Fertiliser: it is important to act as soon as weather conditions allow

With weather picking up and grass growth around the country varied, it is important to capitalise on the conditions, writes Darren Carty.

Darren Carty

3 September 2017

Fertiliser: it is important to act as soon as weather conditions allow

hose at a higher stocking rate should be considering applying 20 to 30 units of nitrogen. \ Ramona Farrelly

The weather forecast, thankfully, shows an improvement in conditions over the next week.

There are huge regional differences, with some sheep farms in the east and south continuing to report surplus grass growth.

This is in sharp contrast with the western and northern section of the country, with wet and waterlogged soils slowing growth significantly in recent weeks.

It is important to act as soon as weather conditions allow and get fertiliser applied to help build autumn grass supplies.

Those at a higher stocking rate should be considering applying 20 to 30 units of nitrogen, depending on current grass supplies, while lowly stocked farms may get away with 10 to 15 units to boost growth. Higher allocations at this stage of the year should be focused on the areas that will deliver the best response, ie reseeds and younger, productive swards.

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