Archive Article: 2000/08/04
Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson farms a
325ha (800-acre) mixed
arable and dairy unit near
Kings Lynn, Norfolk. The
200 dairy cows average
6500 litres on a simple, high
forage system. They are
allocated 40ha (100 acres)
of permanent pasture,
44ha (110 acres) of short
term leys and maize grown
in the arable rotation
WE slipped up with our feeding policy at the end of June and spring calvers have dropped several litres of milk and have lost some body condition.
The problem stems from flat rate feeding, which was too optimistic and expected more milk from grass in June. Lack of sun in Norfolk this year has made matters worse, and there hasnt been the normal goodness in grass.
We solved the problem by feeding extra maize silage and increasing concentrates by 1-2kg/cow. I believe extra concentrates can be justified because of our seasonality bonus of 3p/litre and we are unlikely to fill quota this year.
We are going to experiment with a midday feed of brewers grains or citrus pulp and a protein blend, which should be a cheaper option for next year.
Most of our autumn herd are now dry. They are being strip-grazed on a paddock which we let run to seed. This grazing – it is essentially a standing crop of hay – is a repeat of what we did last year, and it works well, saving the hassle of making dry cow silage and then feeding it back to the cows.
Our dairy computer has been temperamental recently. I have managed to keep it going with my self-taught computer maintenance technique. This entails pressing as many buttons as possible while periodically thumping it.
This worked pretty well for about three months before the computer finally decided it had had enough and produced a series of beeps and psychedelic screens that even my finely tuned skills couldnt cure.
We have now replaced it with a cheap, second-hand computer. The real problem is the amount of dust and moisture in our dairy office, so we will keep using second-hand models.
Our milk proteins have steadily declined during June and July. Im sure it is to do with low sugars in grass because of a lack of sun this summer.
Ive never known so little sun in Norfolk and unless things change Im sure our maize yields will be down. Not that I am cheesed off with the weather, although it did snow on our summer holidays.
The sun has lost his hat in Norfolk this year. Richard Thompson and five-month-old Emma look at his grass which is lacking goodness.