FARMERFOCUS
FARMERFOCUS
Ewan Brewis
Ewan Brewis 700ha(1750
acre) farm is split into two
units. Lempitlaw, the main
420ha (1037 acre) holding
near Kelso, Scottish Borders
and Gattonside Mains with
180ha (455 acre) grass
(LFA). Stocking is 340
sucklers, a 40-cow pedigree
Aberdeen-Angus herd, 20-
cow pedigree Charolais herd,
60 pedigree Suffolk and 960
commercial ewes
A FORTNIGHT ago I managed to drop a trailer on my foot and I am now staggering around bottomless fields on crutches having broken my foot. So far, I have only found one advantage of crutches – when you are shifting cattle, you dont have to find your stick.
Last week saw the remaining weaned calves come down from Gattonside. This year we have changed the system slightly in that they were all housed directly, rather than having their customary fortnight hardening off period outside. This was solely due to the poor weather. So far, we have not seen any ill-effect.
On the sheep front, we had to replace one shearling which we sold at the tup sales because, apparently, he wasnt working. The man in question has been given a temporary replacement and will get his money back on its safe return. Unfortunately, the tup lamb we bought from Bartlehill was found with his legs in the air one morning. The saving grace was that he was still insured.
We have still failed to buy feeding lambs, as the price continues to drop. I wonder whether there will be any margin if we do decide to buy some. However, we still have 10ha (25 acres) of stubble turnips and will have to graze these with something. Options include; renting it out, strip grazing ewes or cows and buying lambs. I have yet to decide which.
Fodder beet appears to have yielded well. But unfortunately we are struggling to get it harvested with wet ground conditions. We have now had 90cm (36in) of rain this year and I do not want to track the field too much as beet tops are a valuable feed.
It looks like we will have to house 60 commercial cows from Gattonside earlier than usual as they are presently wading and wallowing in a bottomless stubble field. This means a further burden on our diminishing straw stocks.
Unfortunately, the planned trips to the Scottish Winter Fair and more importantly a much needed three day break in London for Smithfield had to be cancelled due to the aforementioned foot. So heres wishing you all a Merry Christmas – well be back next year – maybe. *
Mike Allwood
Mike Allwood is owner-
occupier of 82ha (200
acres) near Nantwich,
Cheshire. The 175-cow dairy
herd block calves during
May and June. Mike is also
director of Farm Produce
Marketing, based on the
farm, which manufactures
and sells Orchard Maid
frozen yogurt, and puts
Cheshire milk onto airline
breakfast trays
I FINALLY gave up all hope of turning the cows out again to graze off our vast store of grass. I would have liked to leave most of the fields untouched over winter, ready for an early spring grazing. But then we would have nowhere to spread slurry, so I very reluctantly decided to ask my neighbouring sheep expert to supply us with some store lambs.
The 400 animals are split into two groups, and so far they have stayed obediently on the right side of the electric fence. We have agreed to keep them until mid-January, when they will return to base camp for intensive fattening.
This year the milk didnt plummet after we housed the milkers, it plummeted while they were still out grazing. Before they came in, cows were eating almost as much silage as they did once inside. We think they were using up half their feed energy standing under the hedge keeping warm.
We are currently producing 4000 litres of milk a day from 920kg of 24% compound with 174 cows milking. Depending upon how one does the calculations, this equates to between 10 and 12 litres a cow from forage.
We feed silage daily directly into the feed passage, using a shear grab. This is fitted with a pressure gauge which we have calibrated as a weighing device. The cows are eating a lot of silage (see table).
Given the high price of leased quota and our large stocks of silage, we decided to push cows for production from forage this winter. So far, we have leased out 30,000 litres of quota at 8.5p. Encouraged by this price, I asked the agent if he could lease out another 20,000 litres. He told me to hold out for 10p as the market was going crazy; unfortunately I still have the quota and prices are now down to 8p a litre. But you cant win them all. *
Daily cow intakes
kg DM
First-cut chopped grass silage 8
Second-cut, mature dry
big bales 1
Maize silage 4.6
Total silage intake 13.6
Compound 4.6
Total intake 18.2
John Helliar
John Helliar has a 162ha
(4000 acre) farm on the
Longleat Estate, near
Warminster, Wilts. He milks
230 cows, rears his own
replacements and grows
40ha (100 acres) of maize,
which comprises 60% of the
winter ration. 1000 store
lambs are put out on winter
grass keep in October for
sale in January/February
NATURE has a wonderful way of reminding us not to take liberties and it has a way of balancing the season; dry and wet, hot and cold. You cannot beat nature, just be prepared to take advantage as and when the seasons change.
This year, for instance, cows went out three weeks early but were housed two weeks sooner than in the last two years. What happened when cows came in was not as expected. Normally grass would be replaced by grass silage and the milk yield would remain level, but this year it increased by two litres a cow – 400 litres for the herd.
Why? What was different? On the surface nothing: Cows had plenty of grass right through the summer, grass was better quality with no crown rust and concentrate feeding increased slightly by 25kg/cow. We did feed less maize in July and August, due to grass surplus; 10kg/cow against 20kg in previous years. So why the dramatic rise? I think the answer to the two litre a cow/day loss in yield lies in my yield/cow and yield from forage figures (see table).
Wet grass equals low DM intakes, its as simple as that. July and August were the worst two months, that was when we reduced maize because of plentiful grass.
In economic terms, an average loss of two litres a day for 180 days – multiplied by 170 cows – equals 61,000 litres of lost milk at 19p. Thats a total loss of £11,500.
In hindsight, we should have fed maize through the summer. At 10kg a cow/day for six months, thats 300t at £10/t, it would have cost £3000 for the summer. That would give a margin of £8000. Lets hope for a drier year in 1999.
However, herd margins have been maintained. The rolling 12 month margin is £2000 higher. But as were milking an extra 25 cows, we are running to keep up.
Cell counts have fallen to below 150 for the first time in nine months, which is encouraging. Mastitis is also below average, we only had one small flare up when the time clock on our automatic scrapers was faulty and in three days we had four cases. *
Milk yield and forage
yield comparison
Month 1997 1998 1997 1998
Yield/cow Yield from forage
May 18.2 17.2 17 16
June 18.6 15.7 15 13
July 23.8 19.8 12 10
Aug 25.5 22.1 15 13
Sept 25.5 23.3 16 12
Oct 26.1 25.9 15 14
David Maughan
David Maughan farms with
his brother, Peter, on two
farms totalling 272ha (425
acres) in Co Durham on the
Raby Estate. The 40ha (100
acres) of grass supports an
18-month and a silage beef
system. Cattle for the 18-
month system are reared
from purchased Continental
bull calves, with Continental
bull and heifer calves for the
silage beef system
THE £120m emergency aid package arrived with a great deal of anticipation from the livestock industry. Having had our appetite whetted in anticipation of a little financial relief for the beef finishing sector, it proved to be rather like the arrival of the much heralded meteor shower the following night, something of an anti-climax.
Extending the CPAS by another four months will, however, help to reduce the impact of any BSPS claim overshoot next year, and with the calf value taking a further reduction, we should feel some beneficial effect.
The lifting of the beef export ban will hopefully signal a route forward out of the sorry mess which BSE has left the beef industry in, although no one seems to expect any quick fix. Trying to generate profit out of beef now has as much to do with pinning down production costs as anything else.
Indeed, our costing results for the 18-month beef enterprise tells us that sale weight and value are almost identical to those achieved in 1997. However, we find our gross margin has shown a useful improvement after two years which could only be described as terrible. Lower calf prices have started to take effect. But it is now quite clear that the values which prevailed until this autumn have been ahead of finished cattle values for far too long.
We have reduced variable costs by £65/head as concentrate and forage costs have fallen. Being able to tighten up our stocking rate has also diluted the forage variable cost/head. Our leys have been pulling their weight well during the last couple of years, hopefully as we work our way around reseeding the grazing pastures we shall maintain or even improve stocking rate.
It must be a sign of the stage of life Id arrived at, when our local Durham County Young Farmers invited me to become their new president recently. I was duly installed at the AGM, where it was good to see the enthusiasm that abounds. National chief executive Brendan Loughran travelled up to make the keynote speech. What an asset he is to the Young Farmers with his own brand of Irish charm and style. *