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www.tipperary-coop.ie

August/September 2019

NewsletterIn this newsletter we will be covering the following topics:

The weather is humid and hot, and fly populations are on the increase. Flies are more than a nuisance for all stock; they spread disease and can contribute to the spread of mastitis, warts, pink eye, severe wound infections and infestations with maggots. All stock should be treated for flies during the months of July and August. Dairy cows should routinely have their tails clipped. Suckler cows being weaned and dry/cull cows benefit from monthly fly treatments and Stockholm tar applied to the udder to prevent Summer Mastitis. Sealers should be used routinely on dry and cull cows over the summer.

Farms with tree shade and hedgerow cover will have more issues with flies and treatments may have to be applied every 3-4 weeks. Also, in some farm yards there are dung heaps near the parlour areas; moving the heaps helps reduce the fly burden for milking cows in the parlour and the mastitis risk.

On robot farms, use fly treatments routinely in the herd as it reduces the risk of cows getting irritated when standing in the robot and as a result there are less attachment failures.

Calves are at risk of pink eye and also heifer calves will pick up the papilloma viruses that cause warts from flies. It is wise to treat calves monthly for flies. If warts are an ongoing problem make sure you examine these young heifers and try and remove warts early. Talk to your vet about using an autogenous wart vaccine in the calves; some vets have reported a reduction in warts in in-calf heifers when the vaccine was used in calves.

Pinkeye is very common on some farms. Dust and damage from long grasses and weeds can contribute to the problem. The bacteria is shed in the secretions from the eyes and nose, and spread from calf to calf by contact and head flies. Overcrowding at feed troughs or water troughs can also be a factor. Treatments include a sub-conjunctival injection (antibiotic is injected in the inner part of the eyelid; ask the vet), or using a little of a cloxacillin based mastitis tube into the eye daily.

In the enclosed table there is a list of the licensed fly treatments available in Ireland. All of these products have precautions for the

operator when using them; always wear gloves and wash off any product that comes in contact with skin immediately. Always read the label.

Ticks are responsible for Redwater and Tick Borne Fever (TBF). Redwater is less common as grassland has been more developed than in the past but is still seen in areas where ticks survive in heavy covers, and where deer and sheep help maintain the life cycle of the tick. Imizol (imidocarb) is the only licensed treatment for Redwater. It can also be used at double the normal dose for susceptible cattle entering a high risk area. It will allow the animal to pick up the infection but not become ill and give its immune system a chance to eliminate the parasites. It is effective for four weeks. Imizol has a very long withdrawal period; 213 days for meat and 21 days for milk.

Tick Borne Fever (TBF) is caused by bacteria-like agent Anaplasma phagocytophilium which is also spread by ticks. The main sign seen in cows is sudden milk drop and a rise in body temperature. If a blood sample is taken from an affected animal in the early stage of the disease, a diagnosis can be made in the laboratory. TBF is often confused with IBR and other viral diseases that cause high temperatures and milk drop. If you are vaccinating for IBR

Summer FlieS and TickSCompiled by Martin Kavanagh MVB Cert DHH

• Summer Flies and Ticks• Silage Sampling 2019• Time for Lime – Low Cost Fertiliser

• Autumn Grazing Plan• Fertiliser Recommendations for August and September• Computer Classes for Milk Suppliers

Milk Supply intake updateMilk supply from our milk suppliers for July 2019 increased by 9% compared to the same month last year, and year to date

from January to July 2019 inclusive, milk supply has increased by 10% compared to the same period last year.

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and cows are experiencing sudden milk drop, particularly in the early and late summer, then suspect TBF. It can also cause infertility in cows if it strikes early in the breeding season, causing embryo loss. Also TBF can cause transient infertility in bulls due to the high temperature. TBF is very responsive to antibiotic treatment and animals recover well.

There are no licensed products that have zero withdrawal periods for milk to treat ticks. There is anecdotal evidence that repeat treatments with eprinomectins or fly treatments in dairy herds help to control ticks but this is not reliable. If you suspect TBF or have problems with Redwater, talk to your vet about diagnosis and prevention strategies.

IntroductionTipperary Co-op is offering a silage sampling and analysis service. We will also be offering mineral and concentrate recommendations for the coming winter based on these results.

Silage in many cases will make up the largest proportion of winter feed on farms. Taking this into consideration it is essential to know how your animal will perform and this service can help you tailor a feed plan for the upcoming winter. If you underestimate the quality of the silage you may be wasting expensive concentrates but if you over estimate the quality you may have poor performance hence effecting live weigh gain of your stock.

Sampling Options • Silage Sample Only - you will get a reading for Dry Matter

Content, Preservation Quality, Ash, Energy Value and Protein Content. When a silage sample is tested for the above parameters it can give you an in-depth insight into the quality of your winter feed which in turn will help in creating a feed plan for your winter diet for the particular type of stock you are feeding.

• Complete Silage & Mineral Analysis - This test will include the above but will also include a mineral breakdown of your silage. Knowledge of a silage mineral content is required in order to select the appropriate mineral supplementation for drystock, pre-calver and lactating cows. The analysis includes the major minerals (P,K,Ca,Mg,Na,S) and trace elements (Cu, Zn, Se, Co, Fe, Mn, I). This test is very useful to ensure correct mineral supplementation prior to calving and avoid problems like milk fever, held cleanings and dirty cows. Also in many cases herds are only topped up with minerals once a year so it is paramount that you are supplementing correctly for the winter.

If you sign up for a the Complete Silage and Mineral Analysis our Farm Services Team can then assist you in completing a winter diet. Please fill out the green form attached to avail of the above service.

Time For lime – low coST FerTiliSer Now is the ideal time to apply lime to correct soil pH on mineral soils. Lime will bring many benefits from increasing the availability of soil nutrients (N, P, K & S) to improving soil structure (aeration & drainage). Soils maintained at a soil pH 6.3 to 6.5 will release up to 80kg N/ha/year from soil organic N reserves. This will help reduce chemical fertiliser nitrogen (N) bills on farms by approximately €80/ha/year. Lime will increase the availability of soil phosphorus (P) and is the first step to improving / building soil P levels cost effectively. Maintaining the optimum soil pH will in addition increase the response to applied P in organic manures and P containing fertilisers such as 18-6-12 / 27-2.5-5.

Over the coming days/weeks check soil test results and apply lime to fields based on lime recommendations. Target fields with the lowest soil pH’s first and apply lime where the opportunity presents for example after grazing paddocks, 2nd cut grass silage or at reseeding time. Soils maintained at the optimum soil pH 6.3 will grow approximately 10 to 15% extra grass during the growing season. Ground limestone is the cheapest and most cost effective tool to control soil acidity in the long term. Apply a maximum of 7.5t/ha (3t/ac) ground limestone in a single application.

Silage Sampling campaign 2019

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PastureBase Ireland data demonstrates that many dairy farmers end up with a lower supply of grass than they would like entering into the autumn. August is a crucial month to build grass supply for autumn. An autumn grazing plan is needed to make sure that there is enough grass available for autumn grazing.

On many farms, silage area comes back into grazing in August and thereby lengthening the rotation. Not all dairy farms have silage area available to graze on the platform. If things are not going to plan during August in terms of building grass supply, action needs to be taken. This can involve removing other stock from the milking platform or introducing additional feed to help slow down the rotation. This can be baled silage or meal or a mixture of both. Whatever the choice, it is better that additional feed goes into the cow during August to allow grass supply pick up rapidly rather than later on when grass growth is much slower.

BuildiNg grass So it is important that a rotation length of 28-30 days is reached by September 1st. The growth of grass during the next six weeks is extremely important as the rate of grass growth (supply) will be less than what is eaten (demand) by mid-September. It is important to take advantage of August grass growth rates in order to build grass supply. Average growth for August is about 60-65 kgDM/ha/day but growth can also be 20-25% higher particularly after a dry spell.

How do we ensure we will have enough grass??1. The rotation length must be around 28-30 days by Sept. 1st.

So if we have 100 acres of grazing ground, by the end of the month we need to be grazing about 3.5 acres/day (28 day rotation). So we must gain about 2-3 days in rotation every week during August. However the autumn grazing targets for September 1st are outlined in the Table. Farm cover targets are 300+ kgDM/cow by Sept 1st for most dairy farms.

2. This gain in rotation length will not happen without the application of fertiliser. For those who are stocked at around 1 cow/ac (2.5 cows/ha), farmers will be normally applying around 20- 30 units N/ac at the start of the month. However

a blanket approach (spreading most of the farm on 1 day) of spreading 40 units N/ac on most of the farm in the latter half of August needs to be carried out to ensure a build-up in grass supply. The response to Nitrogen fertiliser diminishes rapidly during September in a normal year.

If some farmers end up with too much grass entering into the autumn (rotation lengths well over 30 days entering September) this should be made into winter feed. So if the rotation length is gaining too quickly during August, the worst quality paddocks should be removed for baled silage. The earlier this surplus grass is removed, the easier it is to rectify the problem.

Heavy FarmsThere is a huge variation in soil type across the Tipp Co-op region. Some of the land is very heavy in nature and therefore it is important that rotation length does not get too long (over 30 days by September 1st and over 40 days by September end). Very long rotations result in very large quantities of grass to be grazed. This grass can prove very difficult to graze during poor weather conditions. The supply of grass on heavy farms is rarely a challenge for heavy land farms. Ground conditions are the main challenge. It is important to avoid grazing covers of grass over 2000 kg DM/ha.

auTumn grazing planCompiled by John Maher, Grass 10 Manager, Teagasc, Moorepark

autumN graziNg targets

Date Cover/Cow(Kg DM)

Average Farm Cover(Kg DM/Ha)

Rotation Length

STOCKING RATE OF 2.5 LU/HA

1st August 180 450 20 Days

Mid - August 200 500 25 Days

1st September 300 750 30 Days

STOCKING RATE OF 3.0 LU/HA

1st August 180 550 20 Days

Mid - August 250 750 25 Days

1st September 330 990 30 Days

STOCKING RATE OF 3.5 LU/HA

1st August 190 665 20 Days

Mid - August 220 770 25 Days

1st September 280 980 30 Days

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Farm developmenT programmePlease see the current data on the focus farms in the Tipperary Co-op/Teagasc Farm Development programme.

Week Ending

2019

John, Charlotte and John G

Crowe

Peter Hughes and

Paul MaguireGlen Tour Farms

James, Seamus and Janice

FarrellT J Ryan

Solohead Research Farm

Milk Yield (Litres) 24.5 24 22 24.5 24.5 20

Butterfat (%) 4.18 4.21 4.21 4.05 4.10 4.43

Protein (%) 3.58 3.56 3.62 3.60 3.60 3.69

SCC ('000) 76 56 32 91 98 114

Milk Solids(Kgs/Cow/Day) 1.95 1.92 1.77 1.92 1.94 1.67

Concentrate Fed (Parlour Kgs/Day) 4 4 2 2 1 1

Breeding End Date 27th July 10th August 24th July 27th July 1st August 1st August

Stocking Rate (LU'S/HA) 2.73 3.94 3.34 3.10 3.04 2.89

Farm Cover (Kgs DM/HA) 560 792 597 604 699 535

Cover Per Cow (Kgs DM/LU) 205 201 179 195 230 185

Growth Rate (Kgs DM/Ha/Day) 46 67 67 55 49 64

FerTiliSer recommendaTion For auguST/SepTemberAugust September

Stocking Rate Units/Acre (Kgs/Ha) Units/Acre (Kgs/Ha)

<2 14 (17) 0

2.0-2.5 20 (25) 0

2.5-3.0 28 (34) 0

3.0-3.5 30-35 (37-43) 15-20 (18-24)

>3.5 35-40 (43-49) 15-20 (18-24)

Tipperary Co-op/Teagasc

Farm Walk NoticeThe next farm walk for our milk suppliers as part of our farm development

programme will be held

at Solohead Research FarmTopics will include:

Farm update Re-seeding management

Soil fertility/Low emission slurry spreading

Tuesday 20th August at 11am

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Tipperary ETB, under Skills for Work, are offering fully funded training courses in using the online Animal Identification and Movement System (AIM). There are huge benefits to using the online system including:

9 Registering bovine calf births

9 Viewing your herd profile

9 Using AIM as your herd register

9 Viewing individual bovine and animal details

9 Creating/Applying for certificates of compliance

9 Notifying a farm to farm movement online

Courses will run from mid- October to late December in a number of locations throughout the county.

If you are interested in attending, or finding out about eligibility, please contact:Lavinia English on 0504 20384 or 087 2904160

We prioritise farmers who left school early or who have been out of school for some time and need help getting started with IT.

Free compuTer TrainingFor Tipperary co-op milk SupplierS