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Dairy Reminders for April 2005

By Department of Primary Industries - 21st April 2005 - Back to News

Pastures
Long term pasture growth rates for April are 15-25kg DM/ha/day on dryland farms across Gippsland following the autumn rainfall. The irrigated pastures of the MID are also expected to be 15-25kg DM/ha/day.

Ryegrass leaf appearance rates for mid-April are estimated to be 12-14 days depending on soil moisture and growth conditions, therefore pasture rotations should be around 35- 40 days to allow ryegrass to reach 3 leaf stage.

After the good start to the autumn, it is important to allow pastures to grow to attain the 3 leaf stage thus generating a greater leaf area to undertake photosynthesis, which further increases the growth rate of pastures. Therefore, keep feeding off the remaining summer crop or supplementary feeding your herd until the new pastures have reached the 3 leaf stage. This may mean providing the herd with a small portion of their diet in pasture and the remainder as fodder crop silage, hay, pellets or grain. This may mean extra supplements for a few weeks after the break, but it will generate more grass for late autumn and winter saving supplement in the long term.

Perennial rye grass/clover pastures need to be sown before the end of April to allow establishment prior to the cold winter temperatures.

Consider the use of Nitrogen fertiliser on any paddocks that has a good pasture cover. Good results are expected this autumn, as we will not have the sudden burst of growth we normally get with experiencing a hot, dry summer.

Cows
The fodder crops need to be grazed out to allow the paddock to be sown to pasture before the soil temperature drops.

Don’t offer excessive amounts of forage brassica crop (above 5kg DM/ day/cow) to the dairy herd or photosensitivity may occur.

Avoid grazing forage rape or turnip crops that are flowering, as plants at that stage can cause stock health issues.

The autumn rains bring mice and rats indoors. Grain and pellets contaminated with mice faeces may carry salmonella. To prevent the risk of salmonella, seal silos and feed storage areas and undertake a rodent control program.

With plenty of green pasture in the paddocks it will be difficult to dry off cows that are producing a quantity of milk. When drying off cows don’t be tempted to milk cows intermittently. Milking every second day only prolongs the drying off process and can increase the risk of mastitis. Feeding pasture of reduced quality and quantity will successfully lower milk production levels for drying off.

Dry cows need 6-8 weeks spell to allow for the milk producing cells in the udder to be prepared for next lactation.

Identify which of your cows are empty and decide whether you are going to cull them now. Alternatively, if they are milking well you may decide to milk them through on an extended lactation. If milking them on then you will need to provide high quality feed and decide whether they will be milked at home or by a neighbour.

Heifers
An increase of green pasture in the diet of young stock often triggers the shedding of the inhibited larvae of Ostertagia (small brown stomach worm) from the gut wall. Ensure your worm drench program targets Ostertagia species.

If supplementary feeding ensure heifers have good quality pasture, hay, grain and water. Protein levels of 14 -16 % in the diet are vital for adequate growth of young cattle.

Last years calves at 250kg live weight will require 3kg of dry matter per day just for maintenance plus another 3kg of dry matter per day to produce a growth rate of 0.6kg of live weight gain per day.

If grain feeding young stock on a concentrate ensure you feed a prepared pellet or a grain mix containing adequate energy, protein, fibre and a buffer. Straight grain alone will not provide adequate nutrition for the young growing heifer and may lead to acidosis.

Irrigation
Some spinner cuts at the bottom of the irrigation bay will speed up irrigation flow and help with winter drainage. Don’t wait for the rainfall, sow pastures dry and irrigate to ensure early pasture establishment before winter.

Environment
Pump out effluent ponds prior to winter. Protect your water supplies by setting up a debris collection fence along the entrance to the water storage dam. A length of chicken wire supported by star pickets will catch any floating animal dung, straw and contaminants from entering the dam and help protect the quality of the stock drinking water.

NLIS ONE-STOP-SHOP FIELD DAY

The Department of Primary Industries will be holding a NLIS Technology field day on Monday May 9^th at "Buneep Park", 215 Wimpole Road, Bunyip North.

The aim of this day is to bring together companies that sell software and hardware relating to the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS) so that beef producers, stock agents and others who are looking to invest in NLIS technology can come along to a 'One-Stop-Shop' of NLIS technology. This gives people the opportunity to experience the equipment and meet the people providing the services first hand.

DPI Livestock Industry Development Officer, Stuart Warner from Benalla said the idea of an NLIS field day in the form of a one-stop-shop stemmed from the increased number of enquiries the NLIS extension team were receiving about NLIS equipment available to use on farm.

"Because there are so many products now available we thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together at the one location so that farmers can come along and see what is available," Mr Warner said.

Visitors to the field day will be able to look at and investigate a range of NLIS equipment such as panel readers, stick readers, palm pilots, weighing systems and software packages.

A number of DPI staff will also be available to answer any questions farmers may have regarding tags, ordering tags, logging on to the NLIS database, transferring cattle, obtaining carcase feedback from the database and regulatory requirements.

The field day will run from 10am to 3.30pm. Lunch will be provided at a cost of $5 per person.

If you are thinking about purchasing NLIS equipment or would just like to find out more about NLIS we would like this to be your invitation to attend the NLIS One –Stop Shop field day.

We would also like to extend this invitation to any businesses to attend and display the NLIS services that they offer.

To register your attendance and to help with catering please contact Kate McCue at DPI Warrnambool on 5561 9902 by Wednesday 4^th May.

STOPPING THE SILAGE ROT

Have you ever looked at the layers in a pit or bale of silage? It can tell you an awful lot.

You may think that the dark brown layers are valuable feed. Hate to tell you, but they’re not. Those are layers of rotting silage.

The brown rotten layer on the top of your silage pit means air has gotten in. As a general rule of thumb the depth of lost silage is around 2 to 4 times the depth of the dark brown/black layer. All that trouble you went to making and storing that silage and it’s gone!

It is pretty simple to calculate how much that silage has cost you. And if you think about it disappearing silage is (a) costing you heaps to produce, (b) $$$ in lost milk production and (c) will have to be replaced with extra feed.

If you want to know how to stop the rot and how to calculate how much silage you are loosing come to a TopFodder Silage Farmer Short Course being run in the region. For further information please contact Natalie Nelson on 0400 710 467.

EAST GIPPSLAND FIELD DAYS

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) will again host a shared site at the East Gippsland Field Days.

The theme of this years display is Protect the Environment, Protect your Economy. A wide range of activities and information will be available for farmers, landholders and the general public.

The display by the Beef Team will have a soils focus. Come and find out what makes a healthy soil and why it is important for pasture growth. Pick up a free booklet on feeding and managing cattle. Free pocket guides to fat scoring beef cattle are also available.

Current information on the NLIS electronic tagging requirements will be available. Animal Health staff will be on hand to answer any queries regarding the tagging system.

VegCheque and Plant Standards staff will be available to assist with any horticulture issues or information especially pertaining to vegetable production, pest and diseases and quality issues. Plant Standards staff will also have a display on Fruit Fly and information on exotic pests and diseases of quarantine concern.

The Sustainable Drylands display will include general information regarding soil, water quality, revegetation and vegetation management. Information on soil erosion rehabilitation project works currently being undertaken in the Bairnsdale and Swifts Creek regions will also be on display.

The Pest Plants and Animal display will include examples of noxious weeds such as Ragwort, Thistles and Paterson’s Curse. Several pest animals will also be on display along with a section of Wild Dog Exclusion fencing. Experts in the field of Pest Plants and Animals will be available to answer any questions regarding pest management.

There will be an information display on the Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail and the East Gippsland Rail Trail. Free brochures and post cards will be available.

The Forest Stewardship and Biodiversity function will have displays highlighting Land for Wildlife, Rock Wallabies, Wetlands, threatened flora and fauna and the Native Vegetation Management package.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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