There seems to be serious downwards pressure on straw prices now. Someone in Laois is selling it for 9 euro a bale. Take out the cost of baling and he has 6 euro odd for a bale of straw. Where's the sense in that?. At that price I'm going to have cattle laying in luxury this winter because not one bale will leave here at that stupid price.
The brother and I were talking earlier and we might have a trial of shoving bales into the chopper for bedding and seeing how it spreads out the chopped straw.
Straw was all hip 5 to 10 yrs ago with Keenan system were horsing it into TMR diets, needlessly I would say. I used use all of straw for feeding and bedding, but cost became prohibitive, to such a point now I would only be feeding it as last resort and bedding for anything other than a baby calf I wouldnt be able to afford. At the price I can afford to pay for a decent amount of straw, it's much better value for the cereal farmer to chop it back into the ground. I cant afford to haul such a low value product a good distance, as most Baler drivers seem incapable of packing proper kgs into bales. I'm happy to buy by the ton. In the past I had artics in at 21tons, but had loads back to 14 tons which is nonsense
What did you replace the straw with?Straw was all hip 5 to 10 yrs ago with Keenan system were horsing it into TMR diets, needlessly I would say. I used use all of straw for feeding and bedding, but cost became prohibitive, to such a point now I would only be feeding it as last resort and bedding for anything other than a baby calf I wouldnt be able to afford. At the price I can afford to pay for a decent amount of straw, it's much better value for the cereal farmer to chop it back into the ground. I cant afford to haul such a low value product a good distance, as most Baler drivers seem incapable of packing proper kgs into bales. I'm happy to buy by the ton. In the past I had artics in at 21tons, but had loads back to 14 tons which is nonsense
There seems to be serious downwards pressure on straw prices now. Someone in Laois is selling it for 9 euro a bale. Take out the cost of baling and he has 6 euro odd for a bale of straw. Where's the sense in that?. At that price I'm going to have cattle laying in luxury this winter because not one bale will leave here at that stupid price.
The brother and I were talking earlier and we might have a trial of shoving bales into the chopper for bedding and seeing how it spreads out the chopped straw.
8x4x3 and 56 in a load21 ton, was that rounds or square bales, seems a heavy load for straw
stopped feeding it killed most of the demandWhat did you replace the straw with?
I was asked could I take half the knives out of the SPFH to chop longer as straw cost too much last year, same lad has paid someone dearly to make a heap of round bales, could he not just chuck a few in the diet feeder.Straw was all hip 5 to 10 yrs ago with Keenan system were horsing it into TMR diets, needlessly I would say. I used use all of straw for feeding and bedding, but cost became prohibitive, to such a point now I would only be feeding it as last resort and bedding for anything other than a baby calf I wouldnt be able to afford. At the price I can afford to pay for a decent amount of straw, it's much better value for the cereal farmer to chop it back into the ground. I cant afford to haul such a low value product a good distance, as most Baler drivers seem incapable of packing proper kgs into bales. I'm happy to buy by the ton. In the past I had artics in at 21tons, but had loads back to 14 tons which is nonsense
Why worry about the next man been short of straw whenever. Just chop it back into the ground and have no hassle, no compaction loading straw, messing turning it and no contractor to pay to bale it. €12 a bale off the field is worth more to the soil I would think, when you account for carbon aswell.Seems to be a race to the bottom with prices, no one is buying until someone eventually puts up straw at €6 for a 4x4 them that'll be the market price. A buyer will then look a the bales and they'll be too yellow, too brown, wrong colour net, wrong texture etc. Then will offer a fiver to the farmer who has no shed to put it in and he gets it. Meanwhile every dealer hears of the fiver for bales and won't pay any more. People can have short memories when it suits them. €15 is not dear for any 4x4 straw.
Straw was all hip 5 to 10 yrs ago with Keenan system were horsing it into TMR diets, needlessly I would say. I used use all of straw for feeding and bedding, but cost became prohibitive, to such a point now I would only be feeding it as last resort and bedding for anything other than a baby calf I wouldnt be able to afford. At the price I can afford to pay for a decent amount of straw, it's much better value for the cereal farmer to chop it back into the ground. I cant afford to haul such a low value product a good distance, as most Baler drivers seem incapable of packing proper kgs into bales. I'm happy to buy by the ton. In the past I had artics in at 21tons, but had loads back to 14 tons which is nonsense
Straw is finished, you’re right it was a fashion thing all along. Peat is the future. Won’t be feeding any straw here either, 2kg of peat to the finishers will do a serious job.
The keenan lads have you well soured, at least you got the vaccine.
What happened that €85 a tonne there was talk of a few weeks back?Mushroom straw lads around here giving 20 euro a 8x4x4 for wheat straw, I think it's there way of giving the middle finger to grain men for what went on last year.
What would you use/recommend as roughage so?I cant see why you would see any future in peat as It most definitely shouldn't be extracted for any reason IMO
Properly constructed forage diet shouldn't require straw as roughage.
Keenan are only salesmen, feeder here in the yard is the best machine or the biggest PIA depending on how you look at it
Silage from that land he puts 30 units a year on presumably, and he will achieve a carcase weight of maybe 250kg..What would you use/recommend as roughage so?
Depends what animals. Finishing cattle here and diet is mineralised silage with medium NDF, crimp barley and sprinkle of Oats. If farmers feeding animals used more quality native products instead of importing and been pushed unbalanced products the industry would be allot healthier. And this is the main reason that there is 100k + tones of native barley left over since last year as farmers couldn't careless where there product comes from. Barley can happily be fed alone to animals, but no, merchants happier to push a mix with maybe 8 products within.What would you use/recommend as roughage so?
Silage from that land he puts 30 units a year on presumably, and he will achieve a carcase weight of maybe 250kg..
High dm silage/haylageWhat would you use/recommend as roughage so?
Depends what animals. Finishing cattle here and diet is mineralised silage with medium NDF, crimp barley and sprinkle of Oats. If farmers feeding animals used more quality native products instead of importing and been pushed unbalanced products the industry would be allot healthier. And this is the main reason that there is 100k + tones of native barley left over since last year as farmers couldn't careless where there product comes from. Barley can happily be fed alone to animals, but no, merchants happier to push a mix with maybe 8 products within.
From my point of view if the animals are doing the required number of cuds and dungs are right, I'm happy. Key is not to push animals bonkers hard with starch levels. High levels of fibre needs is insurance against poor diet construction. Some people love to make things complicated
No I buy in all silage, but try get a decent mineral mix on it pre cutting. I'm not too worried about carcase weight, it's the daily standing charge for animals that's the issue I have. A heifer killing 240 at 17 months in a low cost system, is more preferable to me that one killing 360, at 24 months and a second expensive winter. The shorter the life of an animal the better. Then again I dont push animals as hard as most.
As I said from the beginning, chop straw if only able to make 12e a bale and consider it money in your soil bank, and forget about the messing around trying to please other farmers
Straw would be a lot cheaper than thatHigh dm silage/haylage
Mushroom straw lads around here giving 20 euro a 8x4x4 for wheat straw, I think it's there way of giving the middle finger to grain men for what went on last year.
Pardon my ignorance .
What is NDF ,
And how do you go about putting minerals on silage before cutting it , or why would you want to ?
Allot cheaper than high DM silage?Straw would be a lot cheaper than that