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ExpectingRain
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wet, wet, wet . . .

Mid April is the earliest we have turned out EVER...in a really bad year we can be well into May.

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Crosshutton Holsteins

60 Homebred cows Annual Average 9800 4.2. 3.3
1EX 32VG 16GP 10G 1F 1P

29/1/2009, 13:43

Smurf4
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Re: wet, wet, wet . . .

quote:
ExpectingRain wrote:

Mid April is the earliest we have turned out EVER...in a really bad year we can be well into May.

When did you put them in full time ER? You must make an awful lot of silage?

29/1/2009, 17:11

Charryman
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Re: wet, wet, wet . . .

quote:
ExpectingRain wrote:

Mid April is the earliest we have turned out EVER...in a really bad year we can be well into May.

Same here. In a wet year, the cows will be in day & night by the end of September. It can be a loooooong winter. emoticon

Just the other end of the county is a different world.

Last edited by Charryman, 29/1/2009, 18:17

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Anyone wants a good Charollais ram try www.lowerye.com

29/1/2009, 18:16

ExpectingRain
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Re: wet, wet, wet . . .

quote:
Smurf4 wrote:

When did you put them in full time ER? You must make an awful lot of silage?

70 acres first cut, 60 acres second and 30 acres spring wheat conserved as alkalage. The grass silage is cut a little later than some people might think is ideal but we need to get the dry matter in the clamp. I consider third cut to be a waste of time here, if the land is dry enough for machinery then it is dry enough for cows to graze.

We feed silage all year here, cows are housed at night until confirmed in calf. In 2008 the low yielders were housed at night on 11th August which is about a month earlier than normal and the whole herd were in day and night on 15th October which is about 2 weeks early.

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Crosshutton Holsteins

60 Homebred cows Annual Average 9800 4.2. 3.3
1EX 32VG 16GP 10G 1F 1P

29/1/2009, 20:37

smous
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wet, wet, wet . . .

The sun she is trying to shine - hallelujah!

FOAF my neighbour has two breeding seasons, 1/3 of the herd is bred for 60 to 70 days starting 10 June. Cows start calving +-20 March. So he starts breeding this herd early winter and calves through autumn.

The other 2/3 of the herd is bred for 90 days starting 10 October to calve from +- 20 July. Spring breeding for winter calving, in theory cows are peaking during our ‘spring flush’ of grass growth.

Some guys start a few weeks earlier some a few weeks later, the guys in colder climes starting slightly later by 10 days to two weeks.

All neat in tidy on paper, needless to say there is some movement of ‘carry over’ cows from one herd to the other if they fail to get in calf timeously. Repeat offenders get the bullet.

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WWS-SA

30/1/2009, 5:27

shadyoak
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Re: wet, wet, wet . . .

Smous, we are about the same latitude in gippsland victoria, in Oz and we use the same breeding dates. But you are getting all the rain although it was a great season until christmas. We have just endured the hottest three days in succession on record, all over 43C.

31/1/2009, 1:56

Jeash
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Re: wet, wet, wet . . .

I think we are four or five weeks strong without it getting warm enough to melt the snow. On our outside barnyard the cows are walking on a snow-pack that is probably sixteen inches to two feet deep. They don't seem to mind because they have good footing. We also have manure piled all over the place waiting to put it in the pit once it softens. Hopefully we get a brief respit.

31/1/2009, 18:59

smous
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…

The monsoon like conditions we have lived under for two months are taking its toll, somatics soaring and scores of lame cows the least of them. As a result of all the standing water mosquitos have bred exponentially and we have had a confirmed outbreak of Rift Valley Fever. Farm over the hill has lost 14 cows in the last three weeks.

The disease was first identified in Africa's great rift valley. It is endemic to Kenya and Zambia and wipes out goats and sheep. It kills cattle but mass abortions are its worst symptom in bovines. It can also kill humans. Old ex East African dairyman told me he would rather have Foot and Mouth than RVF, and that is from bitter experience. A lot of guys do vaccinate, but some don't, needless to say there is a mad panic to get it done now.

The floods are also taking their toll on human life. A staff member of a good mate of mine was walking home after morning milking two Saturdays ago, he has to cross what is ussually a small stream to get there. He lost his footing and was swept away and drowned.

Bizarrely, just six to eight hours drive south of us the Eastern Cape is experiencing extreme drought conditions. Pastures are stubble and lucerne is being trucked in, to feed cows. Milk supply has crashed, both there and here

Last edited by smous, 27/2/2009, 16:47

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WWS-SA

27/2/2009, 16:40

triday1
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wet, wet, wet . . .

you know it's a weird world, your milk supply is crashing from floods, australia's burnt up, us production is dropping yet every day I get some thing telling me overproduction is depressing the world milk price.

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People should not fear their government, their government should fear the people.

27/2/2009, 18:49

smous
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…

Seasons are starting to change, their has been a little autumn cool this last week. Summer is giving us a last kick in the pants though, client about 40 minutes away had 100 mills of rain in an hour last Friday evening, farmer told me they 'swam' cows to milking the next morning, couldn't help informing him and others that it was a good thing we had kept a little leg in the herd, NZ Friesians would have been washed away.

Neighbour had his dam burst on the same night, 150 000 cubes of water emptied in five minutes. Fortunately nothing was in its path, water destroyed two pump houses (only pumps bolted to the concrete remained), gouged a massive hole in the district road and flattened neighbours fences.

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WWS-SA

21/3/2009, 6:41

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