Grass growth has surged ahead of livestock demand during June, turning a grazing deficit into a surplus on the majority of farms.

As grass gets ahead of cattle and heads out, it is much harder to control sward quality.

Where some farmers have plans for baling surplus grass to manage sward quality, outlined are five tips to consider beforehand.

1 Don’t delay cutting surplus grass

If you have too much grass on the grazing block and plan on taking out some paddocks for silage, then it is best to mow grass at the earliest opportunity.

Don’t delay cutting a surplus. Delaying cutting date, in the hope of getting extra bulk, slows down regrowth.

This means paddocks will be light on grass in the next rotation. As grass growth normally slows during July, this can quickly turn a surplus into a deficit.

2 Wilting

Wilting grass before baling is always worth doing. Higher dry matter bales will hold their shape better when stacked and fermentation will be improved.

However, limit the wilting period to between 12 and 24 hours, depending on weather conditions. There is no benefit wilting beyond 24 hours.

If anything, it just delays getting aftermath being fertilised and regrowth for the next grazing rotation.

3 Chop grass when baling

As surplus grass is likely to be longer with plenty of stem, set the baler to chop grass. This will allow bales to be packed tighter, again helping to keep their shape and reduces plastic used.

Having bales chopped also makes it easier for manually feeding out silage during winter, as well as less waste from cattle dragging silage back into slatted pens.

4 Mark bales with paint

Once bales are wrapped and stacked, it is a good idea to mark them with some paint. This way you know which bales came from which fields and you can target good quality, leafy fodder to stores and lower quality silage to dry cows.

5 Fertiliser

Once bales have been stacked, dress the paddocks with 20 to 30 units/acre of bagged nitrogen. Ideally, include some P and K, as well as sulphur.

As these paddocks may be required for grazing within two to three weeks, avoid spreading slurry unless using a dribble bar or trailing shoe. This prevents grass from being soiled and delaying grazing.

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