The busiest time of the year is approaching for spring-calving dairy farmers, with the workload on farms about to significantly increase.
Spring brings a return to milk production for many farms, which in turn means the arrival of calves.
And along with this there are a large number of other jobs that need to be completed too.
Spring
One of the easiest measures to use on farms to save time and decrease the workload for yourself and/or your staff is making use of a contractor.
Using a contractor for slurry and the first two rounds of chemical fertiliser in particular, can be massively beneficial.
As well as being a significant time saver, it may also mean that a large area can receive slurry earlier in the spring.
It is important here that you take note of the changes to the nitrates regulations that have been introduced since January 1, 2023.
Another important point to note is that the limit on the amount of chemical nitrogen (N) has been reduced by 10% and a fertiliser register is also set to be introduced.
This register will monitor the amount of chemical fertiliser purchased onto the farm.
Second herd
On some farms it may be possible/suitable to have a colostrum herd/antibiotic herd during the spring.
This means that when milking, you know that all the milk from the main herd is suitable to enter the tank.
This prevents any potential mistakes and save times trying to identify cows to ensure that their milk can or cannot enter the tank.
This may not work for all farms, but on farms where it is suitable it can be a big time saver.
Grazing
Maximising the amount of grass in the cow’s diet during the spring is a key target for most, if not all spring-calving herds.
To make best use of grass on farms, cows firstly need to be able to access it and then be quickly removed without causing damage.
Achieving this comes down to a number of factors, most importantly having good grazing infrastructure in place.
To limit damage caused by cows in early spring most farmers will use on/off grazing.
This is when cows are allowed into a paddock for a short period to graze and then removed once they have finished eating.
This is an extremely useful tool to use on dairy farms during the spring months.
On a large number of farms, once-a-day milking is used during the spring to save time, but this is not suitable for all farms.
Instead, on farms where OAD milking is not taking place, milking cows earlier in the afternoon should be considered so they can get back to grass for a few hours in daylight.
This makes it easier to see when they are finished grazing or starting to cause damage.