Despite the dry spell affecting most of the country, the average grass figures according to PastureBase aren’t actually all that bad. Average farm cover is 600kg/ha and 200kg per cow. While this is below the target for the time of year, it’s a lot better than expected based on what we see driving around Munster, Leinster and the midlands. These average figures can mask some real issues for farmers, some of whom are at their wits end with such low grass growth rates and such little grass available.

The good news is that rain is forecast for the weekend and if we get as much as they’re saying we might, then it’ll go a long way to helping grass to recover. But as detailed on pages 32 and 33, we are still a few weeks away from being out of the woods. Even farms in the west and north (where soil moisture deficits are a non-issue) are behind target in terms of average farm cover. Whatever hope there is of a bounce in grass growth rates on farms with a moisture deficit, there will be no bounce in growth after rain on farms that don’t have a moisture deficit.

Up to 60mm of rain is forecast for parts of the country over the next week. Even though land is dry now, it won’t be long getting soft on top again, so those that are currently feeding silage or meal outdoors in feeders may need to house stock for feeding. Sacrifice paddocks should have been avoided up to now and should not be used for feeding cows as it will lead to a huge amount of nutrients in a small area which will be subject to losses.

If it does rain, farms that have very little grass will have to feed hard for 10-14 days when there will be very little grass in the diet. This will give the farm a chance to recover and allow average farm cover to build back up to 600kg or 700kg/ha. Drought affected farms are unlikely to hit their peak closing cover targets this autumn, but they should try to get average farm cover up as high as possible as soon as possible.

Sward watch

  • Average grass growth rates are 35kg/day for last week and are likely to fall further this week but rain is on the way.
  • Most farms, even those not affected by the dry spell, are well behind target in terms of average farm cover for the time of year.
  • It’s unlikely that farmers who have a very low average farm cover are going to hit their peak cover targets at the end of September, but they should make sure to hit their closing cover target by December.
  • Avoid spreading fertiliser or slurry until after the heavy rain next weekend.

    • Christopher Cahill

    Delvin, Co Westmeath

    We’ve finished grazing our heavy covers, so we will back down to pre-grazing yields of 1,000-1,100kg DM/ha. Farm cover is good, and we’ve managed to drop demand down to 38kg DM/ha by introducing some zero grazed grass destined for third cut.

    If we get the rain we are promised towards the weekend, it should push on growth and we can pull the zero grazed grass. We spread 30 units/ac of protected urea on the 14 August.

    The plan is to go with 2,000 gallons/ac of slurry on clover paddocks, with the remainder of the farm receiving an additional 15-20 units of chemical N before the deadline.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 3.15

    Growth Rate (kg/day) 42

    Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 215

    Yield (l/cow) 16

    Fat % 4.5

    Protein% 3.6

    Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.33

    Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 2.4

    Michael Ryan

    Cashel, Co Tipperary

    I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of grass on farm when I walked it. We spread little to no nitrogen throughout the summer months, so a blanket spread of 30 units/ac plus a little rain since really seems to have driven growth for us.

    We have remained feeding 3kg of concentrates plus 5-6kg of silage throughout the summer. We will continue feeding silage and meal at current levels to help build covers for the autumn.

    If rain comes at the weekend, we will go with another 30 units of N across the farm. We will then follow cows with watery slurry spread with the dribble bar at 1,500 gallons/ac.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 3.59

    Growth Rate (kg/day) 72

    Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 239

    Yield (l/cow) 20.7

    Fat % 4.92

    Protein% 3.8

    Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.86

    Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 3

    Barry Reilly

    Teagasc, Ballyhaise, Co Cavan

    Grass is pumping at the minute with a growth of 92 kg DM/ha. With demand relatively low, we are continuing to take surplus grass out as baled silage. We have extended the rotation length out to 30 days, with the plan being to build our cover to a maximum of 1,200kg DM/ha. We’re currently grazing covers of 1,600kg DM/ha down to 4.5cm. Cows were scanned yesterday, with 12.5% of an empty rate shown. We will milk on these empty cows until November and sell them straight out of the parlour then. Cows were also vaccinated for Salmonella during the week. Cows are still milking well with litres holding nicely.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 2.28

    Growth Rate (kg/day) 92

    Average Farm Cover (kg/cow) 321

    Yield (l/cow) 20.3

    Fat % 4.46

    Protein% 3.78

    Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.72

    Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 2