Dairy Newsletter - April 2023

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In this month's edition:

• Top five tips for April
  1. Weigh your bulling heifers – if you are using sexed semen on a synchronisation protocol on your heifers, make sure the heifers are on target weight and cycling to improve conception rates. 
  2. As we move into midseason grazing management, it is important the herd is fed properly during peak milk and breeding season. 
  3. Include sulphur in your fertiliser regime. Most farms will require 15-20 units of sulphur/acre spread over three to four applications.
  4. Select your cows for dairy AI breeding. Selecting from your better cows will improve genetics. Pick high Dairy Beef Index (DBI) bulls with good carcass traits for use on the remainder of the herd.
  5. Select paddocks that are suitable for clover incorporation. These paddocks should have high soil fertility and lime status. Incorporating clover early and managing it thereafter allows for a higher success rate.
• Think clover this April
  Given the current crisis in the fertiliser market and implications for fertiliser use on farms from the EU Farm to Fork strategy, the urgency to establish clover and to reduce chemical nitrogen (N) fertiliser use is now here. Given the high forage quality of the clover plant, there is a benefit to cow performance (higher yield of milk solids).
• Feeding for fertility this breeding season
  This spring was a game of two halves, in terms of herd feeding management. The good weather in February saw cows out to grass and intakes were good overall. Things were a bit more challenging in March due to bad weather; however, the consensus among many discussion groups has been that cows have emerged from the first round in relatively good condition.
• Managing the second grazing rotation
  April grazing targets - Many farms had a very fast start to grazing this spring due to good weather in February, but a wet March put the brakes on for many. The second rotation should begin when the grass is almost right for grazing, i.e., 1,100-1,200kg DM/ha. It is important to walk the farm and keep an eye on the first three to four paddocks that were grazed this spring.
• Health & Safety - Mind your sight
  Loss of sight is a major disability. An ophthalmic physician has recently drawn attention to the dangers of using hydrated lime (builders’ lime) on eye sight. Another major cause of sight loss is puncture by a thorn, which injects a toxin into the eye. Getting metal into the eye during repair or workshop activities is another major hazard.