Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist
Cattle being finished off grass should be fed some meal to achieve good fat cover at this stage of the year, advises ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy.
- If you can handle it, consider purchasing cereals off the combine once the harvest commences.
- Continue to apply fertiliser. Growth is excellent, so push on with grass now for either grazing or extra silage.
- Plan to get your straw supply in for the winter once the harvest starts. Winter grain harvest will begin very soon.
- Continue to routinely treat stock for parasites, especially calves. A dry period followed by heavy rain provides ideal conditions for worms. Alternate dosing active ingredients and methods to help prevent resistance.
- Herds continue to show signs of under-supplementation. Low milk protein levels indicate a low energy supply seven to ten days ago. Low butterfat means cows are not digesting sufficient fibre, while low urea means they are not getting enough protein. An undersupply of protein leads to poor appetites.
- Poor appetites mean less energy and fibre are being consumed, resulting in the performance drop-off outlined above. Insufficient intake of protein and energy leads to lower milk yields.
- Autumn calving will begin in five to six weeks for many. Keep dry cows' condition under control by restricting energy intake while maintaining dry matter intakes. Grazing stronger covers and offering better-quality silage or straw will help.
- Continue to keep dry cow minerals in front of cows. If you have had historical metabolic issues around calving, seek advice regarding appropriate mineral supplementation.
- Many will begin creep-feeding spring calves soon. Make sure the concentrate being fed contains good-quality ingredients to encourage intake.
- Autumn-born calves weaned recently should remain on concentrates for two to three weeks post-weaning to reduce stress and maintain weight gain. If selling as weanlings, a buyer can spot a badly weaned animal a mile off, and you will pay dearly for it in the sales ring.
- Cattle being finished off grass should be fed some meal to achieve good fat cover at this stage of the year. The final fat cover takes the longest to lay down, but without it the penalties are severe. Low-protein, high-energy meals are sufficient for this purpose.
- Young bulls on ad-lib feeding indoors are close to finishing now and, if the aim is to kill them under 16 months, they must be kept on a high-energy diet to achieve an acceptable fat cover. The addition of oats or maize meal will help achieve this.
- Compiled by Brian Reidy, an independent ruminant nutritionist at Premier Farm Nutrition.
