The dairying scene

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33128, 19 January 1973, Page 14

The dairying scene

Summer management: — Fortunately drought conditions have not oeen very common this year. However, feed is in short supply on some properties at present and for this reason it is worth while considering summer grazing management. In a few words the answer to this problem is restricting grazing when feed is restricted.

Most people tend to feed the herd a little more when growth starts to slow. If there is not enough on one paddock then give them another. This shorter rotation leads to less feed next time around, and the area given to the herd needs to be further extended. Carried to its extreme the end result is all gates are open and the herd is on free range grazing on what little feed is left.

Fanners, however, should feed only what is available. Giving the herd an extra paddock is like eating into capital. Growth, or interest, is our return. If we eat a paddock out too soon, or too hard, we will get a lower return, or less interest.

Those with low stocking rates will have enough wasted feed to survive open grazing. (Their capital, in terms of grass, is large enough that spending some of it will not be noticed.) But potential production has been lost.

A successful farmer is one who is able to match his herd to his pasture growth and efficiently convert this growth to milkfat.

Tangential welded milk Inlets:—Rubber joints and seals on a milking machine harbour bacteria and are difficult to clean. Welded milk inlets in a milk line are a recent development in the trend to avoid rubber connections wherever possible. The inlets are welded at an angle to the milk line to give a smoother entry of milk into the main stream giving less turbulence and less chance of fat damage. The mam problem arises after milking. To get efficient cleaning the water flow must be turbulent. An easy solution with conventional bucket cleaning is to raise the cups out of the water to let in a gollop of air. This can be done for you by a flushing pulsator that fits on the end of the milk-line. Thirdly, the introduction of a new milk-line is the signal for you to consider the advantages of some form of in-place cleaning!

A drenching race for bloat:—Drenching is the only sure way to prevent bloat and the quickest and the cheapest (if you consider wear and tear on a tractor, pump and nerves). New herringbone dairies often include an extra space at the head of the cow. This allows the farmer to drench the cows during milking and it is simple enough in internal race dairies.

For those without this facility, why not consider a separate race alongside the exit to dose the cows after they have left the bails. Jim and David have built one to hold 30 odd cows in herringbone fashion and they drench this batch in seven minutes. Two batches and the herd is safe to go out on any pasture, clover or lucerne with no worry—even if

they do break down the electric fence. Spray effluent disposal: — Successful operation depends on a few keypoints, one of which is the prevention of blockages caused usually by straw or stones. Keep stones out of the sump by using a stone trap. The easiest way is to deepen the drain for the last three to four feet before the sump by four to six inches. The water slows down and the stones drop out A shovel the same width as the stone trap, used often, and one of the main problems is over. Straw traps or wire baskets were recommended, but not any longer. They block, fill with water and are real back-breakers to lift out and clean. Do without one. Keep a pitch fork handy and use it once a week to fork off the floating straw. Solving these two causes of blockage, plus the better designed pumps available now, make sprav disposal easier to operate and relatively trouble free.

These items of special interest to dairy farmers have been contributed by P. 1.8. and M.T.E.