John Pringle: Preparations for winter silage after a challenging spring
Spring 2024 has been long and hard, and has tested the resolve of most farmers in Ireland. John Pringle will be ensuring he has enough silage for the coming winter.
Spring 2024 was long, testing the resolve of many Irish farmers, particularly in the southeast, where shorter winters are the norm. John faced tight conditions but learned from the experience.
He credits his vaccination program, which includes Rotavirus, Coronavirus, and E.Coli, for mitigating scour in calves. With a prolonged spring and delayed turnout, coupled with a straw shortage, he encountered minor issues with two calves in late April but managed them successfully with electrolyte treatments.
The breeding season was set to commence on May 10th, with bulls already preparing. By feeding the cows 1.5kg of concentrate indoors, John ensured they maintained good condition.
Fertilising of grazing land involved 20 units of nitrogen as protected urea and a half bag of 18-20-0 per acre. The silage fields, grazed by sheep and subsequently closed, received 2,500 gallons of slurry per acre, to be followed by a bag of urea (46%) and cut late May.
Hedges and trees have been planted and fenced, a lot of hard work in a hard spring.
Breeding
The calving season concluded at the end of April with a total of 38 mature cows and 9 first calvers, producing 49 calves, marking a successful season.
The thoughts now turn to the breeding season, which will start on the 10th of May. With the late spring, John feeds 1.5kgs of meal to the cows to keep them in good condition. For the sake of two tonnes of meal, he doesn't want his calving date to slip.
The yearling heifers went out to grass in Mid-March. Despite the challenging conditions, they have performed well as they were not forced to graze out.
The two bulls are out too, get limbered up for the season ahead.
Calf suckling cow
Cows and calves at grass
Animal Health
John has learned the importance of vaccinating against scour diseases like Rota, Corona, and E.coli. Since starting vaccinations after a difficult experience in 2018, he has noticed significant benefits, especially this year amidst late turnouts and straw shortages that adversely affected other local farmers. He also administers IBR vaccines one month before breeding season to control virus spread and decrease disease. John ensures calves get a good start by feeding high-quality pre-calving minerals, which helps them to quickly begin feeding after birth. He does not vaccinate against Leptospirosis due to having a closed herd and no existing issues with the disease on his farm.
Cows and calves at grass
Grassland
John highlighted the importance of a mid-February nitrogen application, crucial for setting up the year's grass growth. Current applications on grazing and silage fields aimed to compensate for slow early growth due to the weather.
For now, he has applied 20 units of nitrogen in the form of pro urea and a half bag of 18-20-0 per acre on grazing ground.
He will have to graze 3-4 acres of silage ground as the first paddocks won’t be strong enough by the time he finishes grazing all the fields. But the weather is dry now, the dry matter in the grass is increasing, they will slow down moving through the grass. His plan is to close more area than normal for second cut as he does not want to be as tight next winter for silage.
Silage fields are now closed
Biodiversity
John has planted 800 meters of hedgerows and 150 native trees in accordance with his acres plan. With the sheep, there is a lot of extra work in the fencing but his father Billy has been a great help. They used the sheep’s wool as a weed barrier and it has worked really well.
John's vision is to have all his fields bounded on three sides by these hedgerows, not only to provide shelter but also to serve as corridors for wildlife, enhancing biodiversity on his farm.
Trees planted