Lincoln University Dairy Farm - Farm Walk notes

Transcription

1 Lincoln University Dairy Farm - Farm Walk notes Tuesday, 25 th September 2012 Critical issues for the short term 1. Keeping all cows especially heifers and fresh cows well fed [high MJME/cow intake] whilst achieving residuals of 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter. 2. Checking for pre-mating heats and keeping tail paint topped up. 3. Checking springers, picking up and dealing with calves. 4. Monitor average pasture cover through the week and respond to surplus or deficit. 5. Use back-fences on all herds whenever paddock grazing takes more than 24 hours. Apply Magnesium Oxide dust thoroughly to pasture being grazed by all MA cows 3 weeks from calving. Make sure all calved cows are getting enough magnesium oxide. 6. Closely observe cows for any signs of mastitis and metabolic conditions. 7. Maintain very strict hygiene in the calf sheds. Herd Management cows have calved, 568 cows are milking into the vat, 22 colostrum cows and 4 treatment cows. 2 herds will be managed separately until the end of the season, the small herd will be kept at about 200, it is comprised of heifers and lighter condition cows, lame cows will go into the small herd once they leave the treatment mob. The herd has had tail paint applied and pre mating heats will be recorded. About 56% of cows in milk are cycling cases of mastitis this week, 30 to date, with 2 new cases of lameness. Growing conditions 10. Pasture growth has been 43 kg DM/ha day, similar to last week. 11. Soil temperatures at 9 am have averaged 8.5 deg, 1 degree warmer than last week although we have still had several frosts mm rain over the last week. The Aquaflex soil moisture meters indicate that soil moisture levels are now at around 40-60% of field capacity, will continue to track this with rain forecast for tomorrow. The irrigation system has been checked out and lateral sprinklers are ready to go, depending on what amount of rain we get, may be irrigating by Friday. Pasture Production and Management ha have been mown in front of the cows in order to achieve high pasture quality in the next round. 14. Gibberellic Acid [GA] applied to 16 ha to ensure adequate pasture is available to the end of September and into October. 15. We have a 21 tonne DM feed deficit. Average cover has fallen a little, from last weeks to 2189kg DM/ha to 2111 kg DM/ha. 4.8 kg DM of silage per cow/day fed out this week, and expect to continue this for 7 more days in order to hold the round length. The feed deficit has actually increased a little, but we are confident that filling the deficit at this time will see a good return as pasture growth rates will pick up as we get to the end of the month and cows will be in a resilient state to produce milk solids. Currently cows are holding or gaining a little weight. Will continue to use GA and defer some pre mowing until the next round to support pasture growth rates. Page 1 of 3

2 Average Pasture Cover Spring Pasture Cover Track /08 16/08 09/08 02/08 26/07 19/07 Target Actual 04/10 27/09 20/09 13/09 06/09 30/08 Feeding Management 16. The focus is on ensuring the calved cows are well fed, and paddocks are grazed to even consistent residuals with a target of 7-8 clicks on the rpm. Walk over weighing indicates that the cows have gained around 0.5 kg per day this week, and MS production has been 2.05 kg MS/cow/day, this suggests that cows are eating around 241 MJME daily or about 15.8 kg DM pasture and 3.5 kg DM silage. This week s wedge is printed below. Last week we had a 24 day round, we will look to hold the rotation at the same length over the coming week or until such time as we see pre-grazing covers rise. 17. Data sheet LUDF Weekly report 4-Sep Sep Sep Sep-12 Farm grazing ha (available to milkers) Dry Cows on farm / East blk / other 105/0/0 89/0/0 66/0/0 40/0/0 Culls (Includes culls put down & empties) Culls total to date Deaths (Includes cows put down) Deaths total to date Calved Cows available (Peak Number 632 ) Treatment / Sick mob total Page 2 of 3

3 4-Sep Sep Sep Sep-12 Mastitis clinical treatment Mastitis clinical YTD (tgt below 64 yr end) Bulk milk SCC (tgt Ave below 150) Lame new cases Lame ytd Lame days YTD (Tgt below 1000 yr end) Other/Colostrum 0/25 0/16 0/13 0/14 Milking twice a day into vat Milking once a day into vat Small herd Main Herd MS/cow/day (Actual kg / Cows into vat only) MS/cow to date (total kgs / Peak Cows MS/ha/day (total kgs / ha used Herd Average Cond'n Score Monitor grp LW kg WOW 157 early MA calvers Soil Temp Ave Aquaflex Growth Rate (kgdm/ha/day) Plate meter height - ave half-cms Ave Pasture Cover (x ) Surplus/[deficit] on feed wedge- tonnes 45 [1.5] [11] [20] Pre Grazing cover (ave for week) Post Grazing cover (ave for week) Highest pre-grazing cover Area grazed / day (ave for week) Grazing Interval Milkers Offered/grazed kg DM pasture Estimated intake pasture MJME Milkers offered kg DM Grass silage Silage MJME/cow offered Estimated intake Silage MJME Estimated total intake MJME Tgt total MJME Offered/eaten (incls. 6% waste) Pasture ME (pre grazing sample) Pasture % Protein Pasture % DM - Concern below 16% Pasture % NDF Concern < Mowed pre or post grazing YTD Total area mowed YTD Supps. fed to date kg per cow (632 peak) Supplements Made Kg DM / ha cumulative Units N applied/ha and % of farm 40units/48% 40units/19.5% 40units/29% 0 Kgs N to Date (whole farm) Rainfall (mm) Aquaflex topsoil rel. to fill point tgt 60-80% The next weekly farm walk will be on 2 nd October at 9.00 am. Farmers or their managers and staff are always welcome to walk with us. Please call to notify us of your intention and bring your plate meter. Phone SIDDC Management Group Peter Hancox (Farm Manager), Steve Lee (DairyNZ). Page 3 of 3

4 Lincoln University Dairy Farm - Farm Walk notes Tuesday, 18 th September 2012 Critical issues for the short term 1. Keeping all cows, especially heifers and fresh cows, well fed [high MJME/cow intake] whilst achieving residuals of 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter. 2. Checking springers, picking up and dealing with calves. 3. Monitoring average pasture cover through the week and responding to surplus or deficit. 4. Using back-fences on all herds whenever paddock grazing takes more than 24 hours. 5. Applying Magnesium Oxide dust thoroughly to pasture being grazed by all MA cows 3 weeks from calving. Making sure all calved cows are getting enough magnesium oxide. 6. Closely observing cows for any signs of mastitis and metabolic conditions. 7. Maintaining very strict hygiene in the calf sheds. Herd Management 8. We now have 562 cows calved, 543 cows milking into the vat, 16 colostrum cows, and 3 treatment cows. The 2 herds will be managed separately until the end of the season, the small herd will be kept at about 200, it is comprised of heifers and lighter condition cows, lame cows will go into the small herd once they leave the treatment mob. The herd has had tail paint applied and pre mating heats will be recorded. Pre-mating blood tests already done have come back at good levels. Cows were Metrichecked on 5 th September and as a result 38 cows were treated, double the 19 treated last year. The yearling heifers received a copper bullet, a selenium pour-on, and were BVD vaccinated and weighed last week as part of their pre-mating preparation cases of mastitis this week, 30 to date, and 6 new cases of lameness. Growing Conditions 10. Pasture growth has been 44 kg DM/ha day, an increase from last week s 28 kg DM/ha. 11. Soil temperatures at 9 am have been an average of 7.5 degrees cooler than last week with several frosts. The weather has been windy and overcast most of the week mm rain over the last week. The Aquaflex soil moisture meters indicate some good drainage and that soil moisture levels are now at around 80% of field capacity. Will watch how this tracks, the forecast Northerly weather may see the farm dry out quickly, but at this stage we are not irrigating. Under sowing grass seed back into the small areas of paddocks damaged during the wet period has been completed. All paddocks grazed on the milking platform have been heavy rolled. Pasture Production and Management ha received 40 kg/ha N as urea. During the week 21 ha was mowed in front of cows in order to achieve residuals on high cover paddocks, and to achieve high pasture quality in the next round. 14. Gibberellic Acid [GA] applied to 39.7ha to ensure adequate pasture is available in the second half of September and early October. 15. We have a 11 tonne feed deficit. Average cover has fallen from last week s 2277kg DM/ha to 2189 kg DM/ha. 5.5 t DM of silage has been fed out over the last 3 days, and expect to feed out for 5-7 more days in order to hold our round length and stay on our spring cover track. The outlook for pasture growing conditions is better than last week; we expect that by feeding a small amount of silage now we will get out of feed deficit quickly. We will continue to use GA and defer some pre mowing until the next round to support pasture growth rates. Page 1 of 4

5 Average Pasture Cover Spring Pasture Cover Track /08 16/08 09/08 02/08 26/07 19/07 Target Actual 04/10 27/09 20/09 13/09 06/09 30/08 Feeding Management 16. Focus is on ensuring calved cows are well fed and paddocks are grazed to even consistent residuals with a target of 7-8 clicks on the rpm. This week s wedge is printed below. The first grazing round is completed with a 26 day round last week; we will look to hold the rotation in the 26 to 28 day range over the coming week. 17. Data sheet See next page. Page 2 of 4

6 LUDF Weekly Report 28-Aug-12 4-Sep Sep Sep-12 Farm grazing ha (available to milkers) Dry Cows on farm / East blk / other 135/8/0/0 105/0/0 89/0/0 66/0/0 Culls (Includes culls put down & empties) Culls total to date Deaths (Includes cows put down) Deaths total to date Calved Cows available (Peak Number 632 ) Treatment / Sick mob total Mastitis clinical treatment Mastitis clinical YTD (tgt below 64 yr end) Bulk milk SCC (tgt Ave below 150) Lame new cases Lame year-to-date Lame days YTD (Tgt below 1000 yr end) Other/Colostrum 0/45 0/25 0/16 0/13 Milking twice a day into vat Milking once a day into vat Small herd Main Herd MS/cow/day (Actual kg / Cows into vat only) MS/cow to date (total kgs / Peak Cows MS/ha/day (total kgs / ha used Herd Average Cond'n Score Monitor grp LW kg WOW 157 early MA calvers Soil Temp Ave Aquaflex Growth Rate (kgdm/ha/day) Plate meter height - ave half-cms Ave Pasture Cover (x ) Surplus/[deficit] on feed wedge- tonnes [1.5] [11] Pre Grazing cover (ave for week) Post Grazing cover (ave for week) Highest pre-grazing cover Area grazed / day (ave for week) Grazing Interval Milkers Offered/grazed kg DM pasture Estimated intake pasture MJME Milkers offered kg DM Grass silage Silage MJME/cow offered Estimated intake Silage MJME Estimated total intake MJME Tgt total MJME Offered/eaten (incl. 6% waste) Pasture ME (pre grazing sample) Pasture % Protein Pasture % DM - Concern below 16% Pasture % NDF Concern < Mowed pre or post grazing YTD Total area mowed YTD Supplements fed to date kg per cow (632 peak) Supplements Made Kg DM / ha cumulative Units N applied/ha and % of farm 0 40units/48% 40units/19.5% 40units/29% Kgs N to Date (whole farm) Rainfall (mm) Aquaflex topsoil rel. to fill point tgt 60-80% Page 3 of 4

7 The next weekly farm walk will be on 25 th September at 9.00 am. Farmers or their managers and staff are always welcome to walk with us. Please call to notify us of your intention and bring your plate meter. Phone SIDDC Management Group Peter Hancox (Farm Manager), Steve Lee (DairyNZ). Page 4 of 4

8 Lincoln University Dairy Farm - Farm Walk notes Tuesday, 11 th September 2012 Critical issues for the short term 1. Keeping all cows especially heifers and fresh cows well fed [high MJME/cow intake], whilst achieving residuals of 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter. 2. Checking all cow mobs for springers. 3. Monitor average pasture cover through the week and respond to surplus or deficit. 4. Use back-fences on all herds whenever paddock grazing takes more than 24 hours. 5. Apply Magnesium Oxide dust thoroughly to pasture being grazed by all MA cows 3 weeks from calving. Make sure all calved cows are getting enough magnesium oxide. 6. Closely observe cows for any signs of mastitis and metabolic conditions. 7. Maintain very strict hygiene in the calf sheds. Herd Management cows have calved. There are 523 cows milking into the vat, 16 colostrum cows and 6 treatment cows. All cows are on the milking platform. The farm has dried out well and may require irrigating by the end of the week if the forecast rain does not eventuate. 9. Have 2 herds now and they will be managed separately until the end of the season, the small herd will be kept at about 200, it is comprised of heifers and lighter condition cows, lame cows will go into the small herd once they leave the treatment mob. The herd has had tail paint applied and pre mating heats will be recorded. Pre-mating blood tests have come back at good levels. Cows were Metrichecked on 5 th September and as a result 38 cows were treated. This is double the 19 treated last year. The yearling heifers will receive a copper bullet, a selenium pour-on, be BVD vaccinated and weighed this week as part of their pre-mating preparation cases of mastitis this week, 30 to date, with 6 new cases of lameness. Growing Conditions 11. Pasture growth at 28 kg DM/ha day, a drop from last week s 48 kg DM/ha. 12. Soil temperatures at 9 am have been an average of 9.2 deg [up from 8.8 last week]. The weather has been windy and overcast most of the week mm rain over the last week. The Aquaflex soil moisture meters indicate some good drainage and that soil moisture levels are now at 40-80% of field capacity, the farm is a lot drier and irrigation does not look far way. Under sowing grass seed back into the small areas of paddocks damaged during the wet period is completed. All paddocks grazed on the milking platform have been heavy rolled. Pasture Production and Management ha received 40 kg/ha N as urea. In order to achieve residuals and reduce surplus, 7t DM of silage was made from 8 ha and 25.3 ha mown in front of the cows. 15. To ensure there is adequate pasture available in the second half of September and early October, Gibberellic Acid [GA] was applied to another 24ha. 16. Average cover has fallen over the last 2 weeks to 2277kg DM/ha, and we currently have a 1.5 tonne feed deficit. It may be necessary to feed the main herd some high quality silage to keep our spring cover on track. Pasture growing conditions are a little uncertain with the chance of frosts so will be monitoring the situation closely. Page 1 of 4

9 Average Pasture Cover Spring Pasture Cover Track /08 16/08 09/08 02/08 26/07 19/07 Target Actual 04/10 27/09 20/09 13/09 06/09 30/08 Management Feeding 17. Focus is on trying to ensure that calved cows are well fed and at the same time maintaining even consistent residuals targeted at 7-8 clicks on the rpm. This week s wedge is printed below. We are slightly ahead of our spring plan [by 2.6 ha] having made silage to catch up. Page 2 of 4

10 First Round Plan and Progress Week Beginning Area to use per week Accumulated total 160ha Rotation Length Actual Accumulated 1 August 11.7ha 11.7ha 96 days August 16.9ha 28.6ha 66 days August 19.4ha 48.0ha 58 days August 26.0ha 74.0ha 43 days August 30.9ha 104.9ha 36 days 28.5 grazed and 13.5 silage = September 37.0ha 141.8ha 30 days 30.1 grazed and 8 silage = Data sheet LUDF Weekly Report 21-Aug Aug-12 4-Sep Sep-12 Farm grazing ha (available to milkers) Dry Cows on farm / East blk / other 85/126/0/0 135/8/0/0 105/0/0 89/0/0 Culls (Includes culls put down & empties) Culls total to date Deaths (Includes cows put down) Deaths total to date Calved Cows available (Peak Number 632 ) Treatment / Sick mob total Mastitis clinical treatment Mastitis clinical YTD (tgt below 64 yr end) Bulk milk SCC (tgt Ave below 150) Lame new cases Lame year-to-date Lame days YTD (Tgt below 1000 yr end) Other/Colostrum 0/85 0/45 0/25 0/16 Milking twice a day into vat Milking once a day into vat Small herd Main Herd MS/cow/day (Actual kg / Cows into vat only) MS/cow to date (total kgs / Peak Cows MS/ha/day (total kgs / ha used Herd Average Cond'n Score Monitor grp LWkg WOW 157 early MA calvers Soil Temp Ave Aquaflex Growth Rate (kgdm/ha/day) Plate meter height - ave half-cms Ave Pasture Cover (x ) Surplus/[deficit] on feed wedge- tonnes [1.5] Pre Grazing cover (ave for week) Post Grazing cover (ave for week) Highest pre-grazing cover Area grazed / day (ave for week) Grazing Interval Milkers Offered/grazed kg DM pasture n/a n/a n/a n/a Estimated intake pasture MJME n/a n/a n/a n/a Page 3 of 4

11 21-Aug Aug-12 4-Sep Sep-12 Milkers offered kg DM Grass silage n/a n/a n/a n/a Silage MJME/cow offered Estimated intake Silage MJME Estimated total intake MJME n/a n/a n/a n/a Tgt total MJME Offered/eaten (incl. 6% waste) n/a n/a n/a n/a Pasture ME (pre grazing sample) Pasture % Protein Pasture % DM - Concern below 16% Pasture % NDF Concern < Mowed pre or post grazing YTD Total area mowed YTD Supplements fed to date kg/ cow (632 peak) Supplements Made Kg DM / ha cumulative Units N applied/ha and % of farm units/48% 40units/19.5% Kgs N to Date (whole farm) Rainfall (mm) Aquaflex topsoil rel. to fill point tgt 60-80% The next weekly farm walk will be on 18 th September at 9.00 am. Farmers or their managers and staff are always welcome to walk with us. Please call to notify us of your intention and bring your plate meter. Phone SIDDC Management Group Peter Hancox (Farm Manager), Steve Lee (DairyNZ). Page 4 of 4

12 Lincoln University Dairy Farm - Farm Walk notes Tuesday, 4 th September 2012 Critical issues for the short term 1. Controlling surplus pasture. 2. Keeping all cows, especially heifers and fresh cows, well fed [high MJME/cow intake] whilst achieving residuals of 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter. 3. Checking all cow mobs for springers. 4. Monitor average pasture cover through the week. 5. Use back-fences on all herds whenever paddock grazing takes more than 24 hours. 6. Apply Magnesium Oxide dust thoroughly to pasture being grazed by all MA cows 3 weeks from calving. Make sure all calved cows are getting enough magnesium oxide. 7. Closely observe cows for any signs of mastitis and metabolic conditions. 8. Establish and maintain very strict hygiene in the calf sheds. Herd Management 9. We now have 529 cows calved. There are 499 cows milking into the vat and 23 colostrum cows. All cows are on the milking platform. We are aware covers are very high, the farm has dried out well and a lot of progress has been made to get on top of the 90 tonne feed surplus we had last week while achieving residuals and minimizing damage. The surplus is now 45T DM. 10. Last week cows were split into a small herd of 148 heifers and light condition cows, and a large herd of 271 MA cows. The small herd has now increased to 176, another 26 lighter condition cows were added last Thursday after the herd was conditioned scored on Wednesday. The larger herd now has 289 cows. 11. There have been 8 cases of mastitis this week, 27 to date, and 21 cases of lameness. Growing Conditions 12. Pasture growth has been 48 kg DM/ha day. 13. Soil temperatures at 9 am have been an average of 8.8 deg [up from 8.7 last week]. The weather has been windy and overcast most of the week. 14. There has been no rain. The Aquaflex soil moisture meters indicate some good drainage with soil moisture levels now at 80 90% of field capacity. The farm is a lot drier and we have moved quickly to operating more proactively rather than being in pasture damage control mode. This will include under sowing grass seed back into the small areas of paddocks damaged during the wet period. Pasture Production and Management ha received its first N application of 36 kgn as Ammonium Sulphate ha received 40 kg/han as urea [2 nd application]. 16. Gibberellic Acid [GA] application started over 29 ha. This is done to ensure that there is adequate pasture available in the second half of September and early October. 17. Currently have a 45 tonne feed surplus. The outlook is for more good pasture growing conditions, so moving quickly to reduce the surplus and protect pasture quality and pre-graze levels over the next few weeks. During the week we made 27t DM of silage from 13.5 ha and we have mown 20.6 ha in front of cows in order to achieve residuals and reduce surplus tonne surplus last week less 27 tonne silage less 45 tonne surplus this week = 18 tonne difference. Is this supply less than demand? Page 1 of 4

13 Average Pasture Cover Spring Pasture Cover Track /08 16/08 09/08 02/08 26/07 19/07 Target Actual 04/10 27/09 20/09 13/09 06/09 30/08 Feeding Management 19. We are focussing on trying to ensure that calved cows are well fed but paddocks must be grazed to even consistent residuals with a target of 7-8 clicks on the rpm, we are using late calvers to clean up paddocks where possible behind the milkers. As we run the numbers of dry cows down this option disappears, given the very high growth rate and high cover we are determined to control feed supply in order to maintain quality going into the second round. This week s wedge is printed below. Page 2 of 4

14 Average cover is 2594 kg DM/ha, a decrease of 297kg DM/ha from last week s 2891 kg DM/ha. This is still above target and we have the option of turning S4 and N5 into silage. Our round length is currently 39 days which is quite close to our target of 36. First Round Plan and Progress Week Beginning 1 August Area to use per week 11.7ha Accumulated total 160ha 11.7ha Rotation Length 96 days Actual Accumulated August 16.9ha 28.6ha 66 days August 19.4ha 48.0ha 58 days August 26.0ha 74.0ha 43 days August 30.9ha 104.9ha 36 days 28.5 grazed and 13.5 silage 6 September 37.0ha 141.8ha 30 days 20. Data sheet LUDF Weekly report 14-Aug Aug Aug-12 4-Sep-12 Farm grazing ha (available to milkers) Dry Cows on farm / East blk / other 0/291/0/40 85/126/0/0 135/8/0/0 105/0/0 Culls (Includes culls put down & empties) Culls total to date Deaths (Includes cows put down) Deaths total to date Calved Cows available (Peak Number 632 ) Treatment / Sick mob total Mastitis clinical treatment Mastitis clinical YTD (tgt below 64 yr end) Bulk milk SCC (tgt Avg below 150) Lame new cases Lame ytd Lame days YTD (Tgt below 1000 yr end) Other/Colostrum 0/90 0/85 0/45 0/25 Milking twice a day into vat Milking once a day into vat Small herd Main Herd MS/cow/day (Actual kg / Cows into vat only) MS/cow to date (total kgs / Peak Cows MS/ha/day (total kgs / ha used Herd Average Cond'n Score Monitor grp LWkg WOW 157 early MA calvers Soil Temp Avg Aquaflex Growth Rate (kgdm/ha/day) Plate meter height - ave half-cms Ave Pasture Cover (x ) Surplus/[deficit] on feed wedge- tonnes Pre Grazing cover (ave for week) Page 3 of 4

15 14-Aug Aug Aug-12 4-Sep-12 Post Grazing cover (ave for week) Highest pregrazing cover Area grazed / day (ave for week) Grazing Interval Milkers Offered/grazed kg DM pasture Estimated intake pasture MJME Milkers offered kg DM Grass silage Silage MJME/cow offered Estimated intake Silage MJME Estimated total intake MJME Tgt total MJME Offered/eaten (incls 6% waste) Pasture ME (pre grazing sample) Pasture % Protein Pasture % DM - Concern below 16% Pasture % NDF Concern < Mowed pre or post grazing YTD Total area mowed YTD Supplements fed to date kg per cow (632 peak) Supplements Made Kg DM / ha cumulative Units N applied/ha and % of farm units/48% Kgs N to Date (whole farm) Rainfall (mm) Aquaflex topsoil relative to fill point tgt 60-80% The next weekly farm walk will be on 11 th September at 9.00 am. Farmers or their managers and staff are always welcome to walk with us. Please call to notify us of your intention and bring your plate meter. Phone SIDDC Management Group Peter Hancox (Farm Manager), Steve Lee (DairyNZ). Page 4 of 4