Time devoted to measuring in Tipp

By Jack Kennedy

FBD Trust are part sponsoring an on farm project to increase the measurement of grass on farm. Westmeath man Gary Nolan is coordinating the project at ground level. I spent a day walking farms with him to find out what the project is all about.

There are 14 farmers from Cork in the south to Longford in the north on the project. The group are called the Grazing Muskateers. Essentially the group are aiming to increase the amount of grazed grass they can grow and utilise. They record growth rates every week and make decisions based on the results. At the end of the year they plan to pull the profit figures together to show the financial benefits. The farmers are spread right across Ireland (see map) and are farming a variety of different soil types and systems. Some of the farmers would have been measuring grass for a number of years while others are getting involved for the first time.

Gary Nolan visits each farm every second week. The farmer measures grass on his own every other week. I spent a day in Tipperary with Gary as he made his fortnightly call to Padraig and Ena Collins near Ballingarry and Jim and Michael Lanigan near Gortnahoe, not far from Thurles, Co Tipperary.

Gary picks me up in Urlingford and we head south-east for Ballingarry. Gary reminds me the last time I sat in the car with him was in Christchurch, New Zealand three years ago. While in New Zealand Gary worked for a season for Alistair and Sharon Rayne along with another Irishman, Michael Galvin.

Padraig and Ena Collins are milking 140 cows on a 75-hectare milking block. They start calving in mid-February and dry off the cows in mid-November.

When we arrive the boot is bounced open and the equipment needed for the walk is taken out. Gary brings a quadrant, clippers and weighing scales to check yields before grazing. A platemeter is brought to measure the paddocks that have been grazed. A notebook and pencil will record the yields.

As we pass over the front lawn on the way to the first paddock, Padraig goes to check the ground temperature. He has a little thermometer stuck an inch into the ground not far from the start of the paddocks. It's 8.30am and it reads 8 degree. We walk into the first paddock and the lush green grass is blowing in the wind. Gary gets down to cut a quadrant. Gary and Padraig say it's helpful to cut a number of paddocks as they start the farm walk to train the eye into the local terrain, thickness of grass etc.

The cut grass is weighed. An estimate of dry matter is agreed. A quick formula decides how much grass was in the square he has just cut. The grass weighs 170 grams. The dry matter is estimated at 18%. To convert to per hectare you must multiply both by 40. The equation then is 170 grams x 0.18 x 40 = 1,224 kg DM/ha. Padraig has a look around the paddock and decides it is pretty even across the paddock so a cover of 1,200 is scribbled in the notebook.

Meet the cows

We walk on. After a paddock or two we meet the cows. Gary walks among the cows and visually condition scores the cows while Padraig writes down the results. Gary and Padraig discuss the change. Padraig hasn't fed any meal at all this spring. Cows calve and go straight on a diet of grazed grass. Milk yield last week was 22 litres at 3.30% protein and 3.76% fat. The herd EBI is €55. It weighs heavily on the fertility side (€43 EBI) more so than the milk (€12 EBI).

We walk on continuing to estimate (eyeball) the covers in each paddock. Padraig has a map that details the paddock number and the size of each field.

It soon becomes apparent that grass has been bouncing out of the ground. Padraig reminds us we are walking the best of the growing ground. Nevertheless it becomes very evident that there is too much grass ahead of the cows. A decision will be made once the walk is complete.

Another quadrant or two are cut to keep a handle on covers. The rest are eyeballed (visually estimated). It's amazing as the four of us walk in the morning sunshine how close our estimates are to agreement. We are within 50 kg of each other on most occasions. There is no need to argue the difference. Normally the difference is split.

We walk into where the maiden heifers are grazing. Padraig outlines his plan to reseed and drain the 24-acre field. A roadway needs to be installed up the centre and it needs fencing and water.

Someone asks the question would the money be better spent on the milking parlour first. Land is not limiting production on the Collins farm. If more quota becomes available then land will become more limiting and more productive swards will be required. The 10-unit parlour needs a few more units to reduce time spent milking. A decision is postponed. The walk continues.

As we walk we talk about the plan for the winter forage crop. A crop of kale is planned for the weanling heifers. We discuss the pros and cons and set about planning which fields are more suitable from the point of view of access and soil type.

We arrive at the paddock where the cows grazed last. Gary picks up the platemeter and walks through the paddock plonking it down at numerous stages to get a measure on any grass that is left in the paddock. The average comes out around 4 cm. Padraig is happy enough. He moved the cows at 11 pm the night before as they had finished the paddock. It was still first rotation grass so the paddock was cleaned out.

The calves are out in a paddock close to the yard. They are still on milk. The oldest are just 6 to 7 weeks old. With the sun on their backs they are dancing around the paddock.

We arrive back in the yard where we started out. Padraig goes to check the soil thermometer again. It has now reached 13 degrees (midday).

Gary and Padraig set about punching in the results into the laptop. The critical figures are crunched out and decisions are tossed about.

Padraig has too much grass on the farm. This decision is made as his Average Farm Cover (AFC) has risen and the covers the cows are going into have become too strong. You can quickly see that if he were to continue along the way he was going then the covers would get even stronger.

Paddocks must be grazed out. If there is more grass in the paddocks he will have to stay longer in them. He can't do this. It is no good leaving grass in the paddocks. The key for Padraig is to keep the pre grazing yield low so that cows have the best of grass and they have no problem finishing all the grass in the paddock. A bar chart is drawn up showing the cover in each paddock (see diagram). Gary and Padraig discuss what paddocks would be more suitable for silage. With this in mind Padraig decided to skip a few paddocks out of grazing which will be taken out for wrapped silage in around 3 weeks.

The key figures for the budget are done again with the paddocks out. The bar chart is drawn up again with the ideal grass cover included to set the target. You can easily see what stage the paddocks are at.

A growth rate is estimated for the next few weeks and the likelihood of meeting it given current and predicted weather. Padraig then calculates the total grazing area and how much he would need to allocate each day to complete the round. For example if he has 30 hectares in the grazing block and a 20-day round is required then he needs to allocate the cows (30 ha/20 days = 1.5 ha per day) 1.5 ha per day.

Gary draws up a report (key decisions made) on his laptop. This is a reference for Padraig and Ena who must carry out these actions. If they are written down there is no ambiguity on what was discussed. The report from the previous visit is taken out and actions that have been completed or not are marked into the form. If they are not completed a reason is written down. In essence a morning has been spent planning a feed strategy for the next week. At this time of the year is critical as it changes so quickly and quality and milk yield are lost. Padraig and Ena are happy as they now have a plan and key decisions have been taken. This takes the weight of 'wondering what should be done' off their shoulders and allows them to optimise the best feed for their cows that will deliver the best production at the lowest cost delivering a high farm profit. Gary makes a date for 2 weeks time and drives for Gortnahoe.

The very same routine - walk, talk and make written decisions is followed on the farm of Jim and Michael Lanigan. They don't have as much grass on the farm so surplus grass for wrapped silage is not required. Discussion centres on fertiliser, reseeding, cow performance and reviewing their actions over the last 2 weeks.

The day is complete and Gary writes a text message that is sent to each of the farmers in the Grazing Muskateer group. The text shows the growth rate for both farms that were walked today outlining the average farm cover AFC, milk yield (kg milk solids), farm demand, and covers cows are going into (PGY).

Each week on the GrassWatch page we carry a table showing these performance statistics for farmers that are measuring grass on a weekly basis.

In Brief;

· Weekly grass measurement project part funded by FBD Trust and co ordinated by Gary Nolan with 13 farmers from Longford to Cork

· Farm visits each follow the same routine. Walk the whole farm. Talk about what is happening. Punch in the results into the computer. Make decisions based on targets and results.

· The farmer is left with a plan for the next week. It is up to the farmer to implement it. The plan could change if circumstances change. Flexibility is built in.

· Each of the farmers has no problem devoting time to the measuring and planning job. These are the most important decisions that will be made regarding farm performance and profit analysis.