Clover: The next two months are peak times for clover content. There are of course two sides to the clover coin. On one side, fields that have high clover contents can afford to get half rate or less of nitrogen from now on. On the other side of the coin is the risk of bloat from grazing high clover swards. The fact is the risk exists but it can be managed.

The highest risk time for bloat is damp, dull days when cows go into fields full. Others say that bloat will hit when you least expect it. Prevention can be achieved with bloat oil, using strip wires in high-risk paddocks and avoiding letting very hungry cows into high-risk paddocks. The other thing to say on clover is that while conditions for reseeding are good, its too late to try overseeding. The issue is not the clover seeds emerging, but having the ability to graze the field at low covers into the autumn.

If growth rates are good, demand is low and grass is plentiful then some extra reseeding can be chanced, but there is some talk of a dry spell so don’t close up too much of the farm. However, many farmers are reporting a slow-down in growth rates already as drying winds and little rainfall are having an impact on soil moisture levels. There seems to be a big variation between locations in terms of growth rates, so keep an eye on the weather forecast before reaching for the Roundup.

Knowing the numbers: What are the key priorities when it comes to grassland management for the next few weeks? We often talk in terms of average farm cover, but what does it actually mean? Average farm cover is the average amount of grass cover on the farm at any one time. This is obviously a moving feast, because grass is always growing and cows are always eating it.

How much it grows per day is determined by growth rate, while how much grass is eaten per day is determined by demand. If growth is bigger than demand then average farm cover will increase, and if it’s lower than demand then average farm cover will decrease.

Working out average farm cover involves measuring the amount of grass on each paddock. We do this by measuring the amount of grass in a hectare and then multiplying this rate per hectare by the number of hectares in the paddock. Adding up all of the grass on the farm and dividing this by the number of hectares on the farm gives the average farm cover. The average farm cover per cow is the average farm cover divided by the stocking rate.

By knowing these numbers we can set targets and benchmark farms off these targets. During the mid-season, the cover per cow figure is more relevant than the per hectare figure. So what are the targets for the next few weeks? Most farmers will be happy to see average farm cover per cow in the 170kg to 190kg range and for growth rates to be in or around demand.

All of this might seem overly complicated to those that don’t measure, but by knowing the figure it makes managing grass much easier and performance improves, because cows will be grazing better quality grass without the guesswork.