Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist
If you can handle it, consider purchasing cereals off the combine - the harvest is in progress, so act soon, advises Brian Reidy.
- If you can handle it, consider purchasing cereals off the combine - the harvest is in progress, so act soon.
- Native cereals continue to represent by far the best value for money for the coming winter.
- Forward prices for rolled cereals and blends this winter will be well above harvest prices, so now is the time to make very significant savings.
- Continue your parasite control programme.
- Worms are an issue in Dairy herds at present and it is having an adverse effect on cow performance and also fertility.
- Use bulk milk samples to identify any worm burden and act sooner rather than later.
- Lungworms, in particular, can be a problem in younger animals as we head into August. Look at dung sampling these, as it is the only way you can establish the burden present. If dosing several times at grass, alternate the method and the active ingredient to avoid resistance issues down the line.
- Continue to feed dry cows to maintain/control body condition.
- Get calves off to the best possible start with a good supply of colostrum. Slow drinkers should be tubed, if necessary, within the first six hours.
- If you have vaccinated cows, then the full benefit will not be transferred to the calves if sufficient colostrum is not consumed.
- Aim to keep intakes up by allocating quality grass, taking out grass of poorer quality and supplementing with appropriate quality and quantity of concentrate. Some will need still need to supplement with maize, wholecrop or quality bales to stretch grass and allow farm covers to improve.
- Has dung consistency changed? Those with firm dung may not be getting sufficient protein. If they have become loose recently then extra protein may now be coming from grass.
- Continue to supplement cows with calves at foot with Magnesium licks.
- Creep feed should be top quality to optimise performance.
- Make sure you grow them as well as possible - gaining weight from grass in young animals is much cheaper than when they are housed.
- Many will be creep-feeding spring calves or soon will be to boost growth and take pressure off the dam as well as reducing grass demand- make sure that the concentrate being fed contains good quality ingredients to encourage intake.
- Get calves to be weaned castrated if you are not selling or finishing them as bulls, and dose them well in advance.
- Cattle to be finished on grass will now benefit from a few kg’s of a low protein, high energy concentrate to get the final cover on them. Due to a lack of grass in some areas, extra meals are being fed, so make sure it is suitable for the rates being fed.
