Out wintering calves

[bruceythom]

Sowing it again this year. Power harrowing first, then mixing the seed with 10-10-20 to broadcast it.

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[bruceythom]

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[bruceythom]

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[bruceythom]

Placing out the bales.

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[49801]

Sowing it again this year. Power harrowing first, then mixing the seed with 10-10-20 to broadcast it.

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Very interesting thread!
Are you taking your own advice and just sowing westerwolds?

 

[bruceythom]

Very interesting thread!
Are you taking your own advice and just sowing westerwolds?

No, haven't given up on the redstart!! No westerwolds sown. Will keep thread updated. Top dress in 2-3 weeks.

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[bruceythom]

.....and 6 days later.....

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[311]

We sowed 6.5 acres of redstart yesterday, a bit later than I'd have liked but that can't be changed now.
The field was coming out of an old ley and was given 3 runs with a 4m Lemken Heliodor before sowing with a gutler.

 

[bruceythom]

Is this your first time you sowed Redstart? Last year was my first time, hard to get advice on it. We sprayed off the field, plastered it with slurry, ripped it, one run of the power harrow, then broadcast the seeds by mixing it with the fertiliser.

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[311]

Is this your first time you sowed Redstart? Last year was my first time, hard to get advice on it. We sprayed off the field, plastered it with slurry, ripped it, one run of the power harrow, then broadcast the seeds by mixing it with the fertiliser.

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Yes it's our first time, what fertiliser did you put on? I didn't slurry it, soil indexes are high and it hasn't been ploughed in at least 45 years so it'll have plenty of power. Using catch crops is not so straightforward for us as well be serving heifers from November so we can really only put either the spring born calves or heifers due in the spring onto it. It's as much an experiment in getting a break before the new ley as it is in winter grazing.

 

[bruceythom]

Yes it's our first time, what fertiliser did you put on? I didn't slurry it, soil indexes are high and it hasn't been ploughed in at least 45 years so it'll have plenty of power. Using catch crops is not so straightforward for us as well be serving heifers from November so we can really only put either the spring born calves or heifers due in the spring onto it. It's as much an experiment in getting a break before the new ley as it is in winter grazing.

I put out 150kgs of 10-10-20 to the acre at sowing, and 75kgs of super NET about 10 days later. It's powering ahead now.

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[bruceythom]

Standing a good 2 foot high now, powerful crop of feed.

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[4255]

Standing a good 2 foot high now, powerful crop of feed.

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thats a good looking crop

 

[aidank]

Standing a good 2 foot high now, powerful crop of feed.

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big field- obviously its a v dry field so that the calves will have a dry place to lie down ?

you will reseed with grass next spring ?

 

[bruceythom]

big field- obviously its a v dry field so that the calves will have a dry place to lie down ?

you will reseed with grass next spring ?

3 acres. Not desperately dry, just left the grass growing at the headlands for a lie back. If conditions get sloppy, I'll bring them in. Plough and sow grass late March/early April.


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[311]

Standing a good 2 foot high now, powerful crop of feed.

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Ours is a long way behind that, it's only really getting going now. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow

 

[Tim818]

There is a chap over on boards.ie who has planted some down in wexford, and its looking similarly impressive, despite the whole of the south east never getting out of the drought, I'd certainly consider some next year also myself! I wounder would it grow in a very sandy field? 2 or 3 paddocks on a large sandbank, which never muckup in the winter, ideal for outwintering.

 

[bruceythom]

Finally, I have them out on it. A fantastic crop of stuff. I do think I could get away with and maybe even benefit fron sowung it a bit lighter next year as there are a few areas where the Redstart has grown thick and tall with light stems and has layed over a bit, its still perfectly good fodder, but just a little point to notice. Heifers are very content on it.

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[Peter]

Whats the average daily gain of the cattle in comparison to similer inthe shed?

 

[sheep farmer]

Bruceythom we sowed a crop of stubble turnips and rape last year for to winter rams on and turned out very poor growth and yield, in the same field we done the same this year with the seed rate a little less and we have 4 times the crop this year and have weanlings on it at present before we put the sheep on it to clean up the turnips, just shows how things grow in a good year

 

[bruceythom]

Bruceythom we sowed a crop of stubble turnips and rape last year for to winter rams on and turned out very poor growth and yield, in the same field we done the same this year with the seed rate a little less and we have 4 times the crop this year and have weanlings on it at present before we put the sheep on it to clean up the turnips, just shows how things grow in a good year

Difference of two autumns! I'd say half the reason ours was better this year was weather and half because of husbandry. We broadcast the seed here and at corners and headlands where the seed would be lighter, the redstart seems to be stronger in the stem.

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[311]

Our calves have been on the redstart for a week now, its a poor crop but theyre happy on it and doing a nice job of cleaning it out.
I think it wont last much more than the three weeks that it'll take to save silage equivalent to the cost of growing it.

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[bruceythom]

I'm not looking to criticise, this is a learning exercise for me too, that is a poor crop given the growthy autumn. What do you think is the reason why? It does look like they have very little harm done to the stubbles though, so you're probably looking at a regrowth there. Did you spread sulphur? Is it a compaction thing, as in is it lighter at the headlands?

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[311]

I'm not looking to criticise, this is a learning exercise for me too, that is a poor crop given the growthy autumn. What do you think is the reason why? It does look like they have very little harm done to the stubbles though, so you're probably looking at a regrowth there. Did you spread sulphur? Is it a compaction thing, as in is it lighter at the headlands?

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I dont think its compaction, its variable across field, one headland is in grass.
Sulphur could be a problem, it only got 1 bag of CAN.
We did sow 3-4 weeks later than you and a field of rape beside then in laws farm that was sowed a week earlier isn't any better looking.

 

[bruceythom]

I dont think its compaction, its variable across field, one headland is in grass.
Sulphur could be a problem, it only got 1 bag of CAN.
We did sow 3-4 weeks later than you and a field of rape beside then in laws farm that was sowed a week earlier isn't any better looking.

Right, so its either sowing date or sulfur that's key, I'd imagine it's sulfur TBh

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