We started serving on 28 April, with cows bulling strongly in large numbers. There are more than I would like coming through from the winter group, possibly due to embryonic loss in the early stages due to low nutrition.

In hindsight, we robbed the cows due to low milk prices and slow grass growth. We stopped including brewers’ grains in the ration at Christmas to cheapen the cost and fed only cake and silage. Expecting to turnout in early February, we changed the parlour ration to 1t of molassed sugar beet nuts, with 3t of cake, expecting to compensate and complement the grass at turnout, which did not happen until half-way through March – and then only sporadically.

The AI man warned us the cows would suffer and he was right; there is always good value in a pair of off-farm eyes.

Mid-May, things were getting back to normal after two days of torrential rain – probably two and a half inches. Some paddocks flooded again, and silage making due to start was delayed. Grass growth has since taken off, although as alluded to in the Irish Farmers Journal, it’s starting to produce more stem rather than pure leaf.

Silage

We made the silage on 17 May, in spite of the previous week’s flooding. Luckily five days of sunshine had more or less dried up the pastures. We had to big bale two wet spots, but managed to make 35 acres, yielding 25 loads.

We also used an additive in deference to the wet conditions. Still, we’re feeling quite pleased with ourselves as it’s raining again today.

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