Right crops for game cover
LIKE MANY mixed farms across the country, the spring workload seems to be never-ending at Bowditch Farms.
“We”ve been fertilising solidly for about a month now, and have also started cultivating the maize and game cover crops,” says James Bowditch. “The ploughs, power harrows, drills, sprayers, muck and fertiliser spreaders are all going flat out.”
Nevertheless, Mr Bowditch is taking great care when it comes to establishing game covers, which he considers to be some of the most technically demanding crops he grows on the estate.
They are an important sideline and getting these crops right is critical. The estate has already booked up nearly all of its 20 shooting let days for the coming season at £28 a bird.
“Game cover crops are grown on some the steepest and trickiest ground, and in a continuous rotation they have very different problems to growing break crops. It is a very specialist job.”
impressed
This year Mr Bowditch is drilling Gamestay maize and dwarf sorghum – both at a seed cost of about £49/ha (£20/acre). “We”ve been very impressed with the sorghum as a replacement to kale – it is a lot easier to grow.”
Mr Bowditch also drills about 36ha (90 acres) of neighbouring shoots” cover crops, bringing in some valuable extra cash. “But it does mean some long days to get in 49ha (120 acres) of maize. Thankfully we have no other spring crops this year.”
The spring also heralds a concerted campaign to rid Laverstock Farm of an inherited weed problem, says Mr Bowditch. “There hasn”t been a good rotation on the farm in the past, and the docks are an absolute nightmare.”
Timing the herbicide applications on clover and grass leys is absolutely vital, he says. And at a time when the sprayer is in strong demand it is also important to be vigilant when washing it out, he adds. “We have scorched some grass after too hasty a washout following Roundup in the past.”
Grassland fertiliser applications are staggered around the farms, to fit in with the stepped turnout of each dairy herd. The cows at North Bowood were first turned out on April 5, with Yard and Knowle Farms following one and two weeks later respectively. “We do need to monitor our grass – we go from not having enough to having masses within a week – it is imperative to get it right.”
feed energy
Mr Bowditch is trying to blend in the transition gradually, with the cattle remaining in overnight at first. He is also feeding them with a buffer containing the additive Energiser (C16) to maintain milk protein and butterfat levels. Quality is holding up well so far.
At Bowood Farm, butterfat content during March and April stood at 4.3%, and protein content was 3.3% and 3.2%. For the same months respectively, the herd at Knowle Farm achieved 4.3% and 4.2% butterfat, with proteins of 3.5% and 3.3%, while the Yard herd saw butterfat levels of 4% and 3.9%, and protein at 3.3%.
NMR’s new programme Interherd could be a useful addition to the estate, and Mr Bowditch is meeting with NMR to discuss it this week. “I haven”t got time to walk around all the cows every day so this could be a useful tool to identify problems using the data collected.”
But the real weak link at the moment appears to be Bowditch Farms” milk buyer, which recently increased capital payments, effectively reducing the milk price by 0.07p/litre. “The whole family is worried about Milk Link as we have an awful lot invested in it.
“I’m a strong believer in farmers working together but we have to start looking out for ourselves. Milk Link’s future with us will be very dependent on the outcome of a meeting with them this week over seasonality payments.”
Yard Farm’s critical third TB test at the end of March gave the herd a welcome all-clear, although North Bowood has since thrown up three inconclusive tests.
lambing
Meanwhile, Mr Bowditch is experiencing one of his best lambing seasons ever, averaging 160%. “Lambing them about two weeks later has allowed us to lamb them all outdoors. We’re very happy with how it’s going.”
A batch of 10 fat hoggs was sold to SJ Norman & Sons recently at 240p/kg and averaged £50 a head, with 14 Dorset suckled lambs making 300p/kg, or £54 a head. A few beef calves have also been sold. A group of one-month old Belgian Blue heifers averaged £137 a head at Yeovil market and bull calves levelled at £157.
Last week 20 stores went under the hammer, with 18-month-old Hereford Cross steers averaging £482, Limousin steers making £460, and Belgian Blue heifers £395. The 16-month-old Aberdeen Angus heifers made £358-£395 and 20-month-old Charolais heifers averaged £460.
olivia.cooper@rbi.co.uk