The last few weeks have been excellent from a grass growth perspective, with many farms growing in excess of 80kg/day, which is well in excess of demand.

This means that farms are building up grass because the fields are growing faster than the cows are eating it.

This is not the time of year to be building up grass though - too much grass is problematic because it means cows will be grazing covers that are too strong.

These high grass covers have a higher proportion of stem to leaf, leading to lower intakes and lower digestibility, both of which affect milk yield.

Therefore, to make sure cows and cattle continue to graze the right covers, farmers need to take action during this period of high growth.

Actions

Such action includes skipping over paddocks for silage or reseeding or increasing herd demand for grass by reducing supplement or bringing additional animals on to the platform, such as heifers or calves.

While skipping over paddocks for silage is the routine action to correct a grass surplus scenario, closing paddocks longer term for reseeding is also an option.

The rates of reseeding in Ireland has decreased considerably in recent years due to poor weather and a shortage of fodder.

With better weather and plenty of fodder, it’s a good opportunity to catch up on reseeding this summer.

Many farmers would feel that mid-summer reseeding is a bit risky because if the weather gets very dry, the grass seeds will be under pressure.

Who knows what the weather will be like over the coming months. Everything involves risk, but as things stand, it looks like there is enough moisture in the soil in most locations to keep grass growing well for the next six weeks or so.

Bigger risk

A bigger risk may be closing up too much of the farm during July and August and then subsequently running short of grass for the cows.

This can be avoided by being prudent about where the demand for grass is being set.

For me, setting a demand for grass of in or around 60kg to 65kg/ha/day is reasonable for the next six to eight weeks.

This is a stocking rate of between 3.33 and 3.6 cows/ha based off a grass intake of 18kg per cow per day.

Ideally, average farm cover should be around the 170kg to 190kg/cow mark for the next six weeks or so.

Where this actually lands on a week-to-week basis will depend on growth rates relative to demand, but it is reasonable to expect growth rates will be in at least the mid-60s for the next few weeks.

Ultimately, I think there is an opportunity to get some additional reseeding completed over the coming weeks based on the current grass situation and outlook.

Of course, if stocking rate is already at the 3.3 to 3.6 cows/ha mark due to long-term silage, then taking out land for reseeding will be riskier given we don’t know what growth rates will be like in three weeks’ time.