There was a lot of rain in the western half of the country over the last week, with a lot of heavier soils getting waterlogged again. Unfortunately, more rain is expected in these areas, which will limit the drying of land. For farms in this scenario on/off grazing may be necessary again.

There’s still over two weeks to get paddocks grazed for these heavier farms that would typically target starting the second round in the third week of April.

Where a farm got ground grazed in early February and has good covers of over 1,000kg DM/ha back now, consider starting the second round a few days earlier.

This might mean skipping one or two paddocks with heavier covers for bales, but where growth rates are on or above demand and covers on grazed paddocks are getting strong it could be an option. However, there’s no excuse for skipping paddocks if silage or more than a couple of kilograms of meal are being fed now.

Dry farms

Most farms on drier ground will be looking to start the second round over the coming week.

Average farm cover should be around 600kg DM/ha at this stage, and the paddocks for grazing first in the second round should have covers of at least 1,200kg DM/ha back.

If farms on drier ground are not getting close to 100% of area grazed or still have a high farm cover, ensure demand for grass is high by restricting meal feeding to a couple of kilograms maximum. There should be no silage in the diet on farms behind target.

As farms move into the second-round, grass quality becomes an important focus. Paddocks need to be cleaned off well and residuals of 4cm hit.

As growth rates start to rise, grass quality will deteriorate in the following rotations if residuals are poor.

Caroline O’Sullivan – Teagasc Curtins, Co Cork

The cows are out at grass full-time and we’ve 79% of the milking platform grazed. The plan is to start the second round by 7 April. Diet is 2kg of meal and grass. The cows are on a 24-hour break and going into covers of around 1,500kg DM/ha.

The covers on the paddocks we plan to graze first in the second round are at 1,000kg DM/ha. We have 65 units/acre of nitrogen gone out and we will cover any ground that’s been grazed with slurry in the coming weeks.

Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2

Growth (kg/ha) 25

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 700

Yield (l/cow) 25

Fat (%) 5

Protein (%) 3.75

Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.25

Concentrates (kg/cow) 2

Ian Williamson – Bailieboro, Co Cavan

The grazing conditions are tough on farm. The cows are on/off grazing and we have 30% of the milking platform grazed to date. They are also getting a pick of silage at night. The plan is to start the second round by 25 April, so we’ve time to make up ground with over 80% of the herd calved now.

The whole farm has gotten one round of nitrogen at a rate of around 25 units/acre on average. We’re planning to go again with another round in the coming weeks.

Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.7

Growth (kg/ha) 15

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,000

Yield (l/cow) 27

Fat (%) 4.58

Protein (%) 3.39

Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.22

Concentrates (kg/cow) 4

Chris Catherwood – Newtownards, Co Down

Almost all the cows are calved now and we’re out grazing since 25 February. There was a lot of on/off grazing with only five full days grazing. There is 66% of the milking platform grazed with two weeks to go before we start the second round. Regrowths are slow enough, with covers of around 700kg DM/ha back on the first grazed paddocks. Once these are back with a cover of around 1,200kg DM/ha we’ll be looking begin the second round.

Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.47

Growth (kg/ha) 21

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 615

Yield (l/cow) 29

Fat (%) 4.56

Protein (%) 3.5

Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.4

Concentrates (kg/cow) 7

Shane McGuinness – Newford Farm, Co Roscommon

There are just four cows left to calve. The rest of the cows and calves are out full-time grazing. They’ve been grazing from early March, as they calved. Grazing conditions aren’t too bad here and they’re cleaning out paddocks well enough.

We’ll be starting the second round early next week, and paddocks grazed are growing well enough. We’re giving the second shot of the bluetongue vaccine this week to all the breeding stock. Aside from that we’re just getting ready for the open day here on the farm on 22 April at 4pm.

System Suckler to beef

Soil type Variable

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 781

Growth (kg/ha) 14

Demand (kg/ha) 19

Ger McSweeney – Millstreet, Co Cork

Half of the cows are out full-time at the moment. Ground conditions are improving but still challenging. We’ve 50% of the farm area grazed, and all grazed ground has gotten a bag of 29-0-14. Regrowths have been slow enough but with better conditions and fertiliser out we’ll be hoping for more of a kick. We just finished giving the second shot of the bluetongue vaccine so they’re covered now.

Breeding started a week ago so it’s a good comfort knowing they’re covered now. Any silage ground has gotten protected urea and we’ll be aiming for an early May cut.

System Suckler to beef

Soil type Variable

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,125

Growth (kg/ha) 17

Demand (kg/ha) 27

Peter Doyle – Teagasc Grange, Co Meath

We’ve 33% of total farm area left to graze in the first round. We finished grazing the silage ground this week, and this took the pressure off the grazing block as we’ve a nice farm cover to eat into now. This is important for us as demand will be above growth for the next couple of weeks.

So far, the grazing block has gotten 23 units/acre of nitrogen and we’ll be planning to go with a bag and a half of 18-6-12 to any non-clover swards and one bag on the clover paddocks. The second shot of bluetongue vaccine was given this week.

System Suckler to beef

Soil type Variable

Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,009

Growth (kg/ha) 43

Demand (kg/ha) 46