Farm Management Tips for June
By Daniel Hession – Nutritionist & Technical Manager - Aurivo
- Grassland management
Continue to walk the farm weekly. Maintain pre-grazing covers of 1,400 kg DM/ha to maximise milk production and liveweight gain. Match demand with grass growth and maintain a rotation length of 18-21 days. If paddocks are gone too strong, skip them and cut for silage bales. Graze paddocks to 3.5 - 4.0 cm to maintain grass quality throughout the summer.
At the time of writing, the current dry warm weather has reduced grass growth rates on some farms. Farms growing less than demand should introduce additional supplementation to hold farm cover. Rotation length must be held at 20-25 days and maintain an average farm cover of 700 - 800 Kg DM/Ha (180-220 Kg DM/ LU) to protect growth rates. Keep average farm cover > 500 Kg DM/ha at all costs.
Many first cuts of silage have been completed in the last week. The focus must now turn to fertiliser for 2nd cut silage. Spread 2,000 to 2,500 gals/acre of cattle slurry by low emission method to supply the crops full P and K requirements. Apply 50 – 65 units of N per acre in the form of protected Urea 7 days after slurry spreading to meet the crops nitrogen requirements. Don’t forget Sulphur (S) – for 2nd cut grass silage crops apply 8 to 15kg S/ha (6 to 12 units/ac) per cut.
Reseeds over 600 Kg DM/ha should be grazed lightly to strengthen roots and encourage tillering.
- Dairy
Limit milk yield drop to 2% per week or 8-10% per month. If the decrease is greater, then the reason(s) should be explored. A decrease of greater than 2% per week indicates:
- Stemmy or strong grass,
- Grazing too tight (below 4 cm) resulting in underfeeding,
- Grazing the headlands of cut silage fields for 2-3 days,
- Many cows bulling, or ill health.
We are now in the most difficult part of the breeding season. It is more difficult to identify bulling cows. Tail paint or such aids are now more important than ever and should be topped up every 3-4 days. A vasectomised bull, if you have one, should be introduced now. Use previous service dates from your ICBF report to guide you to expect certain cows on certain days. If more than 25% of cows are repeating, then you have a problem. Look at the repeat trends and analyse the situation. When the correct number of dairy AI straws have been used, use beef AI or consider introducing the stock-bull.
Replacement heifers should be weighed regularly to make sure they are reaching target weights and so that underweight animals can be addressed. Target weights (kgs) on 1st June are shown in Table 1 below. Any underweight animals must be separated out and get priority grass and fed 1 – 2 kg of concentrates if necessary. Complete a faecal egg count to establish if high worm burden is an issue.
Table 1: Target weights for replacement heifers on June 1st
2. Beef
Keep an eye on spring calving suckler cows for signs of repeat breeding activity. If there are high numbers of repeats, then there may be a fertility problem to address. Fly populations are on the increase so suckler farmers should be looking to prevent summer mastitis in autumn calving cows and replacement heifers. Keep a close eye on at risk animals when herding stock daily for early signs of mastitis. As heifers can hit puberty as young as six months of age, calves born in November and December should now be split up from their male counter parts to avoid heifers going in calf.
Dairy beef calves are at higher risk of worm infection than suckler calves, the decision to dose should be based on faecal egg count test.
3. Sheep
Maintain short, leafy swards (5-7 cm pre-grazing) with high-intake characteristics to drive lamb growth rates. Control scald in lambs by regular foot bathing or by applying an appropriate aerosol foot spray or mixed solution. It’s time to consider external parasite (blowfly, ticks) control options. Take into account withdrawal dates when selecting which product to use. Use faecal egg counts to determine if lambs need to be dosed for stomach worms.
4. Winter Feed
Many first cuts of silage have been completed during the spell of fine weather. Many farmers had small reserves of silage left over after an extended housing period in winter 2022/2023. Complete a winter feed budget to identify if second cut silage is required (excluding surplus bale silage) and what area you need to close. By completing a fodder budget early, you can plan for 2nd cut silage or aim to source alternative feed stocks early.