Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist
Grass has not fed well in 2024, and it is not going to improve at his point.
- Calving is getting closer, and some calves are already on the ground.
- Dairy cows freshly calves will need plenty of supplementation to complement current grass supply and quality.
- Grass has not fed well in 2024, and it is not going to improve at his point.
- Continue to feed dry cows to maintain/control body condition. Preventing metabolic disorders and preparing cows for their lactation are your goals.
- Get calves off to the best possible start with a good supply of colostrum. Slow drinkers should be tubed if necessary within the first few 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 the best grass available and sufficient supplementary feeding.
- Your cows will let you know, as they have done all year, if they are getting sufficient energy and protein through the bulk tank volume and the solids they produce.
- Keep a close eye on fat, protein, lactose and urea levels. Use these as key performance indicators to allow you to adjust feeding strategies accordingly.
- Supplement fresh Autumn cows with calves at foot with Magnesium licks.
- Calving is just kicking off, if the first few cows have issues, don’t delay in taking action to prevent further problems.
- Growing weanlings Young stock are not performing as well as they could this summer- You must make sure that you grow them as well as possible- Gaining weight at grass in young animals is much cheaper than when they are housed.
- If your grass quality is not giving you animal performance, you really should consider supplementing them with some extra concentrates or reintroducing concentrates ASAP, to get them back on track.
- Dairy replacements have no business on grass alone; they are behind target on many, many farms and must be fed concentrates between now and housing.
