Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist

Your weekly reminder of the things that should be at the top of your farm to-do list. Published every Monday on the Irish Examiner digital Farming hub
Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist

Grass remains very low in dry matter, so it is important to monitor animal intakes and performance and supplement where necessary.

Monday, September 22 - Sunday, September 28

Grass remains very low in dry matter, so it is important to monitor animal intakes and performance and supplement where necessary. Grass is testing no higher than 13%-15% dry matter. Protein is about 24%/26% and leafy grass is low in fibre right now.

Continue to monitor for fluke and worms — dry weather followed by wet weather will always increase the worm burden to cattle of all ages.

Dairy.

  • Grass is only capable of 10-12 litres plus maintenance at present.
  • Provide forage for fibre and sufficient concentrates for energy and protein to maintain performance.
  • With current milk price reductions, there is way too much talk about reducing feed in an effort to reduce costs. If you pull feed, you will lose milk. Why reduce the amount of product you sell when its price is dropping? Utter madness!
  • Drying cows off because of a lower milk price is not a smart business decision; you do not feed a dry cow for free. 
  • Do your own maths, based on your herd!

Sucklers

  • Continue to supplement fresh calved suckler cows at grass with magnesium.
  • Nights are beginning to get colder, so tetany will be an issue if not addressed.
  • Spring calves to be weaned should be on a creep feed.
  • Dose, vaccinate and castrate well in advance of weaning to minimise stress.
  • Dry sucklers should be on lower-quality swards to reduce total energy intake so they do not get overconditioned. Try to give them fibrous straw or hay on bare paddocks and/or follow other stock to tidy up paddocks and thus reduce total energy intake, which will help to avoid gaining too much weight.

Growing cattle

In both dairy and beef herds, growing animal performance in the autumn must be monitored carefully. If weather conditions are not conducive to good intakes, then youngstock will not be gaining weight. You then have two options:

  • Supplement with forage and concentrates outside; however, conditions and location may make this impractical.
  • House these animals soon and feed them to keep growing.

Compiled by Brian Reidy, an independent ruminant nutritionist at Premier Farm Nutrition

x

More in this section

Farming

Newsletter

Keep up-to-date with all the latest developments in Farming with our weekly newsletter.

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited