Average grass growth this week is a steady 50kg per day. While the weather has been largely dry over most of the country, it has also been cool, and this is preventing the big burst of growth.

However, as can be seen in the map, there is a big variation in growth rates with some farms growing in excess of 80kg per day, so it is important to walk your own farm and assess your own growth rates.

Most farmers are more than happy with the current weather. Clean-outs are excellent and while re-growths are a bit slow to come back after heavier covers, growth rates are more or less equal to demand so grass is easier to manage.

There is no real change in the forecast so we can expect these conditions to last in to next week.

Keep a close eye on average farm cover per cow. The target is to have it between 150kg and 180kg per cow at this time of year.

You can afford to go below this for a short period, when you know growth rates are going to increase rapidly, but at this stage I would lower my expectations of the big burst of growth in the next week.

It will come, but it might not come for another week, so you don’t want to let farm cover go too low and end up in a downward spiral.

If grass demand is well above growth rates and farm cover is low, then consider reducing demand by bringing back a paddock or two from silage.

This will work well once pre-grazing yields are not too high. Anything below is 1,600kg is OK.

If average farm cover is above 200kg/cow and growth is below demand, then you can well afford to let the average farm cover drop without changing anything.

Shane Leane

Teagasc Curtins,

Co Cork

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 4.51

Growth rate (kg/day) 54

Average farm cover (kg/cow) 147

Yield (l/cow/day) 22.5

Fat % 4.6

Protein % 3.47

Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.87

Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 0

Growth rate is a bit below demand, but we expect it to increase over the next few days. The cows are on a 19-day rotation length, and we are applying 30 units/acre of nitrogen, plus four units of sulphur after grazing. We spread fertiliser on the silage ground last week at a rate of 80 units/acre of nitrogen and 12 units/acre of sulphur. Pre-grazing yield is 1,400kg/ha and clean-outs are excellent.

Donal Patton

Teagasc Ballyhaise,

Co Cavan

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 3.56

Growth rate (kg/day) 45

Average farm cover (kg/cow) 210

Yield (l/cow/day) 23.3

Fat % 4.44

Protein % 3.50

Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.9

Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 2

Average grass growth is 45kg/day. While it would be nice if it was a bit higher, ground conditions are excellent and clean-out is good. We are grazing covers of 1,500kg/ha at the moment, but the next five paddocks are a bit lighter. Cows are on between 24- and 36-hour allocations, depending on the field. We are spreading 30 units of urea, and 20% of the farm needs to be spread next week. Cows are staying on 2kg of meal to cover for grass tetany. SCC is 100k. We are starting the breeding season on 5 May, but 40 out of 110 cows are bulling already.

Donnacha Tobin

Aglish,

Co Waterford

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.86

Growth rate (kg/day) 50

Average farm cover (kg/cow) 224

Yield (l/cow/day) 27.5

Fat % 4.42

Protein % 3.47

Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.24

Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 3

Weather is cool and dry, but grazing conditions couldn’t be better. Cows are on 24- to 36-hour breaks, depending on the paddock. I’m going to be lowly stocked this year, so I don’t have much ground closed for silage yet, but as soon as growth rates take off I will be closing out a good few paddocks – I just don’t know which ones yet. We had nine acres of a reseeded paddock at the far end of the farm that got too strong, so we cut this for bales two weeks ago. We spread two bags/acre of 18:6:12 10 days ago. We will be starting AI on 1 May.

Jim Garry

Ennis,

Co Clare

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.6

Growth rate (kg/day) 45

Average farm cover (kg/cow) 264

Yield (l/cow/day) 25

Fat % 4.41

Protein % 3.47

Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.03

Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 2

I didn’t get to finish all of the first-round, so I cut out 4ha for silage last Wednesday and baled it on the Friday. Because March was so wet, it meant that I didn’t get as much grazed as I would have liked. At least it’s cut now and back growing. Cows are on 36-hour grazing and clean-out is good. I spread one bag/acre of superphosphate and 36 units/acre of urea across the farm last week, and I will follow the cows with a bag of Pasturesward from now on, to try and improve soil fertility. Our breeding season starts in 10 days’ time.

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