General
Thats a wrap for the 2024-25 season. It was nice to have a strong end to the season after such at difficult start. While milk production was 8% back on last year (which was a record season for the farm) supply to the factory was 3 kg MS short of 319000 for the season and the third highest season production since the farm was converted.
Final 2.5 paddocks were aerated this week.
Standard herd
All cows dried off on the 23rd May then rotated through recently grazed paddocks with hay and silage to aid the dry down process.
Early dries from the support block joined the rest of the mob on Saturday.
Transitioning onto swedes started on Sunday with cows being offered 2 kg DM swedes and the rest of the diet as pasture, hay and straw in a pasture paddock.
Currently up to 6 kg DM/cow/day of swedes and staying in their crop paddocks; target of 10 kg DM swedes and 4 kg baleage.
With wet weather in the forecast and being seven days into transition, we have decided to skip the 8 kg DM step and offer 10 kg DM swedes with additional baleage overnight from tomorrow. This will increase the break size and hopefully provide better lying conditions.
R2's are still at the support block on pasture and will head to the milking platform in about 10 days to begin their transitioning onto swedes.
Had an unexpected death in the R2's this week - autopsy identifed heart failure as the cause.
Closing APC is about 100 kg DM/ha above the target of 1950.
Future herd
All cows dried off on the 27th May and have been rotated through recently grazed paddocks with hay and silage to aid the dry down process; Two cases of mastitis have been detected since dry off, both in Teatseal only cows.
Cows being drafted into their wintering mobs today and will start on their bale feeding regime with one mob set up at 15T DM baleage per ha (67 bales/ha) and the other at 10 T DM baleage/ha (44 bales/ha) and both on 2 day shifts.
R2's at the support block are on their baleage wintering regime set up at 10T DM/ha and 2 day shifts.
APC on Tuesday was 200 kg DM above target but cows were still grazing the milking platform.
