Management Notes for March 2018
Date published:
Management Notes are prepared by staff from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). CAFRE is a college within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
DAIRYING
Prepared by: Christopher Breen
Farm SAFE
Think safety on the farm. As many of you are mixing and spreading slurry at this time be aware of the danger from slurry gases.
Getting the most from grass
As grass is the cheapest feed, getting cows out to graze must be your priority. Walk the farm and see how much grass you have. You will have more than you think! Turn cows out as soon as ground conditions allow.
At turnout don’t be afraid to graze cows on a grass cover of 2500kg dry matter per hectare (the ankle of your boot). Grass should be grazed down to 1500kg dry matter per hectare (the heel of your boot). Cows should go out with an edge to their appetite and should be grazed initially for two to three hours, with a target of 5kg grass dry matter intake. A grazing group of 60 cows will require 300kg of grass dry matter. Increase grazing time up to half days over a period of a week to ten days.
Aim for an initial grazing rotation between 25 and 30 days to allow the first grazing cycle to be completed before grass covers get too heavy. A surge in growth could mean by the time you reach the end of the first grazing cycle covers are too heavy for cows to graze out cleanly. This makes it more difficult to maintain grass quality throughout the grazing season. Aim to have your grazing rotation fully established by the third week in April.
Improving milk from forage
Although milk prices have been good for some time, improving milk from forage is still key to reducing costs. As March grass, in most cases, has a higher energy value than the silage cows have been fed getting cows grazing is the simplest way to improve milk from forage. Full March grazing has the potential to produce 20 litres of milk. Practically this requires you to increase the M+ in the parlour computer feed settings by 3 to 4kg of milk at turnout. A few hours grazing after morning milking will save about 1.5kg concentrates per cow daily, replacing over half a tonne of concentrate a week for 50 cows. Continue to adjust the M+ in the parlour computer feed settings as cows move to full time grazing. In addition to the immediate savings in concentrate costs there should be improvements in milk protein and yield.
March jobs checklist
- Ensure slurry for silage ground is spread by early March. Do not spread slurry on waterlogged, frozen or snow covered ground, when raining heavily or when heavy rain is forecast within the next 48 hours or where the ground has a slope of 20% or more.
- Consider fertiliser needs based on soil analysis results, crop requirement and slurry/manure applications.
- Complete any maintenance on cow tracks and paddock fencing in preparation for the grazing season.
- Change time clocks at the end of the month when the hour changes.
BEEF AND SHEEP
Prepared by: Nigel Gould
BEEF
Busy calving period
Most spring calving herds are approaching their peak calving period. To reduce the buildup of harmful pathogens such as E.coli and Cryptosporidium regularly disinfect calving pens and creep areas. Ideally clean out and disinfect pens between calvings. A list of DAERA approved disinfectants can be found on the DAERA website. Ground lime can also be used to maintain hygiene in bedded pens. Use plenty of straw in the calving pens. Saving straw is a false economy if it leads to increased disease and calf mortality. Use a strong iodine solution (10%) to disinfect navels of newborn calves. Repeat after three hours.
Calving assistance
Check the progress of cows at calving. Calving usually takes place within two hours of the water bag appearing for mature cows and three hours for heifers. If calving hasn’t happened within this time frame intervene. Check the calf is positioned correctly - two front feet with the nose above them. Use a calving jack as an aid only, jacking in conjunction with the cows natural contractions. Use plenty of lubricant. Indiscriminate use can damage both the cow and calf. If inexperienced or unsure, seek veterinary assistance. Once born, if the calf shows little sign of life, use a piece of straw to irritate the nostrils to stimulate the respiratory system. Pouring cold water on the ears may also help to liven it up. Hanging a calf over a gate from its back legs for 20-30 seconds can help remove fluid. Put it in the recovery position, sitting up. Difficult calvings often results in drowsy calves which are less willing to suckle for themselves. If the calf won’t suck from a bottle and teat use a stomach tube. Ideally feed 2.5 to 3 litres of the cow’s own colostrum within an hour of birth.
SHEEP
Lambing records
Record as much information as possible at lambing to help with future culling and replacement decisions. Cull ewes based on poor mothering ability and persistent health issues such as prolapse, lameness, difficult lambing and mastitis. If you are keeping your own replacements now is the time to identify possible candidates. Ideally a ram would have been selected at tupping to breed future replacements with good maternal traits. Select lambs from twin or triplet births from your best ewes. Select surplus to requirements to allow for mortality and poor performance. Keeping good records doesn’t have to be high-tech. There are a range of options, including EID recording systems, to suit a range of budgets.
Turning out ewes and lambs
Turn out ewes and lambs to sheltered areas as soon as weather and ground conditions allow. Mark ewes and lambs with large numbering to allow easy identification and matching of ewes and lambs if they need to be rehoused due to mis-mothering, disease, etc. Treat ewes for fluke and worms before turnout. Healthy mature ewes generally have good immunity to most worms so the need to drench is reduced. However the stress of lambing and lactation can reduce the ewe’s immunity, resulting in higher numbers of eggs being shed on pasture which will be grazed by lambs. To minimise contamination of pasture treat at least 24-48 hours before turnout. If the ewes are already at grass, ideally return them to an area which is least likely to be grazed by sheep and lambs. Rotate products based on the wormer group previously used. Leaving 10% of ewes untreated will reduce wormer resistance. Only select healthy fit ewes to remain untreated. However, if treating ewes for fluke treat them all. If there is a high incidence of lameness (more than 5%) in the flock get veterinary advice to identify the cause and treat accordingly. The options your vet will suggest may include treatment with antibiotics and/or the use of vaccines.
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
Check soil analyses and plan applications of slurry and chemical fertilisers based on phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) indices. Target slurry and compound fertilisers to ground with low indices for P and K (0 and 1). Where pH is low lime will need to be spread. Avoid spreading slurry and lime at the same time as this will increase losses of nitrogen (N) to the atmosphere. At low pH, nearly half of applied N can be unavailable to grass, greatly reducing the value of applied fertilisers.
If spreading urea, do so in cool damp conditions to reduce N losses to the atmosphere. There are also products on the market containing additives which counteract this loss. Urea is a cheaper source of N per unit than CAN, however it can end up more expensive if spread in the wrong conditions.
CROPS
Prepared by: Leigh McClean
WINTER CEREALS
In contrast to a year ago, when winter crops were sown in good conditions and enjoyed a relatively dry winter, this year’s crops are thinner, more backward and showing signs of stress. This is due to the lower temperatures and continually waterlogged soils. High winter rainfall means a bigger proportion of soil N has been leached out of the rooting zone, so the priority for these crops will be early N to kick start them back into life.
Normally winter barley receives at least one third of its total N during late tillering, before mid-March. Winter wheat should receive a third of its total N before the end of March. For late drilled, thin or struggling crops either sow N earlier to encourage tillering or if ground won’t travel, increase application rates at first dressing once field conditions improve. Sulphur also leaches easily, therefore include at least 20-30kg per hectare in your early fertiliser dressings and top up remaining P and K.
Regarding weed control, relatively little herbicide was applied in the autumn. Prioritise winter barley, as the few remaining grass weed herbicides effective for this crop only work on small grasses. Also cut-off dates for latest application are earlier than for winter wheat. Consult product labels carefully for cut-off dates and latest growth stages.
SPRING CROPPING
Continual poor weather since last summer has resulted in a smaller area of winter crops sown than initially planned. Certain fields now destined for spring crop have been badly compacted, rutted or waterlogged and may struggle to contribute a positive financial return this year.
Fallow or short term grass leys may be worth considering in the worst affected fields. This would allow an opportunity to rectify compaction and drainage issues and carry out remedial work to get crop rotations back on track, minimising the long term impact of last year’s weather.
It is worth noting that both fallow and temporary grass count as individual crop types for the crop diversification requirement within greening. This could be a useful option for growers with a two or three crop requirement who were unable to get their planned winter crops sown. You are advised to use the 2018 single online application to check your crop diversification requirements to help make the necessary cropping decisions.
With demand for spring cereal seed likely to be strong this year, some growers are considering using home saved seed. If you are using this option, a seed germination test is money well spent. It confirms the purity and viability of the seed and is the starting point for seed rate calculations. Seed testing is carried out at the Official Seed Testing Station at AFBI, Crossnacreevy.
POTATOES
With some of last year’s potatoes possibly still left to dig, don’t neglect preparations for this year’s crop. Inspect fields intended for potatoes to identify drainage or compaction issues that need to be addressed before ploughing. Soil should be sampled as soon as possible and where there is a high potash requirement it is advisable to apply immediately after ploughing, particularly where muriate of potash is the main source.
Seed preparation for planting
Attention to detail during handling and preparation of seed before planting can result in increased early tuber yield, whilst optimising fry colour and skin quality. Carefully check the seed as it arrives on farm and have samples hot boxed to determine the presence of disease and overall sprouting vigour.
Sprouting and chitting
Pre-sprouting systems (bag or tray) must ensure adequate temperature, ventilation and light to control sprout growth and protect against frost. Set seed from early varieties in sprouting boxes with the aim of promoting apical dominance, that is producing one strong sprout per seed tuber. One stem will give small numbers of large tubers early. The opposite holds for maincrop potatoes where multiple sprouting is encouraged to produce many tubers which can increase in size over a longer growing season.
PIGS
Prepared by: Liz Donnelly
Sow mixing pen
Irrespective of age pigs fight when mixed – it is a natural reaction to determine who is boss! As mixing pigs on farms is unavoidable what can you do to reduce the stress associated with it? An option for weaned sows is to wean them into a mixing pen. The photograph below shows a mixing pen on a local farm. On this farm the sows are weaned into the deep (30cm) straw bedded pen on a Wednesday evening and remain there until Saturday morning, before being moved to free access cubicles for service on Monday and Tuesday. On other farms the sows stay in the mixing pen until they are moved to the service area. You can also see from the photograph there is step up to a slatted area where the sows are fed ad lib wet fed. Despite the deep bed of straw very little ends up on the slats, and to date there have been no problems with the straw blocking the slats.
Farmers that use straw bedded mixing pens for weaned sows tell me the sows are much more settled and there is virtually no fighting, not only at weaning but also later when they are moved to the service area and loose pens post-service.
Vermin control
Since the introduction of new and revised Quality Assurance standards last October I have used the management notes to let you know about some of the changes. In this month’s notes the focus is vermin control. Although the vermin control standards have been tightened and more records are required it does mean you can buy professional rodenticides without having to do a training course.
The main points of the vermin control standards are:
- Consider non-chemical methods of control, for example traps before using bait.
- If using traps check them regularly and set where they cannot be accessed by non-target animals.
- Avoid a build-up of vegetation that may harbour vermin around the farm.
- Only use baits where evidence shows they are being continuously effective.
- Dispose of dead rodents correctly, for example in the dead skip or incinerator.
- At the end of the treatment dispose of baits as per manufacturer’s instructions.
Records required include:
A bait plan showing bait points, bait used and bait point inspection and replenishment dates. The plan has to be kept for two years.
Site surveys showing date of inspection, locations inspected, findings, for example level of infestation, actions required and date completed.
Environmental risk assessments indicating methods of control, details of non-target species, steps taken to prevent exposure of wildlife/pets and disposal of dead rodents.
Templates for the above records can be found on the Red Tractor website.
On a final note.....
I was talking to a specialist pig vet recently and he was telling me that he has seen an increase in erysipelas this winter, especially in growing pigs. On some farms this has been due to vaccination not being carried out properly, whereas on other farms there was no explanation for the outbreak.
As well as seeing the classical ‘diamonds’ we are all familiar with, the vet is also seeing sudden deaths on farms and an increase in arthritis. The arthritis causes lameness and more pigs are partially or fully condemned at the factory.
If you suspect erysipelas in your pigs, contact your vet immediately as an outbreak can have serious consequences.
Notes to editors:
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