Increasing dairy herd size requires forage production upgrade

Doubling of the dairy herd at J F Cobb and Sons Newburgh Farm near Dorchester, coupled with a fourfold increase in the amount of grass being mown and ensiled, has meant some significant changes in management strategy to keep the same levels of efficiency.

The decision to expand the dairy enterprise meant reducing the arable land from 1200 to 250 acres to grow more grass to support the two large dairy herds on the farm.  The farm now grows 12100 acres of grass - an increase from the 350 acres grown two years ago -  producing up to four cuts of grass, ensiling up to 3,500 acres each year.  First and second cuts yield up to 8t and 6t/ac respectively with third and fourth cuts yielding between 4t and 3t/acre.  Cow numbers have doubled across the farm over the same period.

The secret to achieving the best out of a dairy cow is to ensure it has the best quality feed, so when it comes to silage making getting quality in the pit at the right time without increasing production costs is critical, says David Cobb.

"It's all about timeliness of operation," he says.  "We took the decision to take the silage making process back in house having relied on contractors in the past.  It also coincided with a decision to improve the efficiency of the grass cutting.

In a nutshell this meant purchasing a self-propelled forage harvester and replacing two mowing rigs with one much larger set up, freeing up a tractor and driver to manage the pit or run a forage trailer.

"We have cut out a tractor and an operator, although we have kept one of the old mowers to help with third and fourth cut and or be used in the event of breakdown.  Effectively one man is now doing twice the workload," explains Mr Cobb.  "Having dropped from two mowing rigs to one and incorporating GPS - giving about 10% more output - the overall output has roughly stayed the same."

The mower of choice is a KRONE EasyCut 9140 CV triple mower with conditioner units bought through Redlynch of Dorset, which replaces two sets of Kverneland side and front mounted mowers.  Working alongside this is a KRONE KW 7.82 four-rrotor tedder.

"The EasyCut triple mower is very reliable but you'd expect it to be to be honest," says Mr Cobb.  "The old Kverneland set up has completed six seasons so was due to replacement.

"Now that we are relying on one set of mowers to cut the majority of the grass; we might change it after three seasons depending on what trade-in value we are offered.  It should easily do six seasons without too much maintenance but with only one set we have to have reliability at all times."

"Although the EasyCut is quite lightweight for its size we increased horsepower from 225hp to 2280hp supplied from a Fendt 828 that replaces a Massey 6499.  We find that the triple mowers balance the tractor and because the mower conditioners are quite heavy greater stability is achieved, especially on slopes.  While the front-mounted mower prevents that tractor from running in standing crops the overall setup allows up and down operation,improving efficiency."

MR Cobb is impressed with EasyCut's ability to maintain  uniform ground pressure across the full working width with its centre of gravity suspension system called DuoGrip.  Optimum ground pressure is achieved through adjustable coil springs.  The spring tension is set on turnbuckles.

Design features such as an impact damage protection system on the EasyCut 9140 CV to help minimise breakages has also proved to be a major benefit.  On impacting solid obstacles the entire mower, rather than just the cutterbar, breaks back upon impact and pivots through a 1.4m arc.  A coil spring sets the tripping force ensuring the mower returns automatically to its original position quickly after the obstacle has been passed.

"We like the EasyCut mower because it has been designed to suit the operator.  For example, individual units can be lifted in and out of work automatically, which is an essential feature when operating inn awkward and tight areas." points out Mr Cobb.

"For its large size we are also impressed with how compact it is, which makes a huge difference when travelling on narrow roads.  When in transport position it is only 3m wide and less than 4m high.  Being very compact the oeprator has full visibility and can still travel safely at speed."