Sheep - Grass and Management

From exploring the merits of shearing lambs to ration formulation and offering roughage with ad-lib concentrates, Darren Carty shares reader queries addressing topics cropping up at present.

Some farms are faced with a lower grass supply and possibly more mouths to feed with corrective options reducing the longer the year progresses.

There is just a week left to get slurry spread, otherwise it will have to be held over until January or February 2025.

Chemical fertiliser application is closed from Sunday onwards, but there is still time to spread some organic fertilisers.

There has been a steady build-up of growth over the last while, with farm covers now sitting at 714kg DM/ha on average.

While soil temperatures have increased marginally, grass growth is still below average for the time of year.

While still behind the norm for the time of the year, growth has improved over the past two weeks and looks set to improve further.

Roscommon farmer Shane Moore told farmers at a recent farm walk that despite being one of the most challenging years experienced lamb performance is surprisingly positive.