After the recent prolonged period of dry, hot weather, the focus for some farmers has now turned towards a lack of moisture for grass growth. Areas that got thundery showers last week received a much-needed injection of water to maintain grass growth and quality.

However, some areas, particularly in the east, are still on the lookout for rain as ground begins to crack and grass begins to show signs of stress. This problem is most severe on land that has recently been cut for first-cut silage or grazing surpluses. On these fields, grass is struggling to green up and where slurry was applied, a crust may have formed which will require rain to wash off.

Ground that did get slurry may not have the same nutrients as it usually would, as high levels of ammonia will be lost to the atmosphere during warm hot conditions. For all, however, it appears that drought will no longer be a problem as rain is forecast throughout the country over the weekend.

On our measuring farms, growth rates are beginning to reflect a moisture deficit over the past week. This week’s average growth rate is 72kg DM/ha/day, a 20kg DM/ha/day drop from last week. Grassland management remains difficult as an exceptionally high level of stem appeared in pasture recently.

Smaller, one- or a maximum of two-day allocations of grass to stock is the best way of maximising grass utilisation. By now, calves should be well used to forward creep-grazing, allowing cows to clean-off pasture. Remember, use this dry weather as an opportunity to graze grass tight – a high residual will be a problem for the rest of the year if this isn’t done.

Another factor worth thinking about this weekend is fertiliser. Over the past two weeks, daily growth rates on many farms exceeded 100kg DM/ha. This came as a direct result of a sharp rise in temperatures. However, to feed this growth, grass was using up high levels of nutrients. After this hungry period, it may be worth considering a dressing of fertiliser on land that has pushed out high volumes of grass. 18:6:12 will replace the P and K lost where a crop was growing, while CAN should be sufficient to replenish nutrients in the grazing pasture.

Tommie Holmes

Ballina, Co Mayo

System suckler to bull beef

Soil type variable

Farm cover (kg DM/ha) 1,400

Demand (kg DM/ha/day) 41

Growth (kg DM/ha/day) 88

Grass is hard to manage at the minute but I’m continuing to cut out paddocks in an effort to stay on top of it. I grew 15.5t DM/ha last year and despite the bad spring I’d be confident this figure will be higher in 2018. The 40 or so bulls I’ve grazing on an outfarm have come on well in recent weeks. I’m beginning to pick the heaviest of them off and am putting them into the shed for finishing. The first bulls are going in this week and although I haven’t weighed them yet they are in excess of 550kg. The bulk of the bulls will not be housed until August where I’ll finish them before Christmas under 16 months of age.

I’m continuing to go with fertiliser after every grazing as this is the main growing season and realistically growth will slowly decline as we enter into July. P, K and lime status is all in a decent place right now and next year I will need more stock to utilise this extra grass. At the minute, I’m running a stocking rate close to 3LU/ha.

Wesley Browne

Monaghan

System suckler to bull beef

Soil type highly variable

Farm cover (kg DM/ha) 643

Demand (kg DM/ha/day) 48

Growth (kg DM/ha/day) 102

Last week, grass growth remained strong, with growth of 102kg DM/ha a day recorded. This extra burst of growth has allowed me to hold up four extra paddocks for bales which I hope to cut next week. All of the ground has got over 25 units of nitrogen in the last 10 days. Any paddock that was low in P or K or paddocks that got no slurry were given a bag and a half of 18-6-12 and the rest of the paddocks got a bag of Sulcan. I have the majority of my first-cut silage done at this stage and I am happy how it returned.

Ground that I am holding up for second-cut got 2,500 gallons of slurry per acre and will get 80 units of nitrogen this week.

Breeding is in full swing at present. I have my cows split in two groups. One group is running with my Simmental bull and one with the Limousin. This year, I have a Saler bull running with my replacements. My spring 2017-born bulls are being slaughtered at present under 16 months.

James Flaherty

Kerry

System suckler to weanling/finish

Soil type Mostly heavy

Farm cover (kg DM/ha) 1,100

Demand (kg DM/ha/day) 42

Growth (kg DM/ha/day) 48

Silage cutting is more or less finished on the home block, with around 50% of my winter requirement gathered up. I have some paddocks on the outfarm left to bale and this will be completed as weather allows. I am spreading 2,500 gallons to the acre along with 80 units of nitrogen for second-cut silage. The biggest issue is making up reserves as I have none left from last year. Grass is flying on the farm now after light rain last weekend. We were lucky in that we had escaped all the heavy downpours over the previous weekend that affected some parts of the country so land has dried up sufficiently.

AI is progressing well, with 35 cows and heifers served so far. I have decided to push my calving out a few weeks later to try and have grass ready for cows as soon as they calve. I have used the Saler and red Angus bulls on my heifers which will be calving down as two-year-olds. I will synchronise any heifers that haven’t gone in-calf yet.

Shaun Diver

Tullamore Farm

Soil type Variable

Farm system suckler to beef

Farm cover (kg DM/ha) 670

Demand (kg DM/ha/day) 40

Growth (kg DM/ha/day) 65

Growth is still well in excess of demand here on the farm. However, we could really do with some rain as grass quality is becoming an issue. Grass covers look good but a high level of stem on grass is severely reducing quality. To tackle this, we have been mowing out any grass surpluses. So far, 140 bales have been made, with paddocks yielding approximately four bales to the acre. These paddocks are getting a bag of 18:6:12 after cutting to rebuild P and K after a heavy burst of growth. We were also able to put an extra 10 acres in the pit for our first cut. Sixty acres in total were cut as a result.

For the second cut, we have 70 acres stripped, all of which have received 2,000g/acre of cattle slurry and two bags of 18:6:12. A final application of one bag of CAN will bring the total level of N to around 80 units. Our 12 acres of reseeded paddocks recently received a post-emergence spray of DB+ and TriAd as weeds are at the correct stage for spraying.

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Growth dips but rain on the way