Low volumes of rainfall since the start of the week and further rainfall forecast as the week progresses have been widely welcomed by farms operating on light or free-draining soils.

Many farmers had nitrogen applied in advance of rainfall and are quickly seeing the benefits, with fields greening up overnight. This is relieving pressure on farmers who have witnessed a rapid decline in growth rates and very poor recovery in harvested swards.

While growth is improving, it is important that steps taken to extend grass supplies are not set aside too quick.

Going into low covers too quickly will lead to grass supplies being quickly depleted and potential grass shortages in the coming weeks.

Practices such as creep grazing of calves are maximising performance, while conserving grass supplies.

This approach will be continued in the coming months to prioritise the best grass available to calves.

It will also allow tighter grazing of swards with cows without affecting calf performance.

Aftermath swards coming back into the rotation are also allowing reseeding plans to be put back on the agenda.

In general, the programme farms have targeted reseeding 10% to 15% of their grassland area to increase grass productivity and allow higher stocking rates to be sustained.

Before undertaking any reseeding, it is also important to assess fodder reserves, if not already completed.

The majority of farmers around the country report a larger volume of bales or a greater pit of silage.

One word of caution is that grass harvested at the start of the season may have a lower dry matter content.

This needs to be taken into account in fodder budgets with overestimation of fodder supplies running the risk of being short of feed next spring.

Farms that have surplus fodder already saved are using this to allow more reseeding or land improvement projects to be undertaken.

In autumn-calving herds, the focus is on feeding to maintenance and taking steps to ensure cows are in fit condition before calving.

Cows are mainly being used to clean out paddocks with a high percentage of stem at the base of the sward.

Pre-calving minerals are also being introduced with most farms preferring lick buckets, due to ease of feeding.

  • Some programme farms have introduced meal to steers and heifers targeted for killing off grass in the next four to six weeks.
  • Faecal egg counts are being used to identify the need for worm dosing.
  • Fertilizer containing sulphur is being applied on light or heavy soils.
  • Grass growth is excellent on heavy farms. Surplus paddocks are being taken out of the rotation and will be targeted at cows post-calving or finishing animals.
  • Dates for the diary

  • Thursday 24 July – National BETTER farm programme open day hosted by Mike Dillane, Lixnaw, Co Kerry. Farm walks start at 2pm and 6pm.