Olivia Hynes November/December
Grassland
- Average closing covers of 900kgsDM/ha for February grass
- Closing plan to ensure spring grass
Grassland
To ensure that there is grass available for the ewes and lambs in February , the homefarm in Jamestown has been closed since the end of October. The closing measure in November indicated a cover of 885kgs/DM/ha which is on target for February grazing.
There is a range of 1400kgs/DM/ha down to 350kgs/DM/ha. The low to average covers will be grazed first in February before moving on to the heavier ones.
The ewes are been supplemented with silage from December and are confined to the fields around the yard on the outfarm in Kilcash. Over 50% of the outfarm is also closed in Kilcash. The additional fencing erected in 2022 has allowed for a more controlled closing plan. The ewe flock is not allowd to roam around the farm thereby ensuring grass in February and March.
Animal Nutrition
Silage samples were taken and the results are very good as can be seen below. The pit silage has a DMD% of 72 and a Crude Protein of 13.9%. The grass got a shower of rain before harvesting so the results are welcome relief.
The pit silage is fed to the cows and weanlings. The weanlings are getting 1.5kgs of meal/head/day. With this quality silage it is important that cows don’t get overfat so a close eye is kept on body condition and it will be restricted accordingly.
Animal Health
Faecal Samples were taken and the results outlined a low incidence of rumen fluke. On the vets advice it did not warrant treatment. There was no evidence of worms/fluke from the sample. All the weanlings have been clipped and treated for lice.
