16/11/2020

Week ending 16-11-20 farm notes:

FARM PERFORMANCE

With 60 t DM silage harvested off 25 ha this weekend we have dropped average pasture cover (APC) down to 2010 kg DM/ha.  As these silage paddocks were not too long they haven’t suffered a huge growth check and average pasture growth was 75 kg DM/ha for the week.

Using the pasture prediction model in Pasture Coach we can apply a pasture growth rate (PGR) of 70 across all paddocks which shows that we have a block of feed in 10 to 14 days’ time that may be under pre-graze target. We are on a 23-day rotation with all silage paddocks back in the grazing round so we will be ensuring cows clean up the longer paddocks available now to buy some time for the silage paddocks to return to the rotation and fill the gap.  This situation will be assessed again next week.

Chicory crops continue to grow well; we are two weeks away from starting the calves up on the chicory block.

Turnips received their 1 L/ha of Sequence for grass weeds, along with Kaiso and Sparta for cutworm, springtail and leaf-miner.

ANIMAL WELLBEING

On Sunday we carried out herd testing and BCS to gather information in preparation for milking frequency changes and potential culling lists. The herd average BCS was 4.5. Heifers were at 4.7, which is down 0.2 since the pre-mating scoring.   The MA cows dropped 0.4 since the start of mating.  It is likely that if we continue offering 18-19 kg DM in good grazing conditions, these girls doing 1.75 kg MS/cow/day will be starting to put on weight.

At the moment we have 12 cows on OAD, and the condition scoring identified six more that we will put on OAD, due to their BCS being between 3.5 and 4.

With only 4 weeks of mating to go, the weekly tail paint touch-up is still important.

We met with our vet, Bill from Cambridge Vet Services, to put together our animal health plan for calves.  As this is the first time growing them on farm over summer, we want to get it right. We have planned their Lepto booster and 5 in 1 vaccination as soon as possible, and a drench with Arrest C (combination drench) shortly after weaning before going on to the chicory.  Once on the chicory, we don’t plan to drench again unless they graze back on the milking platform or we see any health indications. They will receive a pour-on for lice at the end of the season and a BVD vaccination in May 2021. We also discussed zinc boluses for the calves in mid-February and again 1^st April to protect against facial eczema.  Using Faceguard over 12 weeks would cost approximately $12/calf.  We will monitor the diet and spore exposure to determine the risk closer to the time.

We also discussed the milking herd; as a result, we have removed copper from the dosatron and decreased MgCl to one bag/day - about 7 g Mg/cow/day.

BUSINESS HEALTH

We are getting some early indications on performance last season with a good payout and challenging dry summer.  We aim to be in the top 20% of operating profit.  These benchmarks will be available closer to the end of the year.  But we can already see that we performed above average (Operating Profit $2,405 vs $1,940 for the Waikato Owner/Operator benchmark).  We had above-average production and revenue, but average expenses.  We know that significant investment in races and change in semen use will bring us returns this season, however it is a timely reminder of how important cost management is relative to your system.  Now is a good time to share your DairyBase results with your business partners and rural lenders and utilise their expertise when revising budgets for the second half of the season.

HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

Nothing to report

QUALITY WORKPLACE

Planning is under way for the summer.  Last year we used a 3-in-2-days milking frequency that fitted our crop feeding system and allowed a reduction in work hours, along with fewer milkings in the heat of the day.  This year we are considering a 10-in-7 change after mating.  We have been following Paul Edwards’ Flexible Milking project (DairyNZ) and information from Brent Boyce to discuss the options with our Farm Management Committee in early December.

We are also working through the options to get one of our team members home again this Autumn as they were unable to travel overseas to be with family during the lockdown.  This is quite a complicated undertaking, so we are seeking professional support to link flights, MIQ and cover for the farm. There are some risks that they may not be able to return to New Zealand as planned.

COMMUNITY

Nothing to report

PLANNING FOR THE MONTH AHEAD:

• Preparing data for the 25^th November Farm Focus Day.

Cheers Jo + Tom