Grass ensilability test: With many farmers starting to think about harvesting silage in the next few weeks, it may be worth having a grass ensilability test carried out. Elevated nitrate levels in grass at harvesting can affect the ensilability of the crop and subsequent quality. In normal growing conditions, grass will utilise approximately two units N/acre/day or 14 units/week. Where 100 units N/acre are applied, this will require a period of just over seven weeks from the date of fertiliser application to harvest date. However, the slow growth and cold weather could have resulted in low growth rates in most silage crops and all of the nitrate may not have been used up. An ensilability test can be carried out by most labs around the country. It will show the dry matter, crude protein, nitrate nitrogen, fibre, sugar content and buffer capacity of the grass.

Reseeding: With grass growth rates increasing and more settled weather forecast, many farmers will consider reseeding in the coming weeks, particularly those with high stocking rates. The advice here is that where the number of grazing days ahead of stock are well above 14 and silage aftermath will re-join the rotation in the next six to eight weeks, it is a good time to take ground out. Target the paddocks or fields that produce the least volume of grass and burn off. These fields should be cut as silage or grazed about seven days after spraying to remove the grass cover. Stitching in grass seed will result in the least ground disturbance and offer the quickest return to grazing, but establishment will be slower than a conventional plough-and-reseed. When selecting grass seed, try to keep heading dates to within a week. The ratio of diploid to tetraploid varieties should vary depending on the soil type and whether the crop will be grazed or cut for silage. For example, on heavy land, a higher proportion of diploid varieties should be used for ground cover and trafficability. There should be no more than four grass varieties in any mix. The ideal seeding rate is approximately 14kg/acre. Correcting soil fertility at reseeding is paramount to crop establishment. Lime should be applied at a rate of 2t-3t/acre to neutralise the acidification of the rotting dead matter and improve soil pH. Also, two to three bags of a high P and K fertiliser, such as 10-10-20, should be applied to encourage root establishment. Post-emergence sprays should be applied to control weeds four to six weeks after seeding.

Scanning: If you have not scanned the autumn-calving herd yet, now is a good time to do so. Running empty cows with the autumn herd during the dry period can be a costly mistake. Ideally, you want to ear-mark empty cows for culling now so that they can be run as a priority group after weaning. Where there are thin empty cows present, early weaning (providing calves are 300kg-350kg) and running the empty cow at grass over the summer will increase liveweight cheaply without having to feed concentrate.