Grass: Dry conditions all week after rain last week has meant it’s perfect conditions for grass growth. Teagasc have predicted grass growth of between 60-80kg/dry matter/ha for the next week.

This is well above what many drystock farms are stocked at, so grass growth will exceed demand on beef farms this week.

That means you could look at taking out some strong paddocks for silage, as grass will get ahead of cattle very quickly and quality will drop if action isn’t taken.

The sooner you take these paddocks out, the sooner they will be back in the rotation. ACRES participants can’t top extensively grazed pasture, low-input grassland and low--input peat grassland. The earliest date you can cut meadows to avail of the €50/Ha bonus payment is also 1 July.

Kale: It’s getting close to the cut-off time to sow kale if you want to winter young stock or cows on it next winter. You can plough and till the field or some farmers will spray off a silage crop before cutting and direct drill the seed into the aftermath, and then plough and reseed with grass next spring when kale is finished.

A good early sown kale crop from a variety like Maris Kestrel can yield up to 10-12 tonne/dry matter/ha. Aim for a field that dries out quickly and this will ease management next winter. Kale requires extra labour during the winter months, moving fences and checking stock daily.

You also need good fences and a strong electric fence to make sure it is grazed properly. It’s a good idea to place a line of baled silage in the field at sowing time and then the feeder can be moved with the fence at feeding time in winter.

Sowing rate depends on the sowing method – if sowing via broadcast method sow 3-3.5kg/ac, and if direct drilling sow at 2-2.5kg/ac. Sow seed at a depth of 5-10mm ensuring good soil seed contact.

For rape-kale hybrids such as Redstart, a sowing rate of 3-4kg/ac is recommended. Kale requires high fertility levels, and optimum pH is 6-6.7. You will need to spread three bags/ac of 10:10:20 at sowing time and top dress with two bags CAN/ac later.

Weed Control: Buttercups have become abundant in a lot of old pasture and some recently reseeded swards around the country. Any fields that have been poached or are open in nature are particularly susceptible to weeds taking hold and dominating the sward.

Waterlogged soils, low P and K status and low pH are all ideal conditions for buttercups and other weeds to become established. Spraying weeds and buttercups will have greater control if it’s in conjunction with drainage, improving P and K soil fertility levels and applying some lime.

As the buttercup is a persistent weed, it is quite hard to kill, so it may require a repeat treatment later on in the year. MCPA and 2-4-D are effective sprays for killing the weed. Make sure your sprayer has passed the relevant inspections for use and that you also have the sprayer operator course completed if spraying yourself.