Dairy Newsletter - July 2024

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In this month's edition:

• Top five tips for July
  1. Winter feed budget: with more fodder used than normal last winter, and relatively poor grass growth to date this year, it is important to complete a feed budget for the coming winter.
  2. Keep focused on grass: it is important to continue to walk the farm regularly to assess grass availability and quality. Target a pre-grazing yield of 1,300-1,400kg DM/ha. 
  3. End the breeding season: cows bred in July will not calve until mid to late April. Late-calving cows are less profitable – minimise the late tail on next year’s calving season by sticking to your planned end of breeding season date.
  4. Plan for oversowing clover: identify paddocks that you would like to oversow with clover next year. Use the remainder of this year to rectify pH and weed issues to have the best possible chance for success next year.
  5. Take time off: it has been a tough year both physically and mentally for farmers and their families. Arrange to take some time off to recharge your batteries.
• Grass quality issues
  Grass quality has become a persistent problem for the last few weeks, largely driven by the poor weather conditions. This has resulted in more stemming of grass and less tillering; this is why we have open and stemmy swards prevailing now. Milk protein content has been much lower than normal, as it is very sensitive to grass quality and particularly digestibility.
• Potash needs to be returned
  The capability of grass to grow starts below the surface. If the major elements of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are compromised, less grass will be grown. A lot of soils are index 1 or 2 for K, and are therefore deficient in this element. This is particularly true of silage ground. However, this is now becoming more common on the grazing area.
• Have realistic expectations of new employees
  Finding good employees is a challenge for all industries, not just dairy farming. It is commonly said that because finding employees is a challenge, employing any available person is better than having nobody at all. Is this true? The answer is probably no in many cases, but it depends on the specific situation.
• Getting more from your own figures
  We recently hosted farmer representatives from over 60 dairy discussion groups at a workshop in Teagasc Moorepark. Topics covered were margins and costs of production, N and clover, and getting more from discussion group meetings.