Current situation
Most farmers have managed without silage through the of dry spell by increasing concentrate levels, except for really light soils or areas that missed passing showers.
Despite the weather, spring herd submission rates and non-return rates are currently looking strong.
Month coming
With rain now arriving for most, grass growth should hold above 55 kg DM/ha/day for a round. In this case, a 21-day round should get through the grazing platform finishing at the end of the heading phase of the late perennials. Follow this by resetting quality: tidy up poor residuals and stemmy paddocks with pre- or post-mowing, or making surplus into bales to stimulate the leafy, highly digestible growth.
Continue to monitor non-return rates to benchmark breeding success. Here’s a quick how-to video:
Autumn calvers
Presently, cows have good body condition. Maintain this and avoid over-conditioning by continuing low-rate concentrate feeding to support milk production without excess energy.
A quick energy calculation:
- milking cow maintenance = 10% of body weight + 10
- dry cow maintenance = multiply above figure by 1.4 for dry cow
Now’s the time to milk record to plan your dry cow therapy plan. Calculate lactation milk solids (kg MS) as a percentage of liveweight to identify your most and least efficient cows.
Health update
Blue tongue movement restrictions will be lifted from 1st July. Speak with your vet to review your blue tongue risk strategy.
