HubWatch – 7 November 2025

Milk Production: We’ve had the best October milk production since conversion, which we’re very excited about. The cows came into calving in great condition, and we’ve had strong grass covers throughout spring. While calving was a little slower in the first three weeks (largely due to last spring’s weather), we quickly caught up and are now tracking ahead of budget year-to-date (budget: 91,576 kg MS; actual: 93,420 kg MS). The aim is to maintain peak for as long as possible.

Grass Quality: What a big difference a week can make. Last week our average growth was 39 kg DM/ha/day, and this week it’s 53 kg DM/ha/day – now above demand. With increasing soil temperatures, we expect this to lift even further next week. The challenge is managing pasture quality between two different farm systems in one block (Future herd stocked at 2.5 cows/ha; Standard herd at 3.2 cows/ha). We’ve shut another nine paddocks for baleage to help with residuals and rising average pasture covers.

Pasture Composition: We’re starting to see more clover and plantain coming through the pastures with the warmer weather and reproductive stages beginning.

Broadcasting Plantain Seed via Drone: This week we broadcast plantain seed onto seven paddocks. Establishment of plantain has worked well in our new grass paddocks, and now we’re aiming to complement this with effective broadcasting to other paddocks. Conditions were perfect – great soil moisture and recently grazed paddocks – and drone use allows for accurate seed placement. Currently, the farm has 9% plantain in its pastures. Last year’s wet spring impacted our plantain percentage in pasturew, so we’re aiming for 20% plantain on farm, making successful broadcasting key to achieving this.

Mating: We started mating the cows this week and have been pleasantly surprised by higher submission rates. So far, 22% of cows have been submitted in the first four days in the Standard herd and 20% in the Future herd – both above the target of 4.3% per day. Our second CIDR is booked for next week, with the first CIDR cows up for insemination today (7 November). We’re making great use of our sexed semen window with the Allflex collars to ensure the right cows receive the sexed straw. We use the sexed semen window alongside a Traffic Light report provided by LIC to highlight early-calving and top-index cows.