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Weekly Summary 7 March 2025

General

  • C-dax vs plate and visual comparison still to be completed

  • Identifying paddocks requiring N fertliser based on applications season to date and current growth conditions

  • Completed second scan - waiting on results to be uploaded into MINDA but comments from the scanner suggest the results are disappointing

  • Visited calves at grazier; all going well and grazier commented on how even the line is

  • Empty R2 culls have gone

  • Silage for spring feeding harvested and in the stack

  • Identifying springer paddocks and working out when these need to drop out of rotation to achieve the required pre-graze mass from mid July onwards

Standard herd

  • Identifying cows for first cull to reduce feed demand and drop back supplementary feeding

  • Reducing silage feeding, will increase inshed feed but will need to continue with PKE in the paddock 

  • Direct supplementary feed costs from last week = $2.90/cow/day

  • First swede yields to be done next week

  • Current number suggest an 18T crop is required to winter all standard mixed age and R2 animals on swedes so looking at alternative options for the R2's

Future herd

  • Holding current levels of inshed feed 

  • Pre-graze covers suggest silage will not be required this week 

  • Current direct supplementary feed costs - $2.16/cow/day and $19.20 milk revenue

  • Waiting for a weather window to get Italian paddocks cut and baled

  • Working through winter baleage feeding paddock setup - currently doing the maths on setting one paddock up at 10T baleage/ha; still debating once/day vs 3 day shifts for winter