Dairy notes February 2008

Currently the quoted prices for fertilisers are running 50 percent above last years level.  What can you do to keep cost increases to a minimum without cutting grass yields?   Two points to consider are:

a) Soil analysis – don’t underestimate the value of nutrient reserves in your soils.  Continual use of compound fertiliser on grazing ground over the past 20-30 years or regular applications of slurry to easily accessible ground may have built up substantial reserves of phosphate (P) and potash (K). Analysis will confirm if these reserves exist.  You will identify grazing fields where a cheaper straight nitrogen fertiliser can be used for part or all of the year and silage fields where straight nitrogen only needs to be used along with slurry.

b) Efficient use of slurry – especially for those producers who had to observe the closed period for slurry production (15 October – 31 January) there will be the opportunity to take advantage of the improvement in the efficiency of use of slurry nitrogen obtained by delaying application to the spring.

For slurry applied by splash-plate, efficiency of nitrogen use increases from 5 percent in autumn to 20 percent in spring. A splash-plate application of 45,000 litres per hectare of cow slurry in February/early March will provide the same nitrogen for grass growth as 2.5 small bags (50Kgs) of 27.5 percent nitrogen. Allow for this improved nitrogen availability when deciding how much fertiliser to apply for first cut.

Applying the slurry by trailing shoe or shallow injection instead of splash-plate will almost double the efficiency of use of the slurry nitrogen, allowing a further saving of another 2 bags of fertiliser per hectare.

Don’t waste the valuable P and K in the slurry on grazing fields with high P and K reserves.  Target silage and maize fields where nutrient requirements are high and grazing fields identified with low reserves so you can reduce purchases of dearer compound fertilisers.

With meal prices over £200 per tonne and milk price looking set to drop substantially, there is a large financial incentive to get cows out to grass as soon as possible so that feed costs can be reduced.  Grass covers on most farms are substantially higher than usual as grass has continued to grow in the mild winter conditions, so early turn-out should be possible.

Fertiliser for early grass should be applied as soon as ground conditions allow and several dry days are forecast.  Select dry fields currently carrying a good grass cover – remember it takes grass to grow grass so these fields will be ready for grazing earlier than bare ground.  Apply urea or a urea based fertiliser as urea is less prone to leaching than other forms of nitrogen and it is currently up to 10 percent cheaper per unit of nitrogen.

Lameness is a major source of financial loss on a dairy farm.  Losses occur through lower milk yield, loss of condition, poor fertility, cost of veterinary treatment and increased culling.  

To reduce the incidence and severity of lameness a number of routine practices should be carried out:

Slurry applied in spring or summer can be a valuable source of N P K