James Strain on farm with his daughter.
To say we are having a late spring is a bit on an understatement at this stage.
Temperatures are staying extremely low, with frost at night and hail and sleet showers during the day. Grass growth is almost non-existent.
Ground conditions were not too bad up until the middle of last week, but heavy rain from the May bank holiday on has set things back considerably.
I now have half my cows back in the shed, with their calves having access to an adjacent paddock.
Cows are getting silage only as well as Cal Mag dusted on top - hopefully, it won’t be for a long period of time.
Grass paddocks have wintered well on most dairy farms
He commented:
“Early spring grass is a very valuable source of nutrition, as it combines high levels of fibre, energy and protein.
The challenge confronting dairy farmers with spring calving cows over the coming weeks is that of hitting what’s called the sweet spot. The freshly calved cow is in a high stress state, so she needs a fair bit of management.
“It’s then a case of maximising grass intakes while minimising sward and ground damage.
“There are many dynamics associated with early lactation nutrition as cows are metabolically at their most stressed post-calving and grazing conditions can be challenging,” Patton said.
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