Is it all just fear? - Winter feed thread

but would add 4k to the bill, and take a lot more time at feeding time , a small amount of bales are ok but after that they turn into a nuisance.

Pit covers, tyres, silasave for sides, waste on sides, secondary fermentation,

Bales are no dearer if doing three cuts.
 
I agree whole heartedly with 70ac going into a pit in one day is never ideal in fact 70ac a day would be slow going by some outfits. You cant beat doing it yourself in our eyes but its something that you would have to be that way inclined in the first place and have a fair idea what your doing! Some outfits are so much of a rush they hardly have time to roll the pit and would dream of lending a hand to cover it! Better taking a few smaller cuts aswell.
I dont agree with the diet feeder comments pre calving minerals are evenly distributed through the mix and you have next to no wastage from fussy cows picking through grabs of silage. It suits us feeding different mixes for cattle mixing meal and chopping beat so we may aswell use it for the cows!
 
One of the pits (the smallest) is the fairly common indoor pit with a round roof with leantos each side (only 3bay also), going forward I'll probably end up using that for stock, and put a slatted tank in front of it. Its an utter waste having a roof over the silage now! I'll make up the difference by a mix of more bales, extending the other 2 pits (probably with earth banks to keep costs down), and then better grassland management and road infrastructure to extend the grazing season (actually that final point would be the top priority!)

But yeh, I'll probably aim to do have 2 or possibly 3 1st cuts next year to take the pressure off, and cut the fields that are ready at the right time. Weather is the obviously skeleton in the closet to my ideal plans ha, Lobbing it all in in the last weekend of May this year turned out to be the luckiest break we got all year!

In terms of a diet feeder, I've way more important things to spend capital on over the next few years, infact I think I'd be sooner going down a totally extensive spring milking only route than diet feeders etc etc.
 
One of the pits (the smallest) is the fairly common indoor pit with a round roof with leantos each side (only 3bay also), going forward I'll probably end up using that for stock, and put a slatted tank in front of it. Its an utter waste having a roof over the silage now! I'll make up the difference by a mix of more bales, extending the other 2 pits (probably with earth banks to keep costs down), and then better grassland management and road infrastructure to extend the grazing season (actually that final point would be the top priority!)

But yeh, I'll probably aim to do have 2 or possibly 3 1st cuts next year to take the pressure off, and cut the fields that are ready at the right time. Weather is the obviously skeleton in the closet to my ideal plans ha, Lobbing it all in in the last weekend of May this year turned out to be the luckiest break we got all year!

In terms of a diet feeder, I've way more important things to spend capital on over the next few years, infact I think I'd be sooner going down a totally extensive spring milking only route than diet feeders etc etc.

with the amount of storage you would need for dirty water and effluent on outside pits, i'd say a roof is starting to become a must for silage pits.

i'm still sold on bales tbh, but it's hard to explain to anyone how spending more money can make you money:sweatdrop:
 
A bit like spring calving herds with diet feeders, the silage should be more than good enough to put weight on or maintain in calf cows.

I know a die hard spring calver with NZ tattoes and crossbreds and everything, who has a feeder and grows maize too.
 
Agree wholeheartidly. A bit like spring calving herds with diet feeders, the silage should be more than good enough to put weight on or maintain in calf cows.

:whistling:
There's more than one reason for a spring-calver to have a diet feeder.
Our pit is about 5/6 minutes from our milking parlour so to feed silage in Feb I'd need to make 8 runs a day with the tractor and loader.
Also depending on when you are in the country (and weather) spring calving could mean a month or two before you're above 12kg DM of fresh grass per cow. For an early start to the season, meaning a cow will peak on grass (rather than calve in April when grass is in full flush), a diet feeder is a great choice for reducing meal feeding by mixing fodder types before grass kicks in
 
i wish i had a diet feeder this year to feed more straw as dry cows are getting a bit over fat on meal
 
:whistling:
There's more than one reason for a spring-calver to have a diet feeder.
Our pit is about 5/6 minutes from our milking parlour so to feed silage in Feb I'd need to make 8 runs a day with the tractor and loader.
Also depending on when you are in the country (and weather) spring calving could mean a month or two before you're above 12kg DM of fresh grass per cow. For an early start to the season, meaning a cow will peak on grass (rather than calve in April when grass is in full flush), a diet feeder is a great choice for reducing meal feeding by mixing fodder types before grass kicks in

Ah fair enough. I suppose I was being too narrow minded as I have had that argument with people trying to convince me that a diet feeder would be very beneficial to me. It wouldnt, cows are dry now and conditioned scored, most are only getting a limited amount of mediocre silage with a few add-lib, They'll be calving down 23rd Jan with the maJority calved by end of Feb, normally grass starts into the diet here the first week of Feb and normally out day and night first week of March (though looks like poor covers for spring). So one wouldnt benefit me.
That said, its an expensive way to transport silage, if that was a reason for getting one, I think Id be hooking up to my tipping trailer.
I reckon Id have 2-3 weeks work a year here for a diet feeder, Id have a lot more for a zero grazer to be honest, but thats another story!!
 
That said, its an expensive way to transport silage, if that was a reason for getting one, I think Id be hooking up to my tipping trailer.
I reckon Id have 2-3 weeks work a year here for a diet feeder, Id have a lot more for a zero grazer to be honest, but thats another story!!

We tried that at first, before my time....dad did it for 2 days then swore never to do it again. Absolute mess:lol:

That's the thing about the feeder, I'm not just transporting (although that was the first reason for it), it also allows to up the mix along with the silage like 4255 is saying like stray and chops steamy silage increasing uptake.
If you're dry cows are beside silage, if you have grass in early february, and the stocking rate on the grazing platform means you don't need to get as much from outfarms (why we grew maize a few years ago) then there's little reason for a diet feeder
 
Two of my pits are in my 2nd yard, which is about a min drive from the main pit and feeding passage (on the road also), The main pit wont do all the milking cows so I end up drawing a load on the tipping trailer most days. I'll agree that it isn't ideal, but I've got it down to a fine art now, I tip out 1/2 the load at 2 specific spots, very little messing to push it in with the sheargrab then.

Long term I got to sort that messing out though, I'll probably solve that by extending out the main pit now, and throw more silage bales in that yard.
 
Now that we are into 2013, whats the on farm feed situation? will anybody be changing plans as a result of lack of feed, or cost of buying feed? whats the land/grass situation like? we are ok for feed we will be starting some cattle on a finishing diet soon and we should be ok, land is extremely wet up here after speaking to a few other farmers recently, there is some land up here that wont take cattle april 1st, we will end up finishing more cattle indoors and putting less to grass to allow land time to recover, and take a cut of haylage in may. Whats the situation everywhere else?
 
Now that we are into 2013, whats the on farm feed situation? will anybody be changing plans as a result of lack of feed, or cost of buying feed? whats the land/grass situation like? we are ok for feed we will be starting some cattle on a finishing diet soon and we should be ok, land is extremely wet up here after speaking to a few other farmers recently, there is some land up here that wont take cattle april 1st, we will end up finishing more cattle indoors and putting less to grass to allow land time to recover, and take a cut of haylage in may. Whats the situation everywhere else?
Not good backs to the wall situation reckon i have enough silage till mid-Febuary.Feeding heavily to try and prolong what little is left.
Little or no grass cover either.
Land is compleatly waterlogged with no hope of moving on it.
The forecast for the weekend is giving frost so we might have some chance of getting out slurry.
It's going to take a long time to recover from 2012:crying:
 
It's back to the walls alright.:sweatdrop:

Cork is out of straw apparently too, they're going up to Carlow, Killkenny for it.
 
i hope we can strech out till mid march here , have too many replacment heifers for next year might try and sell them
 
It's back to the walls alright.:sweatdrop:

Cork is out of straw apparently too, they're going up to Carlow, Killkenny for it.
Are Kerry Co-op buying silage and paying for transport for their suppliers and deducting it from this years milk cheques?????
 
Are Kerry Co-op buying silage and paying for transport for their suppliers and deducting it from this years milk cheques?????

i bet not, Finding this year a pain in the ass waiting for feed to turn up. there are 4 main ingredients in the stock diets and some weeks Im down to only having 2 to work with. it a bloody pain
 
Some of ye whinge too much,what if ye farmed land in the Shannon callows and it has been un workable in 2years and had to rent land as far as 50miles away to graze stock and buy fodder? Get out the cheque book and buy for next month not next week and ye be in a better position to know if you have to sell.any stock near finishing push them and dump them,less to feed when their gone.

Sometimes if you lightly out winter stock and give them meal they will survive,I've 60 weanlings and 22 incalf heifers out to spare silage
 
Are Kerry Co-op buying silage and paying for transport for their suppliers and deducting it from this years milk cheques?????

I heard something similar but it was secondhand information so I wasnt sure.
 
Even in the funny south east there are lots ate out already and guaranteed every weekend to see silage bales on the go.

Will be okay for silage here and straw, moving back on to wetter but better dmd silage next weekend.

Luckily we finished some cattle off grass and so took the pull off with lighter replacements in their place.
Barley could be tight.

Everywhere very wet still, letting water off wet land for the last two weekends and stubbles :thumbdown:
 
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