Farmer Focus: Fine silage weather kept tedding to minimum
Eurig Jenkins © Richard Stanton As usual, there has been plenty going on. May saw us inseminate 384 cows in the first three weeks to give us a submission rate of 95%.
Heifers were all served in 12 days, so let’s hope they hold to their inseminations and have a better female ratio than last year.
See also: Advice on testing big bale silage to optimise feed decisions
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The new block of land is in the process of getting new tracks, watering system and ditches cleaned.
Progress halted over the dry week, as silage had to be made. We achieved 1,250 bales in fine weather and, for the first time ever, tedding was kept to a minimum and some ground did not even get tedded.
The aim is 32-35% dry matter (DM). With all the spraying this year, the fields looked awesome – hardly any weeds – and should produce a clean sample of silage in winter.
No breakdowns were recorded, but four bolts on the mower gearbox kept going loose and needed tightening every four hours.
The additive pump decided to eat through a few fuses one day but, since cleaning the nozzles, the problem seems to be resolved.
After finishing hauling, I found two tyres on trailers at three years old had suffered major structural integrity damage and needed immediate replacement. I still await a reply in the form of compensation or discount on the new ones.
Our three quad bikes have gone in for a service. Our local Honda dealer, where we first purchased a three-wheeler 250cc back in 1987, has serviced all three quads, and hopefully they’ll go trouble free for another 250 hours.
We tried counting how many Hondas we have gone through during the past 39 years, but failed to come up with an exact number. (We now await his bill – let’s hope John gives me a loyalty discount.)
Grass covers have been about 2,450kg DM/ha, and growth has been consistently sitting at about 70kg DM/ha a day lately.
We started a pre-mowing round at the beginning of June to preserve quality for the next round. It’s also a good way to utilise the mowers, as we won’t be on silage for another month.
With stocking rate on the platform at 4.23 cows a hectare, fertiliser went on at 115kg/ha (27% nitrogen plus 9% sulphur trioxide).
With the long-term forecast of rainy showers for the rest of the month, grass growth looks plentiful, with woolly hats still being worn around the farm.