The sun is back and conditions are perfect for growing grass. Temperatures are up at night, and this will give swards a chance to get motoring.
This time last year grass growth figures were back at 40-50kg/ha and milk yields were down. Weather conditions were very challenging, and most farmers were at a stress point.
Thankfully this year has been the opposite, so far.
With growth likely to kick again, managing grass is the challenge for the next few weeks. It’s the same message, but keep getting cows into paddocks at 1,300-1,400kg/DM/ha.
This is the only way to keep the plant leafy. Skip over paddocks that start getting strong and take them out for surplus bales.
In a period like this, there is no benefit to feeding high levels of concentrates. Over two kilos per animal is too much if you want to keep quality right.
Nitrogen applications should be at 0.8 units/acre/day for June, so 17 units/acre per rotation. Halve this rate for good clover paddocks.
If you’ve had to take a lot of bales out to date, these paddocks need P and K. Where there are more than four bales/ha, these paddocks will need a bag of 0-7-30 type product as well as the nitrogen.
If first-cut yields were low and you’re considering fodder crops to fill the gap, now is the time for sowing. Kale, rape or hybrid brassicas are the common ones.
Yields will range between 8-10t/DM/ha if sown in June and they’ll be a cost-effective way of feeding your cows this winter.
These are hungry crops and require high levels of N, P and K so keep this in mind when sowing.
Enter covers at a pre-grazing yield of 1,300-1,400kg/DM/ha.Continue to skip over and take out heavier paddocks as silage, and ensure these paddocks get adequate nutrients (N, P, K). Drop meal supplementation back below 2kg/cow or lower to utilise grass effectively.If you’re considering sowing fodder crops, now is the time for sowing. Brassica crops are a good option.Eoin Corrigan – Trim, Co Meath
We’re in a good place with grass at the moment. Growth is flying, and trying to maintain quality is the biggest challenge.
We’re topping one or two paddocks a week after cows. Growth is well above demand and pre-grazing yields are slightly higher than we’d like at 1,600kg/DM/ha.
There are three kilos of meal being fed. This time last year we were feeding six kilos of meal, six kilos of silage and allocating six kilos of grass with a serious grass deficit.
We’re in a totally different place this year thankfully. It’s showing in the tank too, with milk yield up 12% from May last year.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.8
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 166
Growth (kg/ha) 83
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat (%) 4.39
Protein (%) 3.8
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.02
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
David O’Leary – Castleisland, Co Kerry
We took out 10% of the milking platform this week for reseeding. That will bring the total area reseeded to 20% for the year.
There’s clover going in all the reseeds. We have one third of the block with good clover and should have more, but a lot of clover failed last year in the bad weather. Covers got heavy in the spring and the clover died off, but this year will give it a better chance to establish.
Grass quality is good, we’re feeding a kilo and will drop to zero meal by next week. Paddocks are getting 20 units/acre of protected urea + sulphur after grazing, with the clover fields getting 12 units/acre.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.82
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 184
Growth (kg/ha) 92
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat (%) 4.5
Protein (%) 3.69
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.02
Concentrates (kg/cow) 1
John Joe Collins – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
We have the platform corrected for grass quality at this point. Surpluses were taken out as bales and we topped after cows where necessary in the last few weeks.
We’re in a good position now in terms of grass quality. The cows are motoring well off the back of this and we’ll be looking to cut back the meal later this week. We’re on week five of breeding and it’s early days yet, but non return rates are running around the 63% mark.
We’re following cows with one unit/acre per day of nitrogen. Any clover ground is getting nothing at the moment. The clover’s been slow to take off but it’s starting to come now.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.37
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 172
Growth (kg/ha) 78
Yield (l/cow) 26.45
Fat (%) 4.26
Protein (%) 3.58
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.14
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
The sun is back and conditions are perfect for growing grass. Temperatures are up at night, and this will give swards a chance to get motoring.
This time last year grass growth figures were back at 40-50kg/ha and milk yields were down. Weather conditions were very challenging, and most farmers were at a stress point.
Thankfully this year has been the opposite, so far.
With growth likely to kick again, managing grass is the challenge for the next few weeks. It’s the same message, but keep getting cows into paddocks at 1,300-1,400kg/DM/ha.
This is the only way to keep the plant leafy. Skip over paddocks that start getting strong and take them out for surplus bales.
In a period like this, there is no benefit to feeding high levels of concentrates. Over two kilos per animal is too much if you want to keep quality right.
Nitrogen applications should be at 0.8 units/acre/day for June, so 17 units/acre per rotation. Halve this rate for good clover paddocks.
If you’ve had to take a lot of bales out to date, these paddocks need P and K. Where there are more than four bales/ha, these paddocks will need a bag of 0-7-30 type product as well as the nitrogen.
If first-cut yields were low and you’re considering fodder crops to fill the gap, now is the time for sowing. Kale, rape or hybrid brassicas are the common ones.
Yields will range between 8-10t/DM/ha if sown in June and they’ll be a cost-effective way of feeding your cows this winter.
These are hungry crops and require high levels of N, P and K so keep this in mind when sowing.
Enter covers at a pre-grazing yield of 1,300-1,400kg/DM/ha.Continue to skip over and take out heavier paddocks as silage, and ensure these paddocks get adequate nutrients (N, P, K). Drop meal supplementation back below 2kg/cow or lower to utilise grass effectively.If you’re considering sowing fodder crops, now is the time for sowing. Brassica crops are a good option.Eoin Corrigan – Trim, Co Meath
We’re in a good place with grass at the moment. Growth is flying, and trying to maintain quality is the biggest challenge.
We’re topping one or two paddocks a week after cows. Growth is well above demand and pre-grazing yields are slightly higher than we’d like at 1,600kg/DM/ha.
There are three kilos of meal being fed. This time last year we were feeding six kilos of meal, six kilos of silage and allocating six kilos of grass with a serious grass deficit.
We’re in a totally different place this year thankfully. It’s showing in the tank too, with milk yield up 12% from May last year.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.8
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 166
Growth (kg/ha) 83
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat (%) 4.39
Protein (%) 3.8
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.02
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
David O’Leary – Castleisland, Co Kerry
We took out 10% of the milking platform this week for reseeding. That will bring the total area reseeded to 20% for the year.
There’s clover going in all the reseeds. We have one third of the block with good clover and should have more, but a lot of clover failed last year in the bad weather. Covers got heavy in the spring and the clover died off, but this year will give it a better chance to establish.
Grass quality is good, we’re feeding a kilo and will drop to zero meal by next week. Paddocks are getting 20 units/acre of protected urea + sulphur after grazing, with the clover fields getting 12 units/acre.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.82
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 184
Growth (kg/ha) 92
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat (%) 4.5
Protein (%) 3.69
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.02
Concentrates (kg/cow) 1
John Joe Collins – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
We have the platform corrected for grass quality at this point. Surpluses were taken out as bales and we topped after cows where necessary in the last few weeks.
We’re in a good position now in terms of grass quality. The cows are motoring well off the back of this and we’ll be looking to cut back the meal later this week. We’re on week five of breeding and it’s early days yet, but non return rates are running around the 63% mark.
We’re following cows with one unit/acre per day of nitrogen. Any clover ground is getting nothing at the moment. The clover’s been slow to take off but it’s starting to come now.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.37
Average farm cover (kg/cow) 172
Growth (kg/ha) 78
Yield (l/cow) 26.45
Fat (%) 4.26
Protein (%) 3.58
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.14
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
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