Technical Update
Welcome to the first edition of our Technical Update Newsletter. In each issue, we will focus on key topics affecting the dairy industry, sharing the latest news, technical insights and practical advice to help support informed decision making and on farm performance.
Thinking about Autumn Grazing?
Now it has rained and the grass has started to green; daytime grazing is the topic of conversation particularly in spring calving herds, aiming for 8kg DM.
For grazing we are aiming for 3 leaves, growth is currently between 2 and 3 leaves on lower lying flat pastures. This is a good stage to start a wedge again.
From what we have seen across farms, the plate metre readings are currently high due to the dead stalky grass still being in the bottom of the grass leys, portraying a higher density grass crop than is actually there.
Grass residues are also not expected to be down at 1200 due to the dead matter in the leys, therefore residues are expected to be higher at 1500 to 1800, this is essential in calculating areas for the cows to graze.
Condition on cows needs to be maintained specifically for calf growth, therefore our advice is to ensure readings are not overestimated. Therefore, grazing areas are expected to be considerably larger than earlier in the summer.
Listen to the cows they will tell you if they are not happy.
Have you Bluetongue Vaccinated?
What will be the knock-on effect of infections?
As we are all aware Bluetongue has stretched right across the country due to the hotter and more humid weather, please source vaccines if you have not done so already.
PLEASE ENSURE THE BULL IS ALSO VACCINATED AS THIS CAN TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY MAKE THEM INFERTILE.
The knock-on effects for this in cattle can be severe, we are expecting to see reduced fertility through reduced conception rates, extended calving intervals and early embryonic losses.
This will have the largest impact on the Autumn block calvers, blocks are not expected to be as tight.
Things you will need to consider:
- Increasing the number of cows to be served to sexed heifer semen to maintain replacements through to the next year
- Farmers are likely to see an increase in barren cows
- Possible fertility testing your stock bull, if you are heavily reliant on them
Please seek professional advice from your vets.
High NDF and Low Active Fibres, what is the impact?
This ultimately results in less digestible fibre for the rumen, lower salivation levels which naturally buffer pH therefore an increased acidosis risk. Intakes are expected to reduce due to the bulk of the forage, this slows passage through the rumen. Sorting the TMR is also highly likely if the NDF is high, resulting in the concentrates being picked out and increasing rumen acidity.
Our diet program gives a much better insight in to feeding these silages than a regular program doe. Call us to review your diet and a no obligation chat.
Are you feeding fresh maize?
Many people are having to feed fresh ‘green’ maize, if this hasn’t been clamped for 6-8 weeks there are several digestibility issues.
The maize grain has not been broken down with the fermentation process and therefore can contain high levels of resistant starches that cannot be absorbed in the rumen.
Muck could be expected to be extremely variable across the herd as intakes can be lower due to the rumen balance being disrupted. This will then have a consequential effect on milk production.
The high dry matters seen across these crops can lead to high levels of mycotoxins throughout the silage, this can also lead to heating of the clamp as the silage has not been able to be compacted as much.
If you need help balancing silages this year as dry matter and NDF is high, we can help.
Autumn Block calving Updates?
Autumn block calving is well under way for most herds.
We are starting to see situations of premature calves due to the lack of grazing and tight forage stocks after the summer we have had.
Condition of the close-up calving cattle is the most crucial element to ensuring reduced calving issues, this means a full 4-week transition period.
If cows are looking under a condition score of 2.75, these need to be individually selected and have an increased transition period of up to 6 weeks.
The formulation of this transition ration is crucial to ensure fresh calving issues are minimised and cows come into peak milk as expected.
Fertility is often a part of the transition period that is overlooked, but healthy fertile eggs are made during this period so if the diet is not formulated correctly we expect to see further fertility issues.
If you are seeing situations of frequent retained cleansings, milk fevers, premature or difficult calving please get in touch.
What is in your Silage Pits?
The second year of a drought is the worst year for forage stocks. Surplus forage stocks in the first year have been utilised going into the second year, meaning there is no surplus this next year.
We are hoping to have a late autumn cut and in this case we would advise cutting as much area as possible on your farm.
Fertiliser or muck needs to be applied to get a substantial autumn cut, please remember this needs to be applied more than 50 days before the cut.
We need to mindful of these late cuts and fertiliser applications residual nitrogen levels in the silage could be high if not cut at the appropriate time. This can lead to reduced sugar levels, disrupted fermentation and pH issues leading to clostridial fermentation and a risk of silo gas resulting in the silage being inedible and highly toxic.
We are doing forage budgets for all our clients, if this is something you are interested in then please get in touch.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to our client, the Reed family, on winning Junior 2 Year Old in Milk at the national Holstein show held at Dairy Day with Beaconhill Eye Candy Paula.
A fantastic achievement - congratulations to all involved!
Our consultants Janice and Eve work closely with the family to provide expert dairy nutrition support, alongside a wider range of farm consultancy services offered by Douglas Green Consulting.
Could your farm be more efficient and profitable?
A detailed review of your technical performance can highlight where improvements can be made and, importantly, where you could be leaving margin behind. We’re currently offering a Dairy Technical Review and benchmarking exercise at a 25% discount rate - expected cost £500.
All we need is your accounts to March 2026 and access to your milk records.
Find out how your farm compares and where there’s opportunity to improve. Get in touch with our dairy farm business consultants today!