The dry spell over the last three weeks is starting to show its effects on some farms. With the lack of rain, growth rates could begin to slow down, as fields are running low on moisture. The 20-30mm of rain that was forecast for last weekend didn’t come, leaving some farmers regretting cutting too many paddocks for bales.While paddocks are still green, the ground is starting to crack, and those trying to drive pigtails into the soil might find them bending or breaking. According to PastureBase, the predicted growth for the week is ranging from 40-75kg DM/ha. However, this figure might be a bit off, as some areas got a boost from thundery showers on Monday, giving them a temporary growth spurt.
The dry spell over the last three weeks is starting to show its effects on some farms. With the lack of rain, growth rates could begin to slow down, as fields are running low on moisture. The 20-30mm of rain that was forecast for last weekend didn’t come, leaving some farmers regretting cutting too many paddocks for bales.
While paddocks are still green, the ground is starting to crack, and those trying to drive pigtails into the soil might find them bending or breaking. According to PastureBase, the predicted growth for the week is ranging from 40-75kg DM/ha. However, this figure might be a bit off, as some areas got a boost from thundery showers on Monday, giving them a temporary growth spurt.
If the dry spell keeps up, the key focus should be on maintaining a minimum cover/lu of 150kg DM and an average farm cover of 500kg DM/ha. Some farmers may need to increase meal feeding to keep demand in line with growth.
Silage
The strong growth in the past few weeks has brought forward the cutting date for many. It’s important to prioritise quality over quantity, especially since much of this silage will be fed to milking cows later in the year, or to fresh calving cows next spring. The goal should be to cut silage with a dry matter digestibility (DMD) of 72% or higher. For that, aim to cut before mid-May. Once the crop starts heading, DMD can drop by 1% every two to three days. The good weather in March and April allowed most farmers to get fertiliser out early, so leftover nitrogen shouldn’t be a big concern.
Swardwatch
Tweak the grass wedge to match demand and growth, moving out surplus or adding in supplementation as required.Don’t let breeding or silage cause you to neglect grassland management. If you did manage to get some rain on Monday or Tuesday get back out on paddocks with chemical or organic fertiliser to boost the recovery. Walk your silage ground to see if it’s ready to cut.Sean Cummins,
Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford
We got just 3ml of rain on Sunday – barely enough to wet the ground. Cows are pre-grazing covers of 1,400-1,500kg DM/ha, and cleanouts have been spot-on so far. Haven’t taken out much surplus grass as we brought the heifers back for breeding. They were AI’d for eight days from natural heats, and the rest got a shot of Estrumate to bring them on. Now they’re back off the platform with bulls. It’s our third-year using collars, and they’re really taking the work out of breeding. We’re AI’ing for nine weeks using conventional semen, then letting in the bulls for two to three weeks. Cows are being followed with 24 units of 18-6-12.
Stocking Rate: (cow/ha) 3.7
Growth Rate: (kg/day) 62
Average Farm Cover: (kg/cow) 179
Yield: (l/cow) 27
Fat%: 4.28
Protein%: 3.57
Milk Solids: (kg/cow) 2.18
Concentrates: 3
Noel O’Toole,
Killimor, Ballinasloe,
Co Galway
Rain’s been scarce lately and there’s not much in the forecast either. Cows are milking well, but we’re grazing heavier covers at night and lighter ones during the day, sometimes pre-mowing them to manage it. The heavier covers are still holding up, but the lighter ones are really slow to bounce back. We’re into the second week of breeding, with a submission rate over 35% so far. Mostly using Friesian straws, with the bottom 10-15% of the herd getting beef straws. Plan is to AI the cows for a month before letting off the bulls. Heifers are running with Angus bulls. Cows are being followed with 25 units of urea after grazing.
Stocking Rate: (cow/ha) 4.22
Growth Rate: (kg/ha) 86
Average Farm Cover: (kg/cow) 180
Yield: (l/cow) 24.5
Fat%: 4.6
Protein%: 3.68
Milk Solids: (kg/cow) 2.09
Concentrates: 3
Aidan McCarthy,
Schull, Co Cork
We’re feeding 2kg in the parlour now, but this will go up to 3-4kg in the next couple of days, once I get through the heavy covers.
Grass is holding up okay. I took out 3.9ha for bales on Sunday, but with no rain expected for two weeks, I’m holding off on cutting more.
We started breeding on 6 May and are happy with submissions so far for both cows and heifers.
I planned to use all sexed Friesian, but since I’m only doing AI once a day, I’m putting some conventional Friesian on cows not at the ideal timing for sexed.
Cows are peaking at 29l – the best I’ve seen.
Stocking Rate: (cow/ha) 4.1
Growth Rate: (kg/ha) 78
Average Farm Cover: (kg/cow) 191
Yield: (l/cow) 26
Fat%: 4
Protein%: 3.67
Milk Solids: (kg/cow) 2.05
Concentrates: 2
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