2018/19 Season HUB Weekly Farm Update as at 15th June 2018
Winter @ SDH 2018
Table 1: Key Numbers 15th June
| Average | Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soil temp | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Rainfall | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| Av. Pasture Cover | 1927 | 1929 | 1961 | 1917 | 1900 |
| Round Length | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Pasture Growth rate | 0 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 6.1 |
| No. of cows milking | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Av. Kg MS/cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Av. Kg MS/ha | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Milking frequency | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Week summary:
- Weigh and drench R1 heifers
- Calf shed redevelopment
- Monitor health of all crop cows and remove animals not eating / putting on weight
- Winter crop management (accurate fence placement, bale feeders over baleage, plastic wrap picked up, back fences moved up, portable troughs moved, P supplement placed on fodder beet baleage)
- Team to meet with PrimaryITO for training plans
- Training on FarmTime timesheet app
Four different farmlets Feed Wedges 15th June 2018
Blue = Low N kale
Green = Standard N fodder beet
Red = Standard N kale
Yellow = Low N fodder beet
Brown = Support block
Herd & Production
- Four herds split evenly on age, BW / PW and on the winter crop trial treatment groups to ensure the herds are as even as possible.
- Each herd allocated a farmlet corresponding to their herd tag colour Green, Blue, Yellow and Pink.
- Farmlets have paddocks allocated so each herd has equal walking distance from the shed and the same proportion of each soil type and equal proportions of pastures in the FVI trial (forage value trial – refer web site section on research).
Table 2: Herd & Production
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | Units | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milkers - TAD | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cows |
| Milkers - OAD | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cows |
| Colostrum | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cows |
| Springers | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cows |
| Sick mob | cows | ||||
| Culls / deaths | cows | ||||
| Current Stocking Rate | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cows/ha |
| Production (to the factory) (../../18) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Total Milksolids (YTD) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgMS |
| Total Milksolids (MTD) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgMS |
| Total Milksolids (last 7 days) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgMS |
| Average per cow daily production (last 7 days) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgMS/cow/day |
| Per ha production (last 7 days) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgMS/ha |
| Other (to the factory) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Protein:Fat Ratio (7-day avg.) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | % |
| Milk Urea (7-day avg.) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | mg/dl |
| SCC (7-day avg.) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | cells/ml |
| Fat Evaluation Index (FEI) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Fonterra 18/19 Forecast | $/kgMS |
Milking frequency
- Nil
Feed Management
- The four herds are to remain on their allocated farmlets always.
- Decision rules for Cows of BCS 4 or less are that they can be fed extra supplement in the shed as required by the farm team and be milked OAD but will remain in their allocated herds for research purposes.
- The concentrate in the shed is to be determined for the 2018/19 season.
Table 3: Feed Offered to milkers
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milkers – Pasture Kg DM /cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Milkers – Fodder beet kg DM/cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Milkers – Baleage kgDM/cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Milkers – Concentrates kgDM/cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Milkers below BCS target - Concentrates kgDM/cow/day | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| TOTAL DM OFFERED | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Table 4: Feed Offered to dry cows
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Cows – Pasture kgDM /cow/day | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry Cows – Crop kgDM/cow/day | 7.9 | 8.1 | 11.3 | 11.3 |
| Dry Cows – Silage/baleage kgDM/cow/day | 3.3 | 1.3 | 2.88 | 2.7 |
| Dry Cows – PKE kgDM/cow/day | 3.6 | 5.05 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL DM OFFERED | 14.8 | 14.45 | 14.18 | 14.00 |
Table 5: Feed Offered to heifers
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1's - Crop kgDM/day | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| R1's – Baleage kgDM/day | 3.24 | 3.24 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| TOTAL DM OFFERED | 8.04 | 8.04 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| R2's – Crop kgDM/cow/day | N/A as they are in with the skinny cows of their respective herds | |||
| R2's – Baleage kgDM/day | N/A as they are in with the skinny cows of their respective herds | |||
| TOTAL DM OFFERED | ||||
Comments:
- Hub kale crops are averaging 12t/ha so PKE is being supplemented to spread out the feed available, fed in feed trailers on the crop paddocks.
Land, Pasture, Crop & Silage Management
- Total area is 327ha(eff), 32.5ha(eff) young stock block and 294ha(eff) platform. Winter crop is grown on both blocks for all stock.
- Crop rotation is two years in crop then re-grass. PGG Wrightson grass cultivars used are Rely, Platform and Excess, all diploids.
- Where target residuals are missed, topping after grazing is the tool the farm team use as needed.
Table 6: Land, Pasture, Crop & Silage Metrics
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre - Graze cover target | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgDM/ha |
| Post - Graze cover target | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | kgDM/ha |
| Average Pasture Cover (avg. over 4 farmlets) | 1917 | 1928 | 1960 | 1900 | kgDM/ha |
| Growth Rate (avg. over 4 farmlets) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | kgDM/ha/day |
| Rotation Length (avg. over 4 farmlets) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | days |
| Area Available for grazing (milkers) | 63.76 | 62.83 | 63.62 | 60.88 | ha |
| Regrassing Area (out of rotation) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ha |
| Baleage/Silage Area (out of rotation) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ha |
| Crop Area (out of rotation whole farm) | 11.61 | 11.59 | 11.61 | 11.59 | ha |
| Aeration Area | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ha |
| Young Stock (not included in rotation) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ha |
Comments:
- Target cover at the end of May was 2000kgDM/ha. Pasture eaten during the period when herds were being dried off dropped quickly due to ground conditions and high rainfall. Hence target covers by the end of May when all cows were on crop was lower than planned on average by 75kgDM/ha
Fertiliser & Nitrogen
Table 7: Nitrogen use on Farm
| Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen: Urea only (last 7 days) | |||||
| Area (Winter crop) | ha | ||||
| Rate | kg/N/ha | ||||
| Fertiliser (last 7 days) | |||||
| Area | ha | ||||
| Rate | kg/ha | ||||
| Climate conditions | |||||
| Rainfall (total last 7 days) | 18.8 | mm | |||
| Soil Temp (7-day average) @10am | 3.3 | °C | |||
Stock Reproductive Performance
Table 8: Reproduction Metrics
| Target | Expected | Units | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned start of Mating (PSM) | Standard Kale Red | Low N Kale Blue | Standard Fodder beet Green | Low N Fodder beet Yellow | ||
| Mixed Aged Cows | Date | |||||
| 2016 Born Heifers | Date | |||||
| Calving spread | ||||||
| 3 weeks | 60 | 60 | 63 | 63 | % | |
| 6 weeks | 85 | 89 | 87 | 87 | % | |
| 9 weeks | 96 | 96 | 97 | 97 | % | |
| 3 week Submission Rate | 90 | % | ||||
| 6 week in-calf rate | 78 | % | ||||
| Empty Rate | 10 | % | ||||
Research Proposals
The SDH welcome research proposals for any sampling or research on the SDH, these are assessed by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC). Just send your request or ask for information via guy.michaels@southerndairyhub.co.nz
For more information check out the DairyNZ link:
https://www.dairynz.co.nz/about-us/research/research-farms/southern-dairy-hub/