28/09/2020

Week ending 28-9-20 farm notes:

FARM PERFORMANCE

With a growth rate of 69kgDM/ha/day we have lifted APC to 2300kgDM/ha.  The feed wedge shows paddocks that are destined for crops in blue and silage in red. When we remove these paddocks from the available grazing area our stocking rate lifts to 3.26cows/ha and daily demand (allocating 19kgDM/cow/day) becomes 62kgDM/ha/day.  We are still offering around 6ha/day which puts us on a 21 day rotation with a pre-grazing target of 2800kgDM/ha.  The second wedge illustrates just how close to the line we are running. We are confident that after this rain PGR will continue to increase and we will comfortably ensile this 50t DM surplus. We have 80 paddocks at Owl Farm so feed allocation and monitoring is like plating up an entrée and a main and sometimes even a dessert within a day.  A mid morning paddock check will decide how far off the second move of the day a herd is.  It also allows for observation of cycling cows.  Paddock allocations are based on tidying up a residual if needed first and allocating in 5 or 9 kgDM/cow servings. This system while intensive for the early spring period allows us to generate enough grazing pressure to achieve residuals and allocate 19kgDM/cow/day. Cows continue to produce over 2.2kgMS/cow/day.  This is our third week over 2.2kgMS/cow/day and seventh week over 2.1 kgMS/cow/day. We contribute this to good cow condition and consistent quality pasture allocation.

This year we have the majority of our summer crops on one side of the farm which has meant less area for the second herd.  We have used PK to top up their allocation when needed during the week.

Annual paddocks have been sprayed and are due to be cut for silage after this weather passes.

ANIMAL HEALTH & WELFARE

27 CIDRs used this season which is 6.6% of our herd compared with 15% last season.

Last Wednesday the heifers were mated and the bulls will join them on the 30^th September.

We have created a Farmax model for the calf grazing block to generate a more detailed feedbudget. We will require 16 tDM PK and 14tDM of pasture silage to go with the 4.7 ha of Chicory to achieve 200kg lwt/hd at 1^st May. We estimate this feed regime will cost us approx. $6.7/hd/wk excluding labour.

BUSINESS HEALTH

We budget on buying up to 200tDM of PK each season (average price $317/tDM landed).  So far we have purchased 60tDM. This week we made the decision to contract another 100 tDM of PK at a landed price of $306/tDM. This component of feed is to compliment our summer crop feeding from Jan to March at up to 3kgDM/cow/day. The remainder of the diet (8kgDM/cow/day) is made up of pasture or pasture silage depending on the growth.

HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

At last weeks Focus Day James Sukias and Chris Tanner presented the results from the last 3 drainage seasons through the wetland.  Nitrogen enters mainly as nitrate in groundwater seepage and tile drainage, with around double the concentration in the latter. There is a significant relationship between how long water stays in the wetland (hydraulic residence time) and how effective nitrate removal is in the wetland. Best removal occurs when the water is retained in the wetland for a week or more. Overall nitrate load removal over the 3 years monitored is estimated to be around 62% at the Owl Farm wetland. This puts us at the top of performance expectations for a wetland of our size.

QUALITY WORKPLACE

Work is underway modifying our calf weighing facilities to allow weighing up to 200kg.  Workplace design is to keep both people and animals as safe as possible when interacting.  We will be weighing the calves 3 times before Xmas to determine weaning and every 4-6 weeks after that. Ensuring a positive experience for the calves will make them quieter to handle by our team and any students.

A vacancy has come up in our team for a drive-in casual relief milker to support the team for the remainder of the season. If you know anyone who lives around the Cambridge district who could commit to morning and afternoon milkings throughout the summer we are keen to meet them.

Any time we have our vet at the farm is a learning opportunity.  Today we had some troublesome foot issues that Bill was able to trim and treat.  This was a great opportunity for LaArni to learn what symptoms and treatment was required.  Taking the time to expose team members to new skills for continued growth is part of our commitment to growing a talent workforce.

COMMUNITY

It was a pleasure to host our farming community at our latest Focus Day on Wednesday. This is a chance for attendees to gain knowledge from industry experts. It’s also a time for us to hear from leading farmers about what they are working on and achieving and gather feedback on the areas that we need to improve on.  If you couldn’t make it along to the day you can find the handout on the website and soon the video will be available on our YouTube channel.

PLANNING FOR THE MONTH AHEAD:

• Plant crops
• Cut quality silage
• Weigh calves

Cheers Jo + Tom