Farmer Focus: Zero grazing beckons after slurry applications
Colin Murdoch © Jeff Holmes Well, I got the pickup back, which is just as well, as I don’t think I could afford to run the V6 courtesy one for any longer.
Who’d have thought the proverbial would hit the fan with such ferocity since I wrote my last article?
Luckily, we’d ordered a fill-up of red diesel just prior to the Middle East being set on fire, but I’m not sure anyone had a doubling of fuel costs in their budgets heading into spring field work.
See also: One in 10 heifers calving with high cell count, shows data
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Apart from one straggler, the heifers have now all calved and are mostly performing well. Annoyingly, we’ve had a few cases of mastitis, which is unusual for us.
After taking advice, I’m tempted to apply sealant to the next batch, due to calve in May, to see if it makes any difference.
We have applied a supposed stress-busting pheromone to the heifers at calving to see if they settle more quickly in the parlour. The jury is still out, but the bruised arms are not a glowing endorsement.
Spring is refusing to arrive in Ayrshire. We’ve had a few nice days in a row, but the long-range forecast is showing a lot of rain, which we really do not need.
There has been a lot of slurry applied locally, so let’s hope it’s washed in and not away.
Rightly or wrongly, we’ve been spreading all through the winter when conditions have allowed, following the wintering sheep grazing.
This has led to quite a large cover on some fields already, so I’m itching to get out with the zero grazer as soon as possible.
I’ve been out “plonking” with the new plate meter, to try to make the most of grass this season.
At the same time, we’ve soil-sampled the whole farm and will now begin a targeted application of calcium lime to make sure pH levels are maintained.
With the price of fertiliser rocketing, there’s not much point in applying it if a large percentage is going to be wasted.
That said, all winter crops have had 150kg/ha of urea applied and have responded well.
That’s where my luck runs out, though, as fertiliser onto the silage ground was delayed a few days because of haulier issues and fuel costs.
If only we had our own fertiliser plants in this country, and an abundance of oil and gas just off our coastline…