Moves Complete

The day started with a plan to move the last group of heifers to pasture before noon.  Before we were done eating breakfast it was raining so that plan was postponed.  Bruce bought a good rain suit the first year we started grazing so the rain wasn't necessarily a problem but the thunder and lightening wasn't exactly welcoming. The rain quit by 1:00 but the fence didn't have as much current in it as it should have so Bruce moved a fencer to this section only.  The fences tend to get shorted out when the grass is tall and wet.  By the time Bruce got the final details done with the fence it was 3:00 before we started.  We ended up hauling 19 steers and heifers, four at a time.  The first two groups unloaded and wandered around quietly.  The third group had one catch the gate wire with their foot when they got off the trailer and dragged it.  They all got excited and started running and went through the gate on the other side of the pasture they were supposed to be in.  There was no real harm done since they were still in the pasture, just the wrong spot.  Bruce and Mike took the 4 wheeler and got them back where they belong and Bruce replaced the gate hooks that got destroyed when they went through the fence.  I don't believe we have ever gotten heifers home to that piece that they didn't go through the fence and destroy atleast 2 gate hooks.  Generally the groups that we put there have never seen a fence so it isn't a surprise.  The last 2 loads unloaded without incident.  Overall they seem like a quiet bunch.  Ed's yard is officially empty now.  We have 60 milking cows on pasture and about 60 heifers and steers on pasture in 3 groups.  For the months to come they can harvest their own feed and haul their own manure.  Nice!

This is our cattle trailer which was built in the early 1970's.  Bruce used the big tractor today so he could see over the top for backing and road traffic.  Looks a bit rediculous since our smallest tractor would have pulled the trailer just fine.

We mark the fence with masking tape so its more visible.  The yellow gate hooks get destroyed when the cattle go through the fence.  Thankfully they are less than $2 each and we keep a stock on hand for just such occasions.

One of the challenges with grazing cattle is the inexact science as to what the cows are harvesting themselves.  As the grass matures the feed value is less, and as is the case with spring grazing, we start out with not quite enough grass and then we very quickly can't quite keep up.  That is the current situation.  Part of the benefits of grazing is the ability to remove protein, and therefore the cost of it, from the cow diet.  A measure of how the cows are handling their feed balance is call MUN (milk, urea, nitrogen).  I found this explanation:

"In addition to being an essential nutrient of all plants and animals, protein is the most expensive nutrient fed to dairy cattle. When protein is consumed it gets broken down into smaller compounds such as peptides, amino acids and ammonia in the rumen. While the peptides and amino acids can be absorbed in the small intestine and used directly by the cow for growth and lactation, rumen microbes can use ammonia for microbial growth and protein synthesis (Van Soest, 1994).

The amount of nitrogen (N) required by the microbes is determined by the amount of available carbohydrate. If dietary protein is fed above the level needed by the microbes, the ammonia will be converted to urea in the liver and excreted in the urine. Feeding more energy will increase the microbes’ need for N and promote the use of excess ammonia (Van Soest, 1994).

A proper balance of protein and energy, or more specifically rumen degradable protein and rapidly fermentable carbohydrate, allows the cow to make the best possible use of protein in the diet. This could mean higher production, lower feed costs, and less environmental impact from N in manure." The ideal number is around 12.  A number higher than that means we are over feeding protein, lower and they are not getting enough.  Currently our numbers are too low.   Another measure of how they are doing is our tank amounts which have also dropped excessively recently.  Bruce has added protein back into their diet but the challenge is in the fact that the milk picked up today will not have the information we need posted online for atleast 2 days.  By the time we get the information we need its already 3-5 days old!  We also need to skip grazing a section of pasture and move the cows back into the original paddock that has just grown back.  The grass that we skip will be cut, chopped and put into Ed's silo as heifer feed, allowing new growth and better quality for the cows.  Skipping a piece and chopping it is a normal spring event since the first growth comes all at once.  Grazing creates the staggering of the growth and as the grass slows its growth the cows keep up better with the hopes of them always harvesting perfect feed.   Ed picked up the augers and parts for the silo unloader so "in Bruce's free time" they will get that rebuilt while it is still on the bottom.  Too much to do, too little cooperation from the weather for planting.  In the meantime there may be opportunity to get that project done.

The peas and triticale are up, 9 days after planting!  Bruce says he can see the rows so I will try to get pictures soon.