Grennans

Soil Starvation – An increasing problem in Ireland

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:47:27 +0000

We don’t starve our animals, so why do we starve our soils, at a time when we need
them to feed a population growth of 2.2%
per annum??
At present the world is not able to feed its people, as almost one billion of them go to bed hungry each night. This is a sad but true fact. The population of the world currently stands at
7 billion and by 2050 it is estimated that it will have risen to 9billion. If we are struggling to nourish people at present,
how are we going to manage come 2050 if we don’t correct
the nutrient depletion of our soils?
We have huge potential in our small but highly productive landscape to increase food production, provided we become more efficient and care for our soils.
Our Precious Soils:
Look at what we are doing to them!!
National sales of N,P & K have fallen dramatically since 1995 in Ireland.
It’s easy to figure out whats happening: we are taking away huge yields, but we’re not replacing what we are taking away.
Traditionally 0-7-30 was applied to silage ground in the Autumn and you topped up in Spring with a high-N compound. This seems to be all history and thus we have arrived at very low soil indices in the majority of tillage & silage fields.
Research has proved that low soil phosphorus levels can cost farms an average loss of 1.5tonne of DM per hectare, which at current feed prices equates to 400 euro per year.
We have become hugely reliant on slurry and dung, but we don’t realize that most of the nutrients in feed are used by the animal for weight gain and maintenance. We are led to believe that slurry from animals on concentrates, has to be very high
in P & K, but this is only partially true, as 1tonne of barley contains 3.35kg of phosphorus, and every 100kg of liveweight gain uses up 1kg of this phosphorus. A lot of our slurry is now stored in lagoons and outdoor tanks, where at the slurry is exposed to at least 1500mm of rainfall annually, therefore diluting its value.

Target Fertilisers – The Secret behind MEGA yields!!
Fully Loaded to Power Your Farm in 2012 & Beyond!
Custom Blended Bulk Fertilisers
Deliver the exact amount of N, P, K you require
No more & No less, Makes sense & Saves money

Full Nutrient Advice &
Soil Testing service provided
Remember the bumper cereal yields of 2011, this means we need to put back even more than normal.

Spring Barley Options 2012

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:45:01 +0000

Spring Barley varieties of choice for 2012:
Propino- Tall variety, with very good standing ability and excellent disease profile. Quench forms part of its parentage. Superb quality feed grain
Cropton: High yielding variety, very similar to propino as Quench forms part of its parentage.
Summit: Highest yielder on UK recommended list. Our snakebite replacement, with excellent standing ability, best suited to very fertile or wet land, where lodging could be an issue.
Quench: The old reliable. Has more than stood the test of time. Joint second highest yielding on our rec. list. Excellent disease profile.
Magaly: Excellent quality feed grain & our favorite for the mill. Very good disease profile, with bumper crops of straw.

We recommend Certified Seed

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:43:29 +0000

Certified Cereal Seed, The Benefits!
• Guaranteed vigor & germination of at least 85%
• Guaranteed purity of at least 98%
• Guaranteed clean & screened seed, free of wild oats
• Guaranteed even seed treatment with a hi-tech fungicide
• Access to the very best of new & highest yielding varieties under Irish conditions
• All seed grown, stored, monitored and assembled to the highest of standards.
• Peace of mind.
DON’T RISK YOUR BUSINESS & OUR AG INDUSTRY WITH DODGY SEED!!
ALWAYS USE CERTIFIED SEED!!

Beans update

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:42:29 +0000

Sow beans ASAP, when soil conditions permit. Fury & Fuego are our varieties of choice this year. Fury is new, and is 1% better yielding & has improved resistance to downy mildew. Correct sowing is very important, because its at a very hungry time of the year for birds. Sow to a depth of 3-4 inches (7.5-10cm), via slow forward speed. Desired plant population is
25 to 30 plants per square meter. Seed is still in transit, so we cannot do a thousand grain weight, talk to us on seeding rate.
Aim to have bean sowing completed by early March.

The cow’s best friend post calving

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:41:24 +0000

Nugget Dairy Rations are the Cows Best Friend Post Calving!

Choose from Super Dairy 18% or Turbo 21% where silage protein is low.
• Exceptional value guaranteed.
• High Maize & Cereal content.
• Excellent fertility and milk yield feedback.
• Full nutritional service available.

Calf Rearing tips 2012

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:39:56 +0000

Important Calf Rearing Tips:
• Calving camera linked to house is essential
• Immediately after the calf is born it’s navel must be disinfected with iodine
• Sheds must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
• Sheds must be well ventilated and free of draughts
• High roofs are desirable to allow stale/noxious air rise and be replaced by fresh air
• Dry bedding is a must
• Access to clean water, fresh concentrates and straw
• Calves must have a floor area of at least 2.5 meters squared and a cubic air area of 8 cubic meters
• Footbathing with disinfectant at entry and exit to sheds
• Operate a closed herd or at least keep bought calves separate until release to pasture
• Be very careful dehorning as very cold/harsh weather can be extra hard or even fatal to calves
• Be vigilant with fast and slow drinkers, when using bulk teat feeders
• Routine feeding, milk little and often
• Remove sick animals to quarantine straight away.

Milk Replacer breaktrough !

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:38:48 +0000

Mega break-through in Wonderthrive Milk Replacer for 2012.
As an option it now comes with Lungbooster included, which is a combination of active plant extracts, with excellent activity against coccidia and cryptosporidium (The main scour causing bugs).
All for an extra cost of only 2euro per bag, which means with the value of calves this year, 2euro is irrelevant!
We feel Lungbooster will be of huge advantage in calf rearing, as 44,000 calves died in 2010 between birth and 6 weeks old and a further 27,000 were stillbirths. (It must be possible to reduce these figures)

Recent adjustments to Wonderthrive have made it even easier to mix, together with longer lasting freshness.
Wonderthrive is a yogurt enriched milk replacer.
Yogurt promotes the production of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract and therefore creates a healthier calf.
Mix at a rate of 125grams of powder to 1lt of water.
Wonderthrive is costing approx 23cent to produce 1lt of milk. Creameries were paying over 40cent/lt for milk in the back-end of 2011, so it more than pays to feed Top Quality Wonderthrive milk replacer.

Spring Beans 2012

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:37:15 +0000

2011 – BUMPER YEAR for BEANS!
Yields of up to 3.8 tonne per acre were recorded.
The nitrogen saving from the bean crop, plus the extra grain yield in the subsequent crop adds up to as much as 100 euro per acre. The beauty of the beans is that they are a legume, and do not require any chemical nitrogen. They have nodules on their root system which capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a plant useable form. Beans are a superb feedstuff as they are slightly higher in energy than barley or wheat and they are a very rich source of protein, as they are 25% crude protein. They form a very important part of the Brand, and we are one of a few, who use them.
Each year the E.U consumes 22million tonne of protein feed, and it only manages to produce 6million tonne.
Beans fit perfect because we have to change our regime of cropping, look at all the fields of unwanted straw last year!! We need to produce what the market requires!
Bean sowing can begin in mid-January and sowing technique is critical to avoid bird damage. Seed must be placed deep in the seedbed, down to 4 inches if possible, this should be possible with many drills, through deep tilling and slow forward speed. A pre-emergence herbicide called Nirvana must be used before the seedling shoot is within 13mm of the soil surface.
The desired plant population is 25 to 30 plants per square meter. On account of the superb yields in 2011, there will be a big demand for seed, so get your seed ordered ASAP.

What to sow in 2012 ?

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:36:24 +0000

What to Sow in 2012??
The Brand has an ever increasing demand for high quality, native feed grains and beans. Inclusion of high quality, native grain was the foundation of the brand and is a feature of the brand ever since and one we are very proud of. Since the harvest, grain price has fallen nearly every week, but as I write on the last week of December they have risen by almost 10euro per tonne, but be cautious, nobody likes being a busy fool. Whatever you do in 2012, make sure it makes economic sense. Remember with rented land, it’s often hard to find two margins! It is only fair that the land owner shares some of the risk as we farm in a time of price volatility. Giving the land owner the value of one tonne of grain at harvest time or the straw, mightn’t be a bad idea. Do the sums for each field. Next month we will publish a set of crop costings, when we have a clearer picture of fert prices.
A soil sample is as important as the sums! Remember the average p.H in Ireland is 5.7, which is heading towards crop failure for barley. Lime governs the release of nutrients from the soil. It is estimated that by liming a soil with a p.H of 5.5, approx 60units per acre of nitrogen is released per year, for up to 10 years.
Break crops are essential for land, it gives the land a break from the constant same activity, it breaks disease cycles and allows the use of different chemicals, which greatly reduces the risk of weed resistance to chemicals. In many cases it reconditions the soil.
Remember, each year, it must be everyone’s aim to achieve higher yields and better quality.

Grazing Fodder Crops Jan 2012

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:33:15 +0000

Monitor animals very closely when grazing fodder crops, and especially when crops are frozen. Frozen forage can cause bad digestive upset and scour. Many animals have sore feet from all the wet and therefore need to be housed.
Crops like kale should not make up more than 50% of daily intake. When crops are frozen, move the wire at mid-day & only offer small amounts, until they thaw out fully. Make sure you feed a hi-phosphorus mineral with such crops, along with a good source of roughage and concentrates.