Well, getting out the paddling pool worked. Almost too well! It can stop raining for another six weeks any time now.
We’ve had more rain in the past two weeks than the previous two months, with more than 100mm since mid-May.
On the plus side, the moisture came in enough time for the spring wheat and it’s now looking really well.
See also: How a slurry inoculant helped increase grass yields by 20%
About the author
Colin Murdoch
Ayrshire farmer and zero grazer Colin Murdoch switched from Holsteins to milking 225 Jerseys in 2019. The 182ha farm grows 40ha of winter and spring barley for a total mixed ration and parlour fed system supplying Graham’s Family Dairy.
We use it to produce wholecrop, which last year we sandwiched between two cuts of grass, but this meant a bit of hassle to balance using it all at the same rate.
This year’s plan will be to keep it separate – we just need to work out how before it’s ready.
We’re still cutting grass with the zero grazer and mixing it through the diet feeder.
At this time of year, it’s always a battle to maintain quality, with grass just wanting to become stalky and go to seed.
I don’t think the hot, dry weather followed by the rain has helped, with plants becoming stressed.
But this will pass in the next couple of weeks and it’ll become easier again.
If we get a weather window in the next 7-10 days, we’ll hopefully get second cut done, although I think yields might be back a bit. Thank goodness for the carryover from last year.
The deep-rooted docks have certainly done well, however, we’ve sprayed a lot of acres this year.
We recently tried using a 15m spot sprayer with cameras, and it has worked very well, with a fraction of the chemical used and no clover killed.
Cow condition and yields are being maintained. I asked ChatGPT to give me the energy-corrected milk calculation and it came out at 36 litres. If only we were getting paid for that amount.
We’ve actually had the problem recently of drying Jerseys off still doing more than 20 litres a day.
One benefit of the cows being in is slurry tanks are filling back up again.
We’re not allowed to use the little diverter plates on the bottom of dribble bar hoses up here, which frustrates me when you see the damage done to grass by leaving slurry in lines.
The powers that be seem unwilling to even engage in dialogue about their use even though they’re fine everywhere else.
