It was great to see so many of you at the North Somerset Show, the stand was busy all day! Winner of our quiz was Ian Ford of Sutton Farm, Butcombe.
After a wet and cold spring for many, turnout is now well underway, with many herds now getting out to grass. This still includes many dry cows at grass, calving outside in calving paddocks. Whilst such systems can potentially work well, there can be issues…… Grass growth can be very variable over the summer grazing period: if we have a dry spell like last summer then grass growth will be very limited, restricting intakes. However, if we get a warm wet spell, then cows can easily end up knee‐deep in lush wet grazing, which will often cause as many problems. The mineral balance of grazed grass is also an issue for milk fever control, as grass is usually high in both calcium and potassium, both of which can be bad news for milk fever cases. If “close up” dry cows are out at grass and you are getting too many milk fever cases, then it is worth making changes. Current recommendations are not to rely on grazed grass alone for pre-calving cows. Buffer feeding some conserved forage in the last three weeks of pregnancy will help to maintain Dry Matter intakes, especially in the face of fluctuations in grass growth. Maize silage and wholecrop can work well, as they generally have a better mineral balance for milk fever control. Feeding 2 – 3 kilos of dry cow concentrates in the last three weeks of pregnancy is helpful to get the rumen ready for the coming lactation and smooth the transition at calving. It will also help with the mineral balance of the pre-calving diet to prevent milk fevers. Don’t forget about the “far off” dry cows, who can end up over‐consuming energy if they are out on lush grazing. Keeping their grazing tight to limit grass intakes is one option to ensure that they do not get too fat, especially if some cows end up with longer dry periods due to extended lactations. “Standing hay” fields can work well for “far off” dry cows to limit energy intakes. Whatever your system for “close up” dry cow management over the summer period, monitoring is key to identifying problems early, and nipping them in the bud. Rumen fill can be a good early indication of problems in dry cows at grass: make sure rumens appear full when looking at the left-hand side of the cow. Likewise, regular body condition scoring of cows can help identify problems, although this can take a while to change.
There are lots of data available on the importance of good colostrum intakes in dairy calves, but what about beef calves? Significant numbers of new-born beef calves do not receive sufficient colostrum after birth. Not getting enough colostrum has significant adverse effects on beef calf performance. Despite all of the differences in farm management, how much colostrum a calf gets after birth was a consistent predictor of Average Daily Live weight gain (ADLWG): calves that do not receive sufficient colostrum have lower growth rates. The risk of death and/or treatment in calves that do not receive enough colostrum in a recent study was 15.8%, whereas it was only 6.6% in calves that did get sufficient colostrum. Further analyses showed that calf sex and calves that needed assistance at calving were both significant predictors as to whether a calf died and/or needed treatment. These results highlight the importance of getting enough colostrum into beef calves quickly after calving. If the calf needed assistance at calving or has a weak suckle reflex, then getting 3 – 4 litres of good quality colostrum into the calf within the next couple of hours is vital. Do not delay!
We are holding a Milksure training meeting on 6th June at 11am; this will cover antibiotic protocols and withdrawals for dairy producers. Please let us know if you would like to attend. We are keen to add more email addresses to our records especially for invoicing. If you are happy to receive electronic correspondence, please email office@tibbsandsimmons.co.uk