Round the Kitchen Table – chatting about winter planning
We had a live chat and a cuppa with Noldy Rust, Waikato farmer, and Wade Bell, AG360 farm consultant.
Noldy discussed current farm conditions and winter planning with a focus on the key stock, feed and financial decisions. They used Noldy’s farm as an example, but there were plenty of take-home messages for anyone thinking about how to manage the months up to calving. The questions they investigated included:
- What does the herd look like after coming through a dry summer and what strategies can farmers use to make sure cows will hit their calving BCS target?
- What drying off strategy has Noldy used? And what is his herd health plan for his cows and heifers?
- How is Noldy managing his youngstock?
- What is Noldy’s feed budget looking like for the winter?
- What are the plans for supplementary feeding next season? What analysis is Noldy going to carry out? And what role is PKE going play?