if the aim is to kill them under 20 months. These must be kept on a high-energy diet to achieve an acceptable fat cover. The addition of oats, barley and or maize meal will help to achieve this.
