2017/18 Season HUB Weekly Farm Update as at 24th April 2018
Hub cows BCS average down 0.1 to 4.5
Week ending 24th April 2018
Table 1: Key Numbers week ending 24th April 2018
| Av. Pasture Cover | 2486 kg DM/ha |
| Round Length | 42 days |
| Pasture Growth rate | 33 kg DM/day |
| Soil temp | 9.5 C |
| Rainfall | 36mm |
| No. of cows milking | 641 cows |
| Av. Supplement used (milkers) | 0.250 kg DM/cow/day |
| Av. Kg MS/cow/day | 1.25 kg MS/cow/day |
| Av. Kg MS/ha | 3.1 kg MS/ha |
| Milking frequency | OAD |
Week summary:
- Decision made to shift to OAD milking.
- Last week’s BCS showed the herd average has dropped from 4.6 to 4.5.The target set is to have the 2nd calvers at a minimum of BCS 5 at the end of May and m/a cows at a minimum BCS 4.5. Currently 31% of our R3’s are BCS 4 and below. As we are unable to draft out lighter cows and treat differently to the rest we are required to put all herds on OAD.
- 250 gms/cow/milking concentrate offered in-shed to all cows, 1.5kg/cow/milking to all cows at or below BCS 4
Finish remaining Hub silage stack. Next season we switch to baleage only as this is easier to manage on a farmlet level. The silage on farm this season was made over the entire property last autumn.
Critical Targets this week
- Manage transition from milking 3in2 to OAD
- Cull MT cows producing less than 1kgMS/day
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).
- Staph Aureus has been identified in approximately 40 cows at The Hub. A high bulk SCC and cows not reacting quickly to treatment encouraged investigation leading to this diagnosis.
- Infected cows have drafted out and are being milked last to prevent the spread of this infection.
Table 2: Herd & Production
| Herds on Milking Platform | Unit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Milkers - 3 in 2 | cows | |
| Milkers - OAD | cows | 641 |
| Colostrum | cows | 0 |
| Springers | cows | 0 |
| Sick mob | cows | 4 |
| Culls / deaths | cows | 0 |
| Current Stocking Rate (platform; not counting R1’s) | cows/ha | 2.6 |
| Production (to the factory) (28/02/18) | ||
| Total Milksolids (YTD) | kgMS | 242,784 |
| Total Milksolids (MTD) | kgMS | 16,407 |
| Total Milksolids (last 7 days) | kgMS | 4,545 |
| Average per cow daily production (last 7 days) | kgMS/cow/day | 1.25 |
| Per ha production (last 7 days) | kgMS/ha | 3.1 |
| Other (to the factory) | ||
| Protein:Fat Ratio (7-day avg.) | % | 0.81 |
| Milk Urea (7-day avg.) | mg/dl | 32.1 |
| SCC (7-day avg.) | cells/ml | 139,000 |
| Fat Evaluation Index (FEI) | A | |
| Fonterra 17/18 Forecast | $/kgMS | $6.55 |
Milking frequency
Cow BCS has dropped across the herd from 4.6 to 4.5 average and 31% of our R3 year olds are now at or below BCS 4 despite extra feeding in the shed and the 3in2 milking regime. This means under the same management we will not hit our targets set around BCS at the end of the season, therefore we are required to put everything onto OAD.
Feed Management
- The four herds are to remain on their allocated farmlets always. The 2017/18 season aim is to feed all cows in a similar manner all season. Any differences to be recorded.
- 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 a 50:50 mix of PKE and barley.
Table 3: Feed Offered
| Unit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Milkers – Pasture offered | kgDM/cow/day | 13 |
| Milkers - Fodder Beet | kgDM/cow/day | 0 |
| Milkers - Pasture Silage | kgDM/cow/day | 4 |
| Milkers - Concentrates – 3 in 2 Cows (shed) | kgDM/cow/day | 0.250 |
| Milkers - Concentrates – 3 in 2 Cows (pdk) | kgDM/cow/day | 0 |
| Milkers - Concentrates - OAD Cows | kgDM/cow/day | 0 |
- Cows each offered in-shed 250gm concentrate (50/50 PKE: Barley)
- PKE/Barley mix offered lifted from 1kg/cow/milking to 1.5kg/cow/day to all cows at BCS 4 or below.
Crop feeding
Fodder beet will be fed late season as a supplement for milkers in the fodder beet herds only.
This will allow the farm team to:
- Replace the silage supplement to these herds
- Start transition onto beet before winter
- Open up crop paddocks before dry off
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 4: Land, Pasture, Crop & Silage Metrics
| Unit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre - Graze cover target | kgDM/ha | 3250 |
| Post - Graze cover target | kgDM/ha | 1600 |
| Average Pasture Cover (avg. over 4 farmlets) | kgDM/ha | 2486 |
| Growth Rate (avg. over 4 farmlets) | kgDM/ha/day | 33 |
| Rotation Length (avg. over 4 farmlets) | days | 42 |
| Area Available for grazing (milkers) | ha | 252 |
| Regrassing Area (out of rotation) | ha | 0 |
| Baleage/Silage Area (out of rotation) | ha | 0 |
| Crop Area (out of rotation) | ha | 49.6 |
| Aeration Area | ha | 0.0 |
| Total platform effective | ha | 300 |
| Young Stock (not included in rotation) | ha | 29.0 |
Pasture management
- Growth rate measured at 33kg DM/ha/day which matches with average pasture cover (APC) falling.
Crop management
- No crop agronomy management required
Table 5: Nitrogen use on Farm
| Nitrogen (Urea only)(last 7 days) | Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Area (Winter crop) | ha | |
| Rate | kg/N/ha |
| Fertiliser (last 7 days) | Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | ha | 0 |
| Rate | kg/ha | 0 |
| Climate conditions | ||
| Rainfall (total last 7 days) | mm | 9.5 |
| Soil Temp (7-day average) @10am | °C | 36 |
Effluent
- Application of effluent occurs most days (as conditions allow) with the aim to keep the pond at or below 15% full for the autumn. This is effectively as low as the pond can be pumped and is the % full measured at this point.
Table 6: Reproduction Metrics
| Planned start of Mating (PSM) | Target | Actual | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed Aged Cows | 29-Oct-17 | Date | |
| 2016 Born Heifers | 21-Oct-17 | Date | |
| Calving spread | |||
| 3 weeks | 64 | % | |
| 6 weeks | 83 | % | |
| 9 weeks | 97 | % | |
| 3 week Submission Rate | 90 | 91 | % |
| 6 week in-calf rate | 78 | 79 | % |
| Empty Rate | 10 | 7-11 | % |
Research Update (fortnightly)
No update this week
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/