Plaw Hatch cows
Robin Hall
The prolonged dry conditions and intense heat have had a significant effect on everyone at the farm. The grass stopped growing a while ago and for the cows it has been a challenge for them to find anything green to eat. We started supplementary feeding with hay a few weeks ago but the cows still prefer to hunt for a bite in the field before turning to the bales they also have. The cows have mostly been in Home field and the bare, brown, dusty scene there is hard to see.
On Saturday I gave the milkers a pile of oak and willow branches and they soon stripped all the leaves off. While rain will eventually come, we are still facing a shortage of hay and silage as we bite into winter stocks to get through this.
Meanwhile, shade has been essential for all the animals and for the cows this has restricted the available fields to those that give them access to enough trees to protect them from the sun. Milk yields are dropping steadily but the well-being of the cows during this period has been good. The main effect of the heat has been a reluctant and slow walk up to the yard for milking, and a sense of disappointment when the cows realise they are going back to Home field to eat hay again.
On a lighter note, there was a lovely calf born last week. A Danish Red X heifer was born to Lila at the full moon and was named “Luna”.
