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Ag News: 13/10/2009

Includes: Dairy reminders for October and Farming Diary

By Department of Primary Industries - 16th October 2009 - Back to News

DAIRY REMINDERS FOR OCTOBER

Pastures and forages

• Ryegrass leaf appearance rate – 8 to10 days per leaf.
• Estimated grazing rotation length - 24 to 27 days (can be shorter for better quality).
• Area of farm to graze today – approximately one twenty-fourth of grazing area in 24 hours.
• Recommended pre grazing decisions - graze ryegrass at two and a half leaf stage.
• Recommended post grazing decision - graze down to 5 cm pasture height.
• Seasonal management tasks - topping and apply NPKS fertilisers.
• Estimated soil temperature - 13 degrees Celsius.
• Estimated daily evaporation - 5 to 8 mm per day without rainfall.
• Average daily pasture growth rate - 55 to 90 kg DM/Ha/day.
• Conserving surplus pasture - aim for leafy pastures with short shut up time. Pasture ready to be grazed by milkers makes the best silage and regrows the fastest. Maximise spring by skipping paddocks that are beyond ideal milker feed and conserving shortly after.

Summer crops

• Book your contractor as early as possible and negotiate a sowing date with them.
• Timeliness is critical to crop performance, so write out a plan for your summer fodder crops and include spraying dates, sowing dates, rates and management tasks. Stick to the plan unless seasonal conditions warrant a change.
• Summer fodder crops need to be sown early before the soil becomes too dry for establishment. Try to have your turnip or brassica crop sown as soon as possible. Some of the other forage crops, particularly millet, sorghum and many maize varieties should be sown later when soil temperatures are higher (16 to18 degrees Celsius), but must have good soil moisture levels.

Cows

• Have a good heat detection system in place as some herds are in less than ideal conditions due to the seasonal conditions. This can affect milk production and fertility.
• Start heat detection a month before the start of mating and, if necessary, brush up on your heat detection skills.
• The best heat detection method is a combination of paddock observation and use of aids such as tail paint and heat mount detectors.
• Consider the use of extended lactation on suitable cows. Extended lactation can be used to tighten calving pattern by shortening the joining period, reducing workload next calving and reducing the need for bulls and replacement heifers whilst retaining valuable cows.

Calves

• Reduce environmental stress on calves. Avoid sudden environmental changes (cold, damp, draughty or humid conditions) in the calf rearing area.
• Observe ideal stocking densities, as over-crowded or cramped conditions lead to rapid disease spread.
• At the end of the calf season, clean and disinfect all calf pens, sheds, shelters, cleaning tools, veterinary equipment and feed troughs.

Heifers

• Early weaning of calves at four to six weeks of age is critical to the economics of most dairy heifer enterprises as it reduces milk, labour and facility costs. Although, access to some ‘waste’ milk is possible, it’s worth remembering that normal milk and milk replacer are expensive food sources.

Milking Management

• The main reasons for rapid deterioration of milking machine rubberware are light, stress, fats, cuts and abrasions, and strong chemicals. Therefore to ensure maximum life, consider washing the milking machine twice daily; avoid greasy teat salves; keep hanging clusters away from direct sunlight; do not use hard-bristled brushes on rubber ware; hang clusters so that tubing is not kinked or under stress; and refrain from soaking rubber ware in acidic detergents or sodium hypochlorite.

Irrigation

• With rain events occurring during the spring, it is easy to think that the soil moisture is being maintained. Constant checks are required to compare evaporation and rainfall to ensure that you make an informed decision on irrigation frequency.
• Recommended evaporation minus rainfall (E - R) pasture irrigation frequencies need to be 50 mm for flood irrigation and around 35 mm for spray irrigated pastures.

Soil testing and fertiliser requirements

• With the higher prices of fertiliser you need to make sure you are using the correct fertiliser blend, spring is ideal for soil sampling your paddocks.
• Five sample tests will give a good indication of your farm’s fertiliser and lime requirements.
• Sample individual paddocks, record their names and numbers in your diary, and avoid mixing samples.
• Paint a post at either end of your paddock and sample a line between the posts, so you have a reference of the sample site for future use.
• Contact your local fertiliser representatives for a soil sampling kit; and ask them to come out and collect and dispatch your soil samples.
• Always use a 10 cm soil sampling tool to collect the 20 to 30 soil cores needed.
• Apply fertiliser (particularly containing potassium) on your hay and silage paddocks either early or after crops have been removed. Applying potassium too close to harvest could lead to raised levels of it in the conserved feed, causing metabolic problems when it is fed out.

FARMING DIARY

MID Water Field Days

As part of National Water Week, Department of Primary Industries (DPI) will be running two special field days in the Macalister Irrigation District.

The ‘Reinventing the Wheel’ field day focuses on flume gates, how they work and their on farm benefits.

Ag Work consultants, Greg and Nicky Hair, will present their findings from a series of on farm surveys on what works and does not work.

Other presenters include Justin Brown from Southern Rural Water, and Gavan Lamb and Sarah Killury from DPI presenting the measured benefits of ‘dethridge wheel’ replacement.

When: Monday, October 19, 2009 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am.

Where: Darren and Michelle Berryman’s farm

Main Street, Newry (opposite Newry Public Hall)

The ‘Centre Pivots in the Spotlight’ field day will explore pivot performance, introduce a new assessment process; and discuss how to maximise performance and common problems encountered.

DPI Maffra’s Gavan Lamb and Sarah Killury explain a comprehensive method for checking a pivot and present results from a tested machine.

When: Friday, October 23, 2009 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am.

Where: Trevor and Tracey Henry’s farm

61 Maffra Rosedale Road, Tinamba (at the pivot)

To register your attendance or for more information, please contact Gavan Lamb at DPI Maffra on (03) 5147 0800.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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