Farming Diary for August

It's easy to assume spring has arrived in Northern parts, but be prepared for some late chills from the icecap.  Southern farmers know all about this, and plan their calving and lambing at least a month later.

Pastures management

• Too many small farmers start their lambing and calving too early, and before pastures really get going, so they run out of feed on the 'second grazing round' after the first winter-saved pasture has been eaten off.
• So review the date on your farm when pasture growth exceeds stock needs, and plan birth times to suit this. There's no point in running out of feed for lactating animals feeding their young and causing a nutritional check at this early stage when they need all the milk they can get.
• The good autumn and winter pasture growth in most areas certainly saved the impact of last year's droughts, allowing lost body condition to be recovered.  This is so important, as lactation is always a bigger drain on body reserves than pregnancy.
• If you've made good quality supplements, make sure you feed them out to stock that most need it, when they need it.  If the supplements are not top quality, then find out why to avoid the problem again.  Poor supplements cost just as much to make as good ones.
• The business of poor second-round pasture growth is common.   You hear all sorts of reasons why the regrowth is slow from cold southerlies, lack of sun, low soil temperatures and many more but it's basically poor planning.
• It's the well known 'pinch period' which happens on both large and small farms, and you need to be prepared for it with some decent supplements.
• Applying nitrogen will give slow spring pastures a boost. Think of N more as a growth stimulant than a fertiliser, which only works well if soil temperatures have warmed up above 6  C, the soils not waterlogged, and the sun is shining most days.
• Then you can get a good 10:1 response or better which is 10kg of pasture Dry Matter for every 1kg of N in the fertiliser applied.   This could happen in a couple of weeks or less, but if it's cold and miserable, it may take three weeks or more and the response could be lower.
• Beware of 'nitrite poisoning' which can happen on fresh spring grass or green crops that have been growing for a long time, and when N levels are high and weather is dull.  If in doubt, get some of the plants tested at your vets. Animals soon go down, are sleepy and die, so find out what emergency measures to take.
• Weeds are starting to grow, especially thistles and ragwort, so make sure you can identify them and treat them now with the correct product, and not when they have flowered and seeded the district.  Go on a Growsafe course.

Sheep

• Today's sheep breeds are all capable of lambing multiples, so the main concern is to manage any thin ewes through lambing and for the early weeks of lactation, which may find the strain too much.
• Those with twins and triplets (if you have left all three on the ewe) will need extra attention to make sure all lambs are getting a good feed each day.
• Mark them with raddle spots and check they are always mothered up correctly, especially before they settle for the night.  Any lamb with an empty tummy needs a feed of some extra good quality milk or colostrum replacer, as it's obviously not getting enough milk.
• Watch that ewes still a way off lambing are not overfed, as this can lead to lead to large lambs and difficult births (dystocia), metabolic diseases (twin lamb disease) or bearings.
• Don't try to fix bearings yourself; with the current value of ewes, it's worth getting the vet as soon as you find them to avoid infections.
• Check that any early-born lambs don't get bunged up with sticky yellow faeces, especially in drying windy weather, and don't skimp on the iodine on the navels of newborn lambs, especially as lambing progresses as the favourite lambing spots get dirty.
• If these overused lambing spots become a dirty, fence them off so ewes use other cleaner spots.
• If you didn't vaccinate ewes pre-lambing, check with the vet what vaccines you should give the lambs for your particular property.  Pulpy Kidney vaccine is an important one.  Vaccinating ewes is one less chore in the lambing paddock.  Remember it takes about three weeks before vaccines start to work.
• Ewes should not need a long-acting worm drench before lambing, and never drench young lambs at docking.
• Don't dock lambs' tails too short - leave the dock long enough to cover the vulva in ewe lambs and an equivalent length in males. The lamb should have enough tail to wag!
• If you are selling all the male lambs, don't bother to castrate the big ones as the market pays more for ram lambs which grow faster.
• Castrate the small multiples as they won't be ready for the early market and could hang around for a long time after Christmas.
• Lactating ewes need plenty of good clean water, so make sure there's plenty of trough access, that the troughs are clean, and that the lambs cannot drown in them when they race around. Put some large rocks in the troughs or cover them with reinforcing mesh.

Cattle

• The main concern is to keep the feed up to cows that are suckling calves, as you'll want them to start cycling and get in calf, 6-8 weeks after calving, to maintain an annual calving pattern.
• So if you have more than one calf suckling, just realise how much the cow needs to be fed. Give them your best hay and silage to supplement their pasture.  Hay is ideal to aid digestion and avoid bloat.
• Check on cows suckling calves for sore teats. If the cows are multiple suckled, then make sure all the calves are getting equal access, as some cows have favourites. Make sure all quarters are being emptied to avoid mastitis.
• Check regularly for swollen, red, and painful quarters, as they need urgent treatment.
• It's important to have a good safe yard facility for the vet to treat a cow.  It should have a good solid race with access to a cow's udder, and a safe headbail to restrain the cow for calving problems.
• If you are going to rear calves, especially for the first time, see our website for good advice. From birth calves need plenty of milk, well supplemented with good hay, meal and clean water. It costs around $240-$260 to rear a calf plus purchase price and transport, so you cannot afford to pay early silly prices.
• Dehorn and castrate calves before 6 weeks old, using an anaesthetic for dehorning (check with your vet). Holstein Friesians having bigger horn buds will be ready for treatment much younger than Jerseys, so decide when to do them by the size of the horn bud.
• Use the hot cauterising iron for dehorning (which gives a good clean job) and not caustic paste. Check with your vet about blackleg vaccinations for calves.

General management

• If you have management concerns, then seek help.
• Check farm supplies regularly so things are done on time, and you don't have to waste time and petrol going to town for small items all the time.
• Check the farm financial budgets, pay accounts on time and keep farm records up to date.