General
Continue to use the ground hog for surface aeration as conditions allow
Moved to 3n2 milking on 16 April. Milking times of 5 am, 3 pm and 10 am to give a 10:19:19 milking interval
Final N applications scheduled for the 17 April
Contracted silage still to be harvested, will use an innoculant to help with preservation
Chosen cows will leave after Easter
Will start the planning for setting up the calf sheds next week to ensure we are set up early for spring
Have identified the next group of approximately 20 cows to be dried off after Easter - these are cows needing to gain 0.4-0.6 BCS units before the end of May and are predominantly rising 3 year olds that need to be at BCS 5.5 for calving
Winter milking plant maintenance has been booked in with Southland Farm Services
5% copper sulphate solution will be used in a portable footbath in the exit race to minimise the spread of footrot
Recent tests indicate good levels of copper and selenium in the cows so no additional supplementation is required
R2's require both Cu and Se topups before winter based on their blood results
Significant drop in soil temperature measured this week
Standard herd
1 paddock harvested for baleage this week
No changes to inshed feeding unless residuals are not being achieved
Maintain the 35 day rotation length
Average pasture cover tracking well to autumn feed budget with 7.5 T DM less inshed feed and 20T DM less silage fed relative to the plan (equals 60 kg DM/cow less)
Started dicussions on the 2026 wintering plan as part of the FY26 budgeting process
Future herd
2 milking platform paddocks plus the 2.5 winter Italian paddocks conserved this week
Bale placement plan for winter has been finalised and bales will start being laid out this week. Will be setting baleage paddocks up for 2 day breaks and two different supplement intensities - 10 T DM/ha (approx 45 bales/ha) vs 15 T DM/ha (approximately 67 bales/ha)
No changes to inshed feeding unless residuals are not being achieved
Maintain the 35 day rotation length
Average pasture cover tracking well to autumn feed budget with 3.8 T DM (18 kg DM/cow) less inshed feed fed relative to the plan
