25/05/2020

Week ending 25-5-20 farm notes:

KEY DECISIONS FOR THE WEEK:

• Next Farm Focus Day 24^th June
• Giving team members effective time off
• Restricting further BCS gain on cows

PASTURES AND FEED

Pasture cover increased this week to 2367 kg DM/ha with a growth rate of 41 kg DM/ha. This was higher than expected but due to the warm rain and excellent grazing conditions our pasture growth after grazing has been rapid.  Our 10cm soil temperature at 9am jumped from 9°C for most of the week to 14°C yesterday.  We expect growth to continue above 30 kg DM/ha next week and to continue accumulating cover. We are on a 61-day rotation on the farm including calves; 82 days excluding the calves.

New grass paddocks have all received 30 units of SustaiN after grazing to promote tillering and ensure plant vigour through the winter.

The aim is to get another light grazing from new grasses with the heifers before calving by going back into those paddocks with low pre-grazing covers of around 2000-2300 kg DM/ha.  This will allow the heifers to move through without needing break fences and minimise damage before soils get too wet.

We will not purchase any PKE for the winter and so have cleaned out the last of the PKE in the bunker, with the milkers nibbling about 0.5 kg DM/cow/day. We used approximately 200 t DM (480 kg DM/cow) which is 20 t DM more than last season.

We have put into next season’s budget an extra load to cover forages for winter/spring that we used up in the dry period, but we will wait to purchase as needed and to secure a better price.

Current feed inventory is 30 t silage and 90 bales hay (105 kg DM/cow).

ANIMALS

Individual BCS carried out by Peter from Cambridge Vets showed the herd average is 5.8, with heifers at 6.0, milkers at 5.7, and dries at 5.8.

We are aiming for maintenance feeding levels throughout the next 6 weeks and will monitor cow BCS to determine a strategy for at risk over-conditioned cows in the springer mob.

Feeding levels on pasture: Milkers 14 kg DM, Dries 9 kg DM, heifers 9 kg DM, calves 5-6 kg DM

Cows are only receiving cobalt and selenium through their water. Blood tests will be carried out pre-calving to determine herd trace mineral requirements.

BUSINESS

We’ve updated the 2020-21 cashflow with Fonterra payout of $6.15/kg MS following the range announcement of $5.40 to $6.90.  We used the DairyNZ template and have not made a lot of changes to the original $6 budget we created.  We did, however, create a $5 payout version in the midst of Covid-19 to explore the possibilities if needed.

ENVIRONMENT

So nice on our foggy farm walk today to see the diversity of birds in the Owl Farm habitat. Today it included a grey heron and kingfisher.

Unfortunately, due to the long dry period, some natives in the plantings have been lost; we will look to replace these in the coming year.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Plans are in place for a modified calf rearing system with the arrival of Wagyu calves which will leave the farm at 10-21 days.  We are planning to keep bobbies and Wagyu at a separate end from our replacement heifers to meet biosecurity requirements for vehicles collecting stock as well as keeping pens disinfected between mobs.

PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY

Time away from work is important, but remember to consider the quality of the time off work for both you and your team.  This current situation means lots of people have missed their extended period off farm to visit family, go overseas, or during school holidays, so it’s important to find out what quality time off looks like for everyone.  For us this means planning for some time off when team members can use extended periods of time to visit family overseas which would usually be done in March and April.  Look for options that meet the needs of the individuals in your team.  Maybe, if the roster allows, you could reduce the working week for an extended period of time.

Cheers

Jo + Tom