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The total grass grown on farms so far this year is running 29% ahead of the same period last year on average.
Figures from Teagasc’s PastureBase system show that its grass-measuring farms have grown 4.6t of grass dry matter grown so far in 2017.
This is an extra tonne of grass more than they grew in the same period in 2016.
However, though grass was sluggish to begin with in 2016, the total figure for the complete year was similar to the 10-year average, as a compensatory effect kept growth high well into the back-end of the year.
While grass growth rates doubled in mid-May last year, this year has been more gradual.
Early growth was much stronger in 2017 compared with 2016, with an average growth rate of 16kg DM/ha/day between the end of January and 31 March v 11kg DM/ha/day for 2016.
April was a particularly poor month in 2016, with just 920kg/ha of cumulative grass growth versus 1500kg DM/ha this year.
The grass growth rate on beef farms across the country this week was at 85kg DM/ha/day, similar to last year’s figure of 82kg DM/ha.
Farmers are urged to measure and manage their grass supply at what is an important period for keeping grass quality under control.
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