Autumn grass budget

bruceythom

bruceythom

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering what guys are doing here in relation to the last round grazing. Started our last round a few days ago. We're using a plan we put up on Pasture Base.
 
Have grass here Bruce but my ground conditions are coming against me,grazing grass by day and housed by night, have to keep an eye on them during the day to pull them off in time trying to minimize damage. Any more rain like l we have been getting and it's a case of abandoning ship and just keeping them in
 
Probably wont start till the end of next week around the 10th. Plenty of spur roads and tight on accommodation so will try keep going till 1st December. Aim to close around 650. Find it's easier clean area in feb that way and LESS slurry gives super response in late jan early feb on 5-750 type covers. Most economical to supplement if necessary in late march. Bolsters peak yields and BCS for breeding too. Probably madness but the madness I'm accustomed to
 
Easy budget what’s left here,cows in by night to try and stretch it three more weeks if we’re lucky but just one or two bad days away from housing full time.
Zero recovery on anything grazed in the last two weeks,but ground conditions are good as we have dodged any heavy rain.
I don’t see too much grass anywhere,August really made a phuck out of it.
 
We hit an AFC of 1300 earlier this month so we're going to have a few issues getting that grazed off. Took out a few smaller paddocks for the heifers as they had a much lower AFC. Can get the cows into the driest of that as well if the weather turns. Hoping to keep them out full time till towards the end of the month and might do some on off grazing for a while to see how that goes. Would like to keep them out to Dec 1 but the weather will decide that. Need a good few spur roads as well but that might be a year or two down the road.
 
Still out full time but a slap of rain will put a halt to it very quick. Trying to get to wetter ground at the moment in case we can't get to it again. Our early ground is grazed but will do a quick run over it again in a week's time, after that it's up to the weather to play ball
 
Battling through big covers here for the past month. Growth has slowed a good bit but we will need ground conditions to hold up until December to allow us to get it grazed off. All first lactation cows here so most of the herd will be dry by then. Hope to start closing at the end of the coming week.
 
Barrowsider said:
Battling through big covers here for the past month. Growth has slowed a good bit but we will need ground conditions to hold up until December to allow us to get it grazed off. All first lactation cows here so most of the herd will be dry by then. Hope to start closing at the end of the coming week.
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Almost at the end of your first year in dairy, how have you found it? Another friend of mine told me over the weekend that he has set the wheels in motion to change over from beef to dairying.
 
Nashty said:
Almost at the end of your first year in dairy, how have you found it? Another friend of mine told me over the weekend that he has set the wheels in motion to change over from beef to dairying.
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Very happy. Conversion was tough. Laying concrete, calving a herd of heifers and training them onto robots is heavy going. We were lucky to get a favourable grazing season. Cows are fascinating creatures. The amount of information available is incredible. Delighted we made the move.
 
Barrowsider said:
Very happy. Conversion was tough. Laying concrete, calving a herd of heifers and training them onto robots is heavy going. We were lucky to get a favourable grazing season. Cows are fascinating creatures. The amount of information available is incredible. Delighted we made the move.
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Had you any experience with cows beforehand?
 
Buffer feeding with 10 days now, all heavy covers were grazed before we started feeding at milking times, silage has extended things a lot so far. Will start closing from about the 12th on or around that. Don’t ever get too hung up as ground conditions in the autumn dictate when grazing finishes here. Having a heap of grass mid feb never works out for us here as it’s a tricky farm, from very wet to very dry and the way the last few springs have gone cows never went out until early March. Maize and beet in February and March works well for us with a few hours grass if possible. Horses for courses
 
bruceythom said:
I'm wondering what guys are doing here in relation to the last round grazing. Started our last round a few days ago. We're using a plan we put up on Pasture Base.
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I think I'm on the last round, few heavy covers, one gone to a dairy man for zero grazing, when it's gone it's gone unless the weather ( too wet or too frozen) leads to early housing, beef cattle by the way.
 
Last round here too. Wouldn't want to rain too much more like yesterday as there is a cut in wetter ground already. Not particularly happy with clean outs in places but some covers are strong.

Contemplating buying a few lighter bullocks once some grass fed ones go to mop up for a chunk of November.

This day three weeks is the bank holiday and will have some houses by then or at least nearly housed.
 
On the last round here covers are light with no regrowth the last month to talk about. Had baled a few acres a few weeks ago, plan was to have enough grass in that field to finish into the shed with a bit a buffer feed instead think I'll start opening the Bales next week would be hoping to keep them out till mid November
 
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