Alex McCarthy: It's data processing December on the farm in Feenagh
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Our current production is 15 litres/cow/day at 4.78% butterfat and 4.01% protein, with the cows delivering 1.36kg of milk solids per day on 4kg of meal. Our SCC is currently 126, which is very satisfactory.
I completed our final grass walk of the year on December 3. Ground conditions are good on the farm at the moment. Our average farm cover is currently 573kg DM/ha. I recorded a growth rate of 12kg DM/ha on the last walk. Grazing has finished for 2024 now too.
We spent 11 weeks breeding this year and I can confirm our overall empty results after scanning is 13%. As of last week, we have 30% of the herd dried off. We have been using selective dry cow therapy for a number of years and have picked out cows again this year for sealer only based on our farm-specific criteria.
I use a whiteboard in the parlour to list the tasks that need to be completed before the busy calving period begins again, by doing this I can tick off a job as it gets done and it can help me see that tasks are being completed and the list is getting shorter.
Currently, we are grouping cows as they are dried off based on body condition score (BCS) and calving date to help with management. We are delighted to see that the majority of cows are in great condition, and it will potentially be a challenge to prevent them from becoming over-conditioned during the dry period.
Our first cows will be due to calve in late January, so we have started feeding minerals as cow and heifers require a minimum of six to seven weeks of mineral supplementation before the first cow is due to calve. We are using a high-value mineral to help reduce potential problems at and around calving down.
It was a difficult year overall on the farm as the grass was hard to get right. We have plenty of silage, and we had a great back end to the year like all farmers.
Our milk supplied for September, October & November has really been a great bonus. We are set up nicely for the spring now, and hopefully, we will be able to take full advantage of the good milk price and that there will be good weather to accompany it. We are looking forward to the break over the next few weeks, just like the cows are.
- Alex McCarthy farms alongside his mother and father, Mary Ita and Michael, in Feenagh, Co Limerick, and is a Dairy Signpost Demonstration Farmer on the Teagasc Kerry Agribusiness Joint Programme.
