John Dunne January/February Update 2024
Performance
- 47 weanlings are out on silage and rape
- John will let out more weanlings in February
Biodiversity
John joined the ACRES scheme in 2022 and selected a number of actions to help water quality and to promote biodiversity on his farm. He fenced 2927m of a 1.5m Riparian margin mainly along the river Barrow which borders the farm in Tinacrannagh. He also installed 2 owl boxes and his attention is now turning to planting 100m of a new hedge.
It is a job with a deadline of March 31st 2024 under the acres scheme but also his attention will turn to calving the 90 cows in February so getting the job done is an absolute priority.
He wants to follow best practise to ensure that the hedge will get a good start and to ensure that it will become stockproof in a few years time. The following are the steps he took ;
- John hired out a mini digger for a day and created a soil bed ie turned the sod upside down .It makes it very easy to plant the thorn quicks into loose soil. There was no requirement to spray off the area beforehand.
- The whitethorn were planted in a double staggered row, with at least 5 plants per metre as per Acres specifications
- One tree every 50m will be allowed to grow up in the hedge and John has put a tree guard around the plant selected . This will identify the plant so that it is not pruned.
- The trees were cut at an angle 1 inch above ground level.
- A compostable plastic/film was placed over the trees to prevent weeds from growing directly around the trees
- The plastic/film was pressed into the soil using a spade so that the clay will hold it down.
- To increase the species variation he used Alder intermittently .
- The hedge will be fenced on both sides to prevent livestock accessing the trees.
- John will keep a close eye on the hedge any plants that fail will be replaced.
Picture 1: Whitethorn quicks, compostable plastic and tree guards
Picture 2: John hired out a mini digger to prepare the ground
Picture 3: Owl box installed in the hayshed
Performance
The weanlings housed indoors are on good quality silage plus 2 kgs of meal. There are 47 weanlings out on rape and are supplemented with silage plus 2 kgs of meal. John wants to have all the rape and silage used by the start of March so he intends to let out another 60 weanlings. The weanlings will them be moved to the outfarm in Rathfeston come March 1st.
Picture 4: 47 weanlings are on rape and silage, 2kg of meal with a dry lie-back area
Picture 5: Rape and bales of silage to be used at the end of February
Picture 6: These weanlings are targeted for turnout in early February
Animal Health
Calving the 90 cows will start in early February, 2 weeks earlier than last year. The calving areas are all ready and bedded with straw. John installed a camera system last year and this has been a great help. John’s son James is on work placement and will be at home during the week , which will be a big addition from a labour point of view. John vaccinated with Rotavec corona in early January.
Picture 7: Small fridge to store vaccinations and animal medicines
Picture 8: All ready for calving in 2024
Grassland
There will be a big demand for grass in February as John will aim to let the cows out as they calve. There is a cover of 700kgs/DM/ha on the silage ground ,which is ideal for letting stock out onto rather than heavy covers of grass. In the next week, John will source Protected urea and blanket spread 20 units/ acre when all the conditions are right ie dry ground and soil temperature > 5 degrees on a consistent basis. After grazing, slurry will be applied at 2500gals/acre.
Picture 9: Silage field will be grazed in February given the right conditions