Farming Diary for April

Pastures

• We are into Autumn, when soil temperatures start to drop.
• April will be tricky this year because of the past variation in weather over the country.
• Many parts of the country thankfully had good rain in January due to tropical activity which may have officially ended droughts, but it didn't grow enough autumn pasture to bring dairy cows back into profit.
• It's been a season of high costs, which will take well into next year to clear - regardless of farm size.
• If you have good farm cover, make sure none of it is wasted during grazing, and at the same time if soils get wet, avoid damaging them by pugging.
• Look at the possibility of making a simple standoff pad for cattle with bark which makes great compost next season
• Pasture supplements are expensive, so avoid waste when feeding them out.
• Think of the cost of each kilogram of Dry Matter in every handful you feed out. Stock love grain-based concentrate meals, but these cost in excess of 80c/kg DM where as good quality pasture costs under 10c/kg DM.
• Poor quality hay or balage, and badly made silage are a complete waste of money - so be very careful when purchasing.
• The concern is whether the winter will be mild enough to allow pasture growth to catch up, and start building a bit of a feed surplus for spring.  To do this you have to take pastures out of the rotation, and feed supplements without pugging.
• There's always a big advertising push about now to renew pastures, but do your homework as you could be looking at a tidy bill, and unless well managed, the pastures could be back to where you started within 12-18 months. Whatever method you use to renovate, get some independent advice, as you can't afford a failure.
• Before you do anything, get your soil tested to see if there's a soil fertility problem, and until you fixt that, all other investment will be wasted.  Start by looking at lime.
• If you can't afford pasture renovation, then wait to see what grows as you may be surprised.   There's always a mass of grass and clover seeds (called hard seed) in the soil which will germinate eventually, and they may be no worse than some of the expensive new cultivars that have been shown to have problems in the Waikato with drought and black beetle.
• Weeds will grow fast, so find a low-cost way to control them - like cutting, wilting and stock grazing.
• Before the willow and poplar leaves die off, get pruning and feed them to the stock.

Sheep

• Sheep prices are booming, and 'lambs' (defined for the export market with no permanent teeth) will sell well this winter.
• So this will be good for any late-born lambs, or surplus not be kept for breeding.  They'll have to be in good condition to sell well.
• Don't winter ewes that are not going to lamb, and cull any with chronic footrot.
• With the good rain, sheep should have gone to the ram in good condition, so keep feeding them well all through pregnancy.
• Using a ram harness will show which ewes will lamb in the first round. You'll also know which ewes kept coming back to the ram and will probably lamb very late or be barren. It would be worth cashing them in during May.
• If you have any well-grown hoggets (at least 45kg) and good feed, then put them to the ram to get some extra lambs.
• These are not 'bonus lambs' and the hoggets need good feeding right through pregnancy and into their first lactation and probably beyond.
• After mating, don't just forget about the rams.  They are the most neglected animal on so many farms despite the money spent on them.  If you are keeping them, check their health and feed them well to recover condition.
• If they have broken down and become culls then get rid of them immediately to save feed over winter.
• Also phone the breeder you got them from, and report this as it should not happen.  Good breeders will replace the ram or give you a discount next year.
• Don't dip or treat any ewes for external parasites for at least 6 weeks after mating no matter what your vet says about this not being a risk to embryo survival or the specials on the product.  We don't know enough about this so don't take the risk.
• Sheep will scour on lush feed but don't assume it is worms. Get a Faecal Egg Count done to make sure.
• Don't use long-term worm drenches on ewes despite what the advertising says, and don't think you have to drench young sheep at frequent intervals through winter.  If they are not growing, then it's most likely lack of feed that's the main problem.  Fix that first.
• Keep up Facial Eczema precautions as by April, despite cooler nights, the accumulation of small rises in spore count can still sensitise the animal, and it doesn't take much of a spore rise to cause clinical cases.
• A few clinicals means plenty of subclinicals too which will have liver damage and you'll get problems and deaths in late pregnancy and at lambing.

Cattle

• Get some condition back on thin cows before calving, and this can take a couple of months if you don't have heaps of feed.
• Cows should have rounded hips for calving (Condition Score 5).  Remember feed needed to replace condition is over and above the maintenance needs of an animal.
• Talk to your veterinarian about feeding molasses to any cattle that need an energy boost during winter and early spring.
• Young stock are the main concern and if they get down in condition, a whole range of afflictions can affect them which will affect their later performance.
• 'Autumn ill thrift' may affect young stock and can be combination of mineral and trace element deficiencies, worms, and often yersiniosis.
• Get a correct veterinary diagnosis done before spending money on products that may not work.
• Autumn pasture is high in water content so feed out some hay to help digestion and to reduce scouring.

Farm Management

• The financial budget is top priority as expenses during the winter may appear out of the blue, especially supplementary feed.
• Water supplies and fences are the perennial challenges on farms.  Keep a regular checking programme to avoid major time wasting and expensive disasters.
• Keep the farm records up to date and the farm accounts.  The taxman may be calling and banks don't lend money to pay tax.