Heavy rain last week, combined with warmer weather pushing in this week looks set to really boost grass growth over the coming days.
At this stage, farmers should be keeping a close watch on grass cover per livestock unit, rather than just cover per hectare.
The sweet spot is somewhere between 170kg and 200kg of cover per livestock unit. Farms with higher stocking rates and higher grass demand should aim to carry a little extra cover to allow breathing space in case growth dips or the weather turns again.
If growth kicks off as forecast, most farms will quickly find themselves with surplus grass.
First steps
Managing pre-grazing yields will be key. The first step should be closing paddocks for silage, followed by earmarking paddocks for reseeding.
Highly stocked farms might be better off cutting paddocks for bales straight away, so they can be brought back into the rotation quicker.
As breeding season kicks off on most farms, it’s important not to lose focus on fertiliser applications.
The target for dry farms is 100kg N/ha (80 units/acre) spread by 1 May, while heavier ground should have 80kg N/ha (60 units/acre) out by the same date.
Research shows that grazing ground with no clover can use about 0.8 of a unit of nitrogen per day where stocking rates are high.
Reports from around the country suggest clover content is noticeably better this year.
On your next farm walk, take note of clover percentages and adjust nitrogen rates accordingly. If there’s around 20% clover in the sward, 15kg N/ha (12 units/acre) should be enough for the next round.
If you’re planning to spread slurry, keep rates light to avoid staining the grass, which would reduce grazing utilisation.
Growth rates are set to climb sharply over the coming week, so it’s important to act fast to stay ahead of surpluses. Delaying could lead to covers getting too strong, which will hit milk yields. With the recent wet weather now cleared, most farms should be able to get back to 24 or 36-hour breaks to manage grazing and maintain sward quality.David Fogarty – Cantwell Court, Co Kilkenny
We’re back on 36-hour grazing now after using the strip wire during the wet weather last week. Demand is set at 65kg DM/ha for the next few rounds.
If any paddocks get too strong, they’ll be taken out for bales. Last week, we spread 18.5 units of urea on half the platform, and we will follow the cows from here on.
Two paddocks are out for reseeding and we’re aiming to get them sown by the weekend. Cows were tail painted almost three weeks ago, and 82% were cycling by day 17. AI starts this Thursday – half the herd will get sexed straws with the rest getting a beef straw.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.8
Growth Rate (kg/day) 98
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 172
Yield (l/cow) 26
Fat% 4.76
Protein% 3.79
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.29
Concentrates 2
David Gannon – Tulsk, Co Roscommon
We’re on 12-hour breaks due to the heavy rain last week — ground is still a bit soft in places. Pre-grazing covers are between 1,400 and 1,600kg DM/ha. There’s not a huge amount of clover on the farm yet, but we’ll be incorporating some into the paddocks marked for reseeding.
The whole platform got a bag of protected urea with sulphur last week. We’re nearly a week into breeding now. We’re using the Why Wait programme, with collars doing most of the heat detection. Some longer gestation beef straws have gone in already. The heifers are on a synch programme and will be AI’d in the next day.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.72
Growth Rate (kg/ha) 80
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 233
Yield (l/cow) 26.5
Fat% 4.43
Protein% 3.77
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.25
Concentrates 4
John Joe Collins – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
Ground conditions are relatively good after the rain last week. Cows are on 24-hour allocations, but consistently hitting pre-grazing covers of 1,400 kg DM/ha is still a challenge.
We’ve been taking out surplus paddocks to keep grass quality under control. From here on, we’ll follow the cows with around 20 units of protected urea.
Some of the clover paddocks will get one more round of chemical fertiliser before we pull back for a couple of rotations. We’re about three weeks out from breeding and heats have been strong so far.
A few cows are earmarked for scanning, along with any others flagged by the collars.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.8
Growth Rate (kg/ha) 78
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 183
Yield (l/cow) 29.2
Fat% 4.46
Protein% 3.6
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.42
Concentrates 3
Heavy rain last week, combined with warmer weather pushing in this week looks set to really boost grass growth over the coming days.
At this stage, farmers should be keeping a close watch on grass cover per livestock unit, rather than just cover per hectare.
The sweet spot is somewhere between 170kg and 200kg of cover per livestock unit. Farms with higher stocking rates and higher grass demand should aim to carry a little extra cover to allow breathing space in case growth dips or the weather turns again.
If growth kicks off as forecast, most farms will quickly find themselves with surplus grass.
First steps
Managing pre-grazing yields will be key. The first step should be closing paddocks for silage, followed by earmarking paddocks for reseeding.
Highly stocked farms might be better off cutting paddocks for bales straight away, so they can be brought back into the rotation quicker.
As breeding season kicks off on most farms, it’s important not to lose focus on fertiliser applications.
The target for dry farms is 100kg N/ha (80 units/acre) spread by 1 May, while heavier ground should have 80kg N/ha (60 units/acre) out by the same date.
Research shows that grazing ground with no clover can use about 0.8 of a unit of nitrogen per day where stocking rates are high.
Reports from around the country suggest clover content is noticeably better this year.
On your next farm walk, take note of clover percentages and adjust nitrogen rates accordingly. If there’s around 20% clover in the sward, 15kg N/ha (12 units/acre) should be enough for the next round.
If you’re planning to spread slurry, keep rates light to avoid staining the grass, which would reduce grazing utilisation.
Growth rates are set to climb sharply over the coming week, so it’s important to act fast to stay ahead of surpluses. Delaying could lead to covers getting too strong, which will hit milk yields. With the recent wet weather now cleared, most farms should be able to get back to 24 or 36-hour breaks to manage grazing and maintain sward quality.David Fogarty – Cantwell Court, Co Kilkenny
We’re back on 36-hour grazing now after using the strip wire during the wet weather last week. Demand is set at 65kg DM/ha for the next few rounds.
If any paddocks get too strong, they’ll be taken out for bales. Last week, we spread 18.5 units of urea on half the platform, and we will follow the cows from here on.
Two paddocks are out for reseeding and we’re aiming to get them sown by the weekend. Cows were tail painted almost three weeks ago, and 82% were cycling by day 17. AI starts this Thursday – half the herd will get sexed straws with the rest getting a beef straw.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.8
Growth Rate (kg/day) 98
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 172
Yield (l/cow) 26
Fat% 4.76
Protein% 3.79
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.29
Concentrates 2
David Gannon – Tulsk, Co Roscommon
We’re on 12-hour breaks due to the heavy rain last week — ground is still a bit soft in places. Pre-grazing covers are between 1,400 and 1,600kg DM/ha. There’s not a huge amount of clover on the farm yet, but we’ll be incorporating some into the paddocks marked for reseeding.
The whole platform got a bag of protected urea with sulphur last week. We’re nearly a week into breeding now. We’re using the Why Wait programme, with collars doing most of the heat detection. Some longer gestation beef straws have gone in already. The heifers are on a synch programme and will be AI’d in the next day.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.72
Growth Rate (kg/ha) 80
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 233
Yield (l/cow) 26.5
Fat% 4.43
Protein% 3.77
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.25
Concentrates 4
John Joe Collins – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
Ground conditions are relatively good after the rain last week. Cows are on 24-hour allocations, but consistently hitting pre-grazing covers of 1,400 kg DM/ha is still a challenge.
We’ve been taking out surplus paddocks to keep grass quality under control. From here on, we’ll follow the cows with around 20 units of protected urea.
Some of the clover paddocks will get one more round of chemical fertiliser before we pull back for a couple of rotations. We’re about three weeks out from breeding and heats have been strong so far.
A few cows are earmarked for scanning, along with any others flagged by the collars.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.8
Growth Rate (kg/ha) 78
Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 183
Yield (l/cow) 29.2
Fat% 4.46
Protein% 3.6
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.42
Concentrates 3
SHARING OPTIONS