Weather

All parts of the country have had enough rain by now. Heavy land in the west is borderline in terms of trafficability of soil. The good news is that the weekend is set to be dry and warm, which should give another boost to grass growth. However, more rain is forecast next week.

Remember the tricks that we use to reduce damage when land is wet. Things like grazing drier fields first and using a 12-hour break, as opposed to a full paddock, will reduce damage. Some higher stocked farmers are putting in extra supplement now to build up grass covers by feeding silage or zero grazing grass from outfarms. Putting in extra supplement when the weather is wet isn’t ideal. It’s hard enough to get a good cleanout at the best of times but it’s harder when it’s wet. I’d be inclined to delay heavy feeding for a while until the weather settles for a bit and if you need to feed more at a later stage to catch up, then that is OK.

There’s a definite benefit to feeding more in early autumn to build up grass covers. By reducing the demand, you’re increasing the differential between what is growing and what the cows are grazing. This means that the total amount of grass on the farm increases and this will be carried into the autumn when daily growth decreases.

Coughing

I’m still hearing lots of reports of cows and youngstock coughing. After a few weeks of wet weather, lungworm larvae will probably be growing fast at this stage so the risk of lungworm parasites this autumn will probably be higher than last year. Diagnostic testing for lungworm isn’t very effective. A lungwash is probably the ultimate test but this is costly, but so too is taking a lot of blood and faecal samples. Where cows are coming in with a deep, husky cough, then the first port of call should be to dose for lungworm using an eprinomectin with zero milk withdrawal. In bad cases the coughing could get worse after dosing before it gets better and at this stage the animal is fairly vulnerable to secondary infections such as from a virus (IBR) or a bacteria (pneumonia).

Co-ops

Farmers' €1bn Kerrygold brand at risk" target="_blank">There’s comprehensive reporting about what is happening at Ornua this week. Most farmers don’t know what happens to their milk after it leaves the farm. In most cases, the companies that sell the milk are owned and controlled by Irish dairy farmers. Farmers have delegated responsibility for overseeing the running of these companies to the board members of their co-ops.

Historically, farmers have been well represented and the businesses, like Ornua, have been allowed to grow and flourish. Most young farmers spend a huge amount of time running their own farm business, as you’d expect. However, they need to realise that their business doesn’t stop when the milk lorry empties the bulk tank. More young, educated and bright farmers need to start thinking about their overall dairy businesses, including the processing and selling of their dairy produce. They need to get interested, informed and engaged, and question the decisions that are being made on their behalf. Their future success depends on it.

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