William Kinston May/June Update 2023
Silage update
- First cut silage harvested
- Fields are closed up & fertilised for second cut silage
- Kale has been sown on the farm
Latest weights at grass
- Latest weights for 2022 born weanlings
- 2021 born bulls are performing well, on target for finishing under 16 months
- Spring born bulls & heifers are also growing well since birth
Progress on new shed
- Work has started on the new shed
- The roof on the old shed has been removed
- New gutters installed on adjoining round roof shed
Grassland
Silage cutting began on the out farm on 29th May with 3 fields harvested that yielded 9 bales/acre on average. The pit silage was made on the home farm on 4th June and it averaged 3.9 t DM/ha (or just under 8 bales to the acre).
The main silage fields have been closed again for second cut silage and were given 38 to 56 units of protected urea per acre, along with slurry which was applied with a dribble bar at approximately 2500 gallons per acre. Grazing paddocks were spread with 18 units per acre of 38% protected urea + 7% sulphur.
Kale was sown in a paddock on the out farm on 19th June. The field was rotovated, farmyard manure was spread and then the field was rotovated again. The seed was spread with a manure spreader and is starting to strike already. Some grass is coming back, but William is happy with the results so far. The field can be grazed in the autumn by the cows and calves that will be housed there. It is a dry field, easy to access from a passageway and there is also access to a grass lie back for cross compliance purposes.
Figure 1: Kale seedlings starting to appear
Performance
The 2022 autumn bulls (23) were weighed on 24th June. They were an average weight of 418kg and gained 1.18kg/day since 25th march.
The 2022 autumn heifers (15) were weighed on the same day and averaged 363kg, after gaining 0.88kg/day. They are ahead of last year’s heifers at the same age which is great to see.
The 2023 spring bull (1) weighed 212kg on 24th June and gained 1.4 kg/day since birth on 25th February.
The 2023 spring heifer (1) weighed 208kg on 24th June and gained 1.45kg/day since birth on 28th February.
Two heifers were slaughtered on 25th May at 19 months of age. They averaged 368kg carcass weight and graded U-4+ on average, making an average price of €1999.84 per head.
Four empty cows were slaughtered on 21st June. They averaged 449kg carcass weight, graded R+4= and averaged €2047 per head.
The heaviest and oldest bulls will be housed for finishing in mid-August.
Figure 2: Bull number 718. Born 19th July 2022 and weighed 568kg on 24th June 2023.
Health and Safety
Work has begun on the shed on the out farm. The roof of the old shed has been knocked and new gutters have been installed on the adjoining shed. Work is ongoing and William hopes that it will be complete before this winter so that half of the autumn cows and calves can be housed there.
A new slatted tank, new cubicles for the cows and a straw bedded lie back for the calves is being constructed. It is expected that this will save a lot of work moving cattle to and from both farms, as well as reducing workload with scraping an old cubicle shed during the housing period.
Figure 3: Works are ongoing on the new shed