This article is from page 38 of the 2008-10-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
CLARE dairy farmers turned out in force for two farm walks last week held on the farms of Paddy Harvey, Brisla, Cooraclare and Patrick Mur- phy, Cornmallow, Quin. The two farmers were selected as new moni- tor farms this year, and serve an es- sential role in recording production data and costs trends on farms as part of the Teagasc/Kerry Agribusiness focus on farm profit programme.
The main theme of the walks was centered on performance and costs on the farms, as well as managing grass and grazing under difficult conditions as fodder budgeting for the coming winter.
Ger Courtney, Teagasc monitor farm programme coordinator, gave an in-depth run down on perform- ance of the farms in terms of milk supplied, costs of production and the breeding within the herds with particular attention to the herd’s EBI and calving patterns.
He also explained how farmers can estimate their own fodder situation and gave advice on how supplemen- tation can be used to ensure adequate feed is available for the upcoming winter period.
Aidan Bugler, Local Dairy Adviser covered the area of grass budgeting on each farm illustrating the impor- tance of having a plan for managing grass in the autumn with the aim of
keeping grass in the cows diet for as long as possible, while at the same time ensuring enough grass is car- ried over for next spring.
He acknowledged that the weather conditions this autumn have made building up grass very difficult. How- ever he was anxious to show how the two farms had taken corrective action early by feeding some silage and meal which will help maximize OF Acer Nimes ehh
Tom Gleeson, Local Dairy Advis- er, covered the area of soil fertility and stressed the need for regular soil sampling as a must if farmers are to have any chance of keeping costs un- der control. This he said is particu- larly true this year considering that
the costs of fertilizers have increased so dramatically in recent times. The need to keep soils limed and maxi- mizing the benefits of slurry were seen by Tom as an essential part of nutrient management on farms.
Rina Sayers, MVB Moorepark, covered the area of herd health with particular emphasis on BVD and IBR infections in herds. Her main message was prevention is better than cure and she stressed the need for on farm biosecurity measures as the best way to protect your herd from infection.