Pica

It seems to be a year for pica problems, with increased reports of cows eating stones and bits of plastic over recent weeks. It’s a symptom of a phosphorus deficiency, and it usually presents itself after a period of very high or low growth rates.

The problem is linked with a number of other problems such as acidosis. Needless to say it’s not good, so action needs to be taken if cows are showing signs of pica.

The quickest fix is to increase the amount of phosphorus in the diet. This can be achieved through meal, water or mineral licks.

Among these options, going through the water will probably be the most suitable for most farmers.

The meal option is expensive, and a minimum feed rate of 2kg/head/day will be required. This could prove problematic if extra meal needs to be fed to fill a short term grass problem.

Mineral licks are available and can work well at treating relatively minor deficits, but can be slow to fix a severe pica event. Applying liquid phosphorus through the water is probably the fastest way to fix the problem.

There are a couple of companies that supply liquid phosphorus, and the easiest way to get it into cows is by adding it to water troughs morning and evening for a few weeks.

Unlike supplementing magnesium where every cow must get the right amount of each day to prevent grass tetany, supplementing the herd with phosphorus does not need to be as exact on a daily basis.

Sharemilking

There was huge positivity and energy at the sharemilking open day in west Cork last week. The landowner provides all the facilities while the sharemilker provides all of the cows and the labour. Both run separate businesses, so they are not in partnership, but they do need to work together, have trust in each other and, above all else, have integrity.

As demonstrated at the Shinagh farm, sharemilkers are top class in terms of technical performance and this drives financial performance.

For land owners who want to take a step back from the parlour and the stresses of running the farm, sharemilking provides an opportunity to continue to be involved in the business of farming and to invest in their farm assets.

OK, the tax incentives for land leasing are good, but the question was asked last week what then? What does the retired farmer do with their time and energy, and who is going to maintain/invest in their farm if they don’t? Part two of the report will come next week.

Reseeds

At this stage most parts of the country have received rainfall, but at varying amounts. Places that were starting to burn up will take longer to recover compared to farms that were always green and never slowed up. Many of the early sown reseeds were struggling, so rain is coming just at the right time.

If conditions are good for grass seeds they are also good for weeds, so any of the April sown reseeds will be coming up to the time for spraying soon. Top dress with 20 units/acre of nitrogen before spraying and only use a clover safe spray.