Driving through counties such as Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford, one could be forgiven for thinking they are trekking down through the south of France or northern Italy in the peak of summer.

Land is crying out for water and, unfortunately, there’s not enough in sight.

At this stage, it would take up to two weeks at least of heavy rain to reduce soil moisture deficits to normal levels on many farms.

In Oakpark, Co Carlow, a soil moisture deficit of 99mm was recorded on Tuesday.

This is remarkably low and speaking with both colleagues and experienced farmers, the conclusion was reached that, anecdotally, the situation in certain parts is as severe as anything Ireland has experienced since the summer of 1976.

That summer still remains the driest overall summer on record. However, Met Éireann has stated July of this year is the driest month on record, while also taking the title of the third-hottest month in Irish history.

For those farming in parts of the east and south, August hasn’t been any kinder to them.

Cows have been eating silage and other supplement from early July and, at this stage, fears are rising over fodder reserves.

Every farm is doing its best at the moment and there’s no gold standard to follow in such times, but there are some key decisions farms can make to help navigate the next couple of weeks more effectively.

Planning

Best case scenario, farms that are currently experiencing a high soil moisture deficit will still be supplementing for at least another month.

Even if enough rain comes over the next two weeks, it will still take the farm a further two weeks to recover and start responding.

That brings us to mid-September, at which stage the farm should be already in the process of building cover over 1,000kg DM/ha.

Obviously, that’s unrealistic for many farms and some of the key grass targets are going to have to be adjusted this back end.

Given there was poor growth for nearly seven weeks, farms are banking on getting high levels of compensatory growth once rain comes to build up cover.

There’s no doubt there will be a response, but it’s highly unlikely we’ll see growth rates go much further than 50kg to 60kg DM/ha.

The reason being that by mid-September, temperatures will be falling and daylight hours will be shortening, making it physically impossible for grass to grow well above normal levels.

Whatever cover can be built up before the end of September will just have to be managed until closing up.

This may mean some farms will end up feeding higher levels of supplement than they’d like in October and November to stretch grass, but that’s an unfortunate consequence of a challenging July and August.

Cull cows

Cull cows have to go now on farms that are struggling. Firstly, these cows are costing a lot of money in feed at the moment, but, more importantly, when grass does get going, the farm will be trying to build cover and these cows will be restricting the amount that can be built.

Taking these cows out of the system now is saving money on feed at the moment, but also reducing the demand in October and November, when the farm will be already stretching the grass that’s there.

By doing a scan now, empty cows can be pulled out and sold, as well as those poor performers or problem cows.

There are not a lot of cull cows moving at the moment, but early indications are that prices are not too bad.

Cows in good condition from the parlour are making somewhere around €1,100 to €1,200, while bigger cows with a bit of fat cover are making over €1,500.

Winter feed

As farms are eating into silage reserves, doing a winter feed budget is very worthwhile.

Many farmers will know themselves how much they use over the winter months, but with the amount of feed gone in over the last six weeks, it’s no harm to reassess the situation.

Teagasc advisers are already out on some farms assisting with calculations. This is something farmers should avail of.

On average, cows will eat 12kg DM silage per day and weanling heifers will eat around 5kg to 6kg DM, depending on the quality.

Calculate how much is required for the dry period from late November to early February, while also factoring in the later-calving cows.

It’s a necessity to have that feed on the farm. If the farm is already going to be short, start looking around for silage to purchase. Where supplies are short, also look to swap out some of the silage being fed for other feed such as straights if not already doing so.

Feeding very high levels of meal in the parlour is the easiest thing to do and cows will be performing better in terms of milk output, but the cost of doing so completely erodes the benefit.

Some farmers are likely feeding highs level of in-parlour meal to protect silage reserves, as well as getting a better milk response.

However, silage would need to be costing over €85/bale to be the same cost as meal, so it doesn’t make sense to do this.

Fertiliser

The advice remains to hold off on fertiliser to allow for natural mineralisation of nitrogen in the soil when rain comes.

It’s imperative that farmers hold off for at least 10 days after the first fall of heavy rain

From a water quality point of view, the negative impact of spreading as soon as rain arrives can’t be overstated enough.

It’s imperative that farmers hold off for at least 10 days after the first fall of heavy rain.

That will likely mean just one more round of nitrogen will be spread before the closing date. It might seem counterproductive, but there is enough nitrogen there in the soil that’s been unused over the last number of weeks and this is sufficient to get the farm growing.

If there is dirty water available, it’s still worthwhile spreading this on ground now.

For farms in dry areas, holding off on planned reseeds may be necessary unless rain comes soon.

If the reseed can go in by early September, it will still have enough time to grow, but farms are likely to have less grass in October and November and if the area taken out will put too much pressure on demand, hold off with the reseed until spring.

Overdraft

The costs incurred as a result of the current situation are no doubt taking a toll on the financial health of many farms.

Where cashflow is an issue, consult the bank early and seek advice on potential overdrafts to help navigate the next couple of months.