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In the past week, grass growth has made a breakthrough. For the first time since mid-June, growth has climbed back over the 50kg mark to 53kg DM/ha/day. This represents a 30kg DM/ha/day rise in growth since it slumped to 20kg DM/ha/day just three weeks ago.
What is even more significant, to farmers in the south and east of the country in particular, is that the massive regional variation is levelling out. Last week, the growth difference between the north and south was 36kg DM/ha/day. This week, that difference is more than halved. Northern and western growth rates remain between 50kg and 60kg DM/ha/day, but growth rates in the east and the south have doubled into the mid-40s.
It would be fair to say growth of 40kg DM/ha/day is still way below par for this time of year and many farmers in the south and east are reporting that grass has greened-up rather than growing significantly. However, this marks the first step of the process. With nearly all parts green once again, and more rain forecast at the weekend, all signs point to strong growth next week, especially where fertiliser was applied. The east and south are a week or two weeks behind the north and west, where greening and subsequent heavy growth have already taken place.
Management
It would be advisable from both an animal health and grass management point of view to be cautious when returning to an all-grass diet. While fodder stocks have taken a significant hit over the past month on many farms, recommencing full grazing before covers are strong enough would not be advisable. The optimum farm cover in mid-August is 340kg DM/ha per livestock unit. While this may not be achievable in some parts, do consider the longer-term benefits of allowing covers to build and leaving stock on a minor level of buffer feed in doing so. Building covers will allow for an extended grazing this back-end and may even allow for surpluses to be taken out. From an animal health point of view, be wary of returning stock to lush grass coming from a restricted diet. Grass tetany immediately springs to mind. Worm burdens may also rise in young stock.
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