Weather woes: Ground conditions have deteriorated, with the greatest issues faced on heavy soils. While the aim will be to graze fields tight before closing, it is important to reach a balance between grazing and avoiding poaching.
Lands overly grazed and poached will take longer to recover. Avoid grazing new reseeds until ground conditions get a chance to dry out. It is easier said than done but, where possible, target drier fields to achieve the best-possible utilisation of grass.
Ewes in early pregnancy (first month) should not be given an overly restricted nutritional intake, as this may lead to early embryonic loss.
Lambs and young rams: Current weather is also hard on lambs and young breeding rams. It is important to remove rams as soon as the breeding season is over for preferential treatment.
Overly restricting nutritional intake can lead to stunting of rams or failure to achieve their potential mature size/weight. On average, on good-quality grass, supplementing with 0.3kg to 0.5kg ration will help rams recover and regain lost condition.
Supplementation can be reduced or removed at a later stage, when you are happy rams are back on track.
For finishing lambs, supplementation will be required, in most cases, to maintain satisfactory performance (0.3 to 0.5kg on good-quality grass, rising to 0.8kg to 1kg on poor-quality/scarce grass supplies).
Mineral inclusion: Questions on ration formulation are ongoing. Minerals and vitamins are an important component of any ration. Teagasc nutritional advice recommends an inclusion rate of 2% to 4%.
Where high levels of meals are being fed, an inclusion rate of 2.5% to 3% is generally used. Minerals should be selected and balanced for the type of animals being fed.
For example, in lambs being finished on ad-lib meals, minerals with a high salt content are often used to encourage water intake and reduce the risk of urinary calculi.
Access to a source of clean, fresh water is critical for lambs on a high level of meal feeding. This is not just important for housed lambs, it is also important for lambs being fed high levels of meals outdoors.
Take note that farmers mixing their own feed may be obliged to register as a home mixer with the Department of Agriculture. Further information can be found at www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/feedingstuffs.
Temporary grazing: Page 42 covers a review of rules and regulations for temporary grazing of sheep.
Note that, under current terms and conditions, where land is eligible for payment under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme, it cannot be rented out, as doing so will render it ineligible for payment.
Temporary grazing of sheep can, however, continue on these lands, where agreements are carried out on a temporary or “B&B”-type arrangement, where animals are taken in to graze available grass.
Typical costs range from 10c/kg to 15c/kg per head per day for ewes, with prices influenced by quality of grass, land type, fencing, etc.
Some farmers also agree on a fee for a number of sheep for a number of weeks.
It is advisable to agree at the outset how long the grazing is for, as this is one area that often leads to conflict and a breakdown in the agreement.
Weather woes: Ground conditions have deteriorated, with the greatest issues faced on heavy soils. While the aim will be to graze fields tight before closing, it is important to reach a balance between grazing and avoiding poaching.
Lands overly grazed and poached will take longer to recover. Avoid grazing new reseeds until ground conditions get a chance to dry out. It is easier said than done but, where possible, target drier fields to achieve the best-possible utilisation of grass.
Ewes in early pregnancy (first month) should not be given an overly restricted nutritional intake, as this may lead to early embryonic loss.
Lambs and young rams: Current weather is also hard on lambs and young breeding rams. It is important to remove rams as soon as the breeding season is over for preferential treatment.
Overly restricting nutritional intake can lead to stunting of rams or failure to achieve their potential mature size/weight. On average, on good-quality grass, supplementing with 0.3kg to 0.5kg ration will help rams recover and regain lost condition.
Supplementation can be reduced or removed at a later stage, when you are happy rams are back on track.
For finishing lambs, supplementation will be required, in most cases, to maintain satisfactory performance (0.3 to 0.5kg on good-quality grass, rising to 0.8kg to 1kg on poor-quality/scarce grass supplies).
Mineral inclusion: Questions on ration formulation are ongoing. Minerals and vitamins are an important component of any ration. Teagasc nutritional advice recommends an inclusion rate of 2% to 4%.
Where high levels of meals are being fed, an inclusion rate of 2.5% to 3% is generally used. Minerals should be selected and balanced for the type of animals being fed.
For example, in lambs being finished on ad-lib meals, minerals with a high salt content are often used to encourage water intake and reduce the risk of urinary calculi.
Access to a source of clean, fresh water is critical for lambs on a high level of meal feeding. This is not just important for housed lambs, it is also important for lambs being fed high levels of meals outdoors.
Take note that farmers mixing their own feed may be obliged to register as a home mixer with the Department of Agriculture. Further information can be found at www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/feedingstuffs.
Temporary grazing: Page 42 covers a review of rules and regulations for temporary grazing of sheep.
Note that, under current terms and conditions, where land is eligible for payment under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme, it cannot be rented out, as doing so will render it ineligible for payment.
Temporary grazing of sheep can, however, continue on these lands, where agreements are carried out on a temporary or “B&B”-type arrangement, where animals are taken in to graze available grass.
Typical costs range from 10c/kg to 15c/kg per head per day for ewes, with prices influenced by quality of grass, land type, fencing, etc.
Some farmers also agree on a fee for a number of sheep for a number of weeks.
It is advisable to agree at the outset how long the grazing is for, as this is one area that often leads to conflict and a breakdown in the agreement.
SHARING OPTIONS