Heavy rainfall in many parts of the country at the start of the week is presenting grazing challenges for some. The situation may improve if we experience a dry spell of weather again but with this less likely at this stage of the year it is advisable to put plans in place, particularly where flocks have started or are about to start breeding to ensure performance is not compromised.

Such lowland ewes have a dry matter intake requirement ranging generally from 1.2kg DM to 1.5kg DM. It is important that this requirement is satisfied during breeding and for the first month of gestation. It is not just a matter of ensuring ewes have access to this level of grass dry matter. Grass quality is an important factor that also needs to be considered.

Confining ewes to smaller areas will help to increase utilisation when grazing heavy covers.

Grass will hold its quality better at this time of year but challenges can start to arise with heavy covers or swards with a high percentage of lower-quality material at the base of the sward. Allowing ewes access to surplus grass over a much larger area than is required will only lead to ewes grazing off the green material first and then being left with poorer quality material.

Temporary divisions

If forced to graze out this poorer-quality material at a critical juncture such as breeding, it can have significant negative consequences on performance.

There are two approaches that can be utilised here. The preference is to temporarily split the grazing area into allocations that will deliver two to three days’ grazing. In such a situation, ewes will graze higher-quality material for the first day and a half to two days and then be forced to graze lower-quality material for a shorter duration. Intake will recover quickly once ewes return to the next grazing block.

Table 1 is a useful guide to help allocate grass. It is based on 100 ewes grazing a 1ha paddock and offered 170kg DM/day. The higher offering is to take account of lower levels of grass utilisation.

This is likely to range at present from 70% on more marginal lands to upwards of 85% on drier soils. It will also be influenced by the level of grass present with utilisation lower in heavy swards.

In periods of inclement weather, one- to two-day paddocks can be used. While there may be some damage caused to the surface of the sward in such cases, paddocks will generally recover quickly. The quality of fencing will need to be on the mark if confining ewes to a smaller grazing area. The secret with such a system is to get ewes accustomed at the beginning, which may include adding an extra row of wire at the outset.

Alternative option

The grazing procedure described above is demanding on labour and may not be a runner on many farms operated part-time with the window to complete work in the evenings reducing fast. Where it is not possible to split paddocks, an alternative option that can be practised to graze out heavy covers is moving ewes to fresh grass regularly while breeding is ongoing, giving swards a chance to recover and freshen up before returning after the first month of gestation to force ewes to graze out the area.

This may also open up an opportunity to group ewes in to a larger grazing group if practising single-sire mating and get the area cleaned out quicker. It is important, however, that such a move does not compromise on the farm’s autumn grazing planner and delay closing of areas earmarked for grazing next spring