Management Notes for January 2017

Management Notes are prepared by staff from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). Questions and comments are welcome to allow CAFRE to address the issues that are important to you. Please contact the author directly. CAFRE is a college within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Dairying

Prepared by: Trevor Alcorn

e-mail:           trevor.alcorn@daera-ni.gov.uk

telephone:     028 8225 3421                                            

Farm SAFE

Think safety on the farm at all times.Transferring slurry from one tank to another at this time is common on many farms, so always be aware of the danger of slurry gases.

Soil analysis

Now is an ideal time to carry out soil analysis. Only take soil samples when no fertiliser, slurry, manure or lime has been applied for at least 12 weeks. If you plan to apply slurry to grassland soon take soil samples first. 

Based on the results of the soil analysis informed decisions can be made about applications of fertilisers and slurry. If the correct levels of nutrients are applied, yields will be optimised and cost savings may be possible. A standard soil analysis gives an indication of:

• soil pH and lime requirement
• soil phosphorus index
• soil potassium  index
• soil magnesium index

Soil augers and sample bags are available from your local DAERA office. For meaningful soil analysis it is essential to obtain a sample that is representative of the area being tested. Therefore:

• Always use a corer when taking samples. Never use a spade or lift a handful of soil from a ploughed field as a poor sample is worse than none at all.
• Do not take samples within three months of nutrient application and avoid taking samples when soils are waterlogged.
• Take cores down to 75 mm (3”) for grassland and 150 mm (6”) for arable.
• Each sample should not represent more than four hectares. Divide large fields, noting and sampling each area separately.
• Take cores from the field by crossing it in a ‘W’ pattern.
• Take 20 cores from a field, bulk them together, mix and put the soil in a labeled sample bag.
• Don’t sample near water troughs, gates, headlands, trees, dung or urine patches or areas where stock shelter.
• Don’t put cores from different soil types together in a sample. Avoid small areas of a different soil type or take two samples, one from each area.

Getting the cow back in calf!

Breeding is well underway. All cows that are six weeks calved should have displayed a heat and are past their ‘voluntary waiting period’. Heats seen after this should be bred and a record of the service made on farm software. Assess breeding efficiency by working out the submission rate for the last three weeks. How many cows that had completed their ‘voluntary waiting period’ three weeks ago have been served? This answers the question of how many cows that were eligible to be served in the last 21 days were served. It should be all of them!  If not, there is a problem with heat detection on your farm.

Tackling digital dermatitis

Is digital dermatitis a problem on your farm?  The AFBI Hillsborough farm survey on lameness found that 45 of the 57 herds visited had digital dermatitis. Routine foot bathing is the most practical method of control, but to be successful it must be carried out effectively. Without regular foot bathing the incidence of digital dermatitis will increase weekly during the winter.

Foot bathing

Ideally provide a double foot bath, a bath to wash feet, followed by a treatment bath.

The wash bath is needed to remove dung which reduces the effectiveness of the chemical in the treatment bath. If there is not enough space to fit in both baths, the cows’ feet can be washed with a hose before leaving the parlour on the way out to the foot bath. To allow time for good penetration of the chemical the cow needs to take at least three strides through the treatment bath. It must therefore be at least

3 m long. Fill the bath to a depth of 10 cm to ensure the foot is covered up to the top of the hoof. The frequency of treatment depends on the incidence of infection in the herd. The minimum regime is to bath after four consecutive milkings each week.

Exporting records for organic manures

As with last year records of all organic manures exported must be submitted to NIEA by 31st January for the previous calendar year by the exporter.

Beef and sheep

Prepared by:   Darryl Boyd

e-mail:            darryl.boyd@daera-ni.gov.uk

telephone:      028 7138 4309

Beef

Suckler cows

On many farms spring calving will start over the coming months. Neonatal calf health is vital as scour accounts for 50% of deaths in calves under one month old. There are several causes of scours which are classed as either non-infectious or infectious and prevention and treatment is different for each.

Non-infectious causes are a result of inadequate dam nutrition or a poor environment for the new born calf. These scours will not spread through a batch of calves. Infectious causes can be divided into three categories:

1. Viral causes such as coronavirus, rotavirus and BVD. Antibiotics aren’t effective against viral causes but are sometimes used as secondary defence, as the viral infection is likely to open the doors for bacterial infection. Effective vaccines are available and may be particularly useful in scenarios of compact calving where cows can be vaccinated in batches. 
2. Bacterial causes such as E-coli and salmonella, antibiotics will be effective in the treatment of these infections. 
3. Protozoan causes such as cryptosporidium and coccidiosis can be easily picked up from the environment. They are difficult to remove from the environment and generally require an oral suspension for treatment.

Prevention is always better than treatment and good colostrum management, as well as good hygiene standards are as important as anything. No matter the cause a good rehydration therapy using oral electrolyte will likely be required.

Soil testing

From mid January through to the end of February is a good time to carry out soil analysis. For grassland take samples down to a depth of 75 mm and 150 mm for arable ground. Further information on the sampling procedure can be found in the dairying notes.

Exporting/importing organic manures

As with last year records of all organic manures exported must be submitted to NIEA by 31January for the previous calendar year by the exporter. Exporting is not that common in the beef and sheep sector. If you are importing slurry it is important you stay below 170 kg nitrogen per hectare. Do your own calculations and keep records of quantities imported and from whom.

Sheep

Late pregnancy feeding

Indoor feeding in late pregnancy may be based on silage, hay or straw. As these are all variable in terms of nutrient content, especially hay and silage it is essential to have these analysed well in advance of the feeding period to determine the required level of concentrate feeding.

Dry matter intake, as a percentage of bodyweight, is greatly reduced during late pregnancy and can be as low as 0.8. Intake is also affected by the type of forage as shown in the table below:

Daily dry matter intakes as % of ewe liveweight by twin bearing ewes inpregnancy when fed concentrates

It is important to know the value of forage available so the remaining balance of energy can be met by concentrate. For example, a 75 kg twin bearing ewe requires 19 MJ ME per day just before lambing. If she receives good hay her DM intake will be 1.35 kg. By multiplying this by the ME value we see she receives 12.83 MJ which isn’t enough. This deficit has to be made up by concentrate. As discussed in previous management notes it is important to know the ME level of the concentrate you use.

Pigs

Prepared by:   Liz Donnelly

e-mail :            liz.donnelly@daera-ni.gov.uk

telephone:        028 9442 6767

Challenges in 2017

There is no doubt that producing pigs can be very challenging at times. 2016 was a challenging year with the main challenge, particularly in the first half of the year, low pig prices. With prices hovering just above £1.00 per kilogramme for several months times were tough. However the year did end on a high with prices increasing to over £1.45 per kilogramme. Let’s hope prices continue to increase in 2017 and it is a prosperous year for all involved in the industry.

As a pig farmer what challenges will you face in 2017? Personally I think the two main challenges will be the continued management of large litters and antimicrobial resistance or AMR as it is commonly called.

Last year born alive increased by an average of 0.3 pigs per litter. That’s three years in a row that born alive has increased by 0.3 pigs per litter for WinPig users. Average born alive is now 13.8 with the top 25% of units achieving 15.3. The increase in born alive is a credit to you but it does bring its challenges. In 2017 the challenge will be to use whatever techniques/products/equipment that are available to increase piglet survival rates. The use of nurse sows, split suckling, supplementary milk and the management and nutrition of sows during pregnancy and lactation will be even more important in 2017.

The resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a hot topic of discussion at the moment and is an issue that will affect all farmers in 2017.  Targets for antibiotic usage will be set in the spring and will run for ten years from 2018. In 2017 the challenge will be to improve pig health and reduce the use of antibiotics. Areas that will become even more important will be ‘all in all out’, unit hygiene, biosecurity, standard of housing and correct stocking densities.

During 2017 the pig management notes will cover topics that will help you meet both the challenge of managing large litters and improving herd health.

Pig slurry exports

As well as January being the start of a new year it is also the month you have to send your slurry export records to NIEA.  Details of slurry exported in 2016 must be sent to NIEA by 31st January 2017. Below are a few reminders of the figures to use to calculate nitrogen (N) production and the information to send to NIEA:

• Quantity of pig slurry exported
• Date slurry exported
• Name and business number of the person who got the slurry
• Name and address of the transporter if used
• N content of pig slurry at 4% dry matter is 3.6 kg per cubic metre
• Annual N production figures:

Sows and served gilts -16.0 kg
Maiden gilts - 11.0 kg  
Pigs from weaning to slaughter weight-  2.38 kg

Training courses

During last year 16 biosecurity workshops were held as part of the Farm Family Key Skills programme. The workshops were well attended with almost 300 pig farmers attending with many making simple changes on their unit to improve biosecurity. As highlighted in my last management notes milk spot remains a problem on many units, as does pleurisy, with 9% of pigs having pleurisy. For this reason workshops on respiratory diseases and worm control will be held throughout Northern Ireland between now and the end of March. At these practical workshops you will have the chance to discuss with local vets what you can do on your unit to reduce the incidence of milk spot, pleurisy and other respiratory diseases. Details of when and where the workshops will be held are available on the CAFRE website under Industry Support.

Horticulture

Prepared by:   Kieran Lavelle

e-mail :            kieran.lavelle@daera-ni.gov.uk

telephone:        028 3752 9060

Top fruit

Winter pruning

The 2016 Northern Ireland (NI) Bramley crop was substantial, but not exceptional.  Fruit quality was generally very good although size range within and between orchards varied widely. Unfortunately the limited demand this season for juicing fruit led to a number of orchards where the windfall apples were not gathered, and even in some cases trees were unpicked.

In light of this, and the possibility that another ‘average’ yield will lead to oversupply in 2017, focus pruning activity this year on increasing average fruit size and minimising the proportion of less valuable or ‘outgrade’ fruit. 

Where an orchard has received sufficient fertiliser and has an acceptable soil pH (between 6.2 and 7.5), the main way to improve fruit size is through substantial winter pruning. The poorest quality apples are always located in shady sections of the tree and on older, less productive timber. Hence, lower limbs and those which have become heavy, thick and poorly dressed with fruiting branches should be a priority for removal. 

Often this approach raises the concern about reducing total yield in the year following, but experience has shown that a few substantial cuts to open the body of the tree to light and reduce the overall canopy by 25%-30% will not adversely affect yield.  In addition, the greater proportion of root nutrients and leaf sugars that are redirected into the remaining buds will improve blossom quality and apple size. Of course, Bramley is very prone to shoot growth as a response to heavier pruning, but again, on established trees we find that a limited number of larger cuts will prove less ‘reactive’ than many smaller cuts per tree, in a single season. Concentrate on retaining the healthiest, best positioned and most fruitful sections in the tree, and do not hesitate to cut out congested, shaded and older material, for the sake of next year’s fruit size and quality.

Soft fruit

Strawberry growers attend soft fruit information day

On 23rd  November 2016, Edible Crops Development Adviser Lori Hartman attended the NIAB EMR (formerly East Malling Research Centre) soft fruit information day, along with members of the soft fruit Business Development Group (BDG). This years’ event focused heavily on pest and disease issues in soft fruit.

NIAB EMR is a world class research centre for perennial horticulture crops, including top fruit and soft fruit. With 14 speakers covering 20 topics at the event, the day long experience presented the group from NI with a wealth of information. Several speakers discussed spotted wing drosophila (SWD), a relatively new pest in the United Kingdom. While not yet detected in NI, it has been identified in other parts of Ireland. The message to growers is that the pest is inevitable, but preparation and crop hygiene are important factors in management. CAFRE will continue to work with growers to monitor and manage SWD in 2017.

Other areas of interest included biological control options that are under development for soft fruit. Earwigs are considered a pest in many ornamental crops, but research is showing they play an important role in blackcurrant plantations as a biological pest control. Another area to watch is that of vine weevil control. Researchers are looking at the viability of using nematodes on the adult weevils, via a stationary trap. Current use of nematodes requires application through irrigation and targets the larval stage only.

The quality of the research presented was excellent and highly relevant. The wide range of topics will fuel ideas for future soft fruit BDG meetings as well as Knowledge Technology Transfer investigations for the soft fruit sector throughout 2017.

And finally…

The authors would like to wish you a very happy, peaceful and prosperous 2017.

Notes to editors: 

1. Follow us on Twitter: @daera_ni.
2. All media enquries to DAERA Press Office, pressoffice.group@daera-ni.gov.uk or tel: 028 9052 4619.

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