I spoke with Dr Michael Dineen, Teagasc dairy nutritionist, this week about the feed situation of dairy farms and his top tips for the week ahead.

Michael began by cautioning that the feed supply situation is very farm specific, so farmers should continue to walk the farm regularly to monitor grass supply. He observed that post-grazing residuals were too high on some farms in recent weeks, and it's essential not to waste available grass.

Where grass growth is low (<25 kg/day) and drought conditions continue, he urged farmers to complete a fodder budget to assess feed supply. Where silage is available, he encouraged farmers to cap concentrate feeding in the parlour at 6kg, instead using high-quality grass silage during the deficit.

He also suggested that, as PKE and soya hulls are reaching prices of €260-280/t currently (equivalent to 30 cent/kg DM), farmers would be better to use high-quality bale silage as a cheaper feed option.

He pointed out that some farms have recovered more normal growing conditions (>30 kg/day) during the last week and still have a chemical N allowance available to build grass supply, or take a late cut of silage on a non-grazing platform area to replenish silage reserves.

Where adequate silage for next winter is not available, Michael suggested that purchasing silage from trusted sources was his preferred option. He suggested that it may also be possible to stretch silage supplies for dry cows pre-Christmas by including some straw in the diet, but to seek nutritional advice when doing so.

The scanning and sale of empty cows in mid-August is also a good option. Selling the 10% of empty or cull cows in the herd in mid-August, rather than carrying them to year-end, can increase winter forage supply for the rest of the herd by two to three weeks next March.

In a severe fodder shortage with low grass growth rates, feeding up to eight kg/day of concentrate in the parlour is possible. Michael warned, however, that farmers should monitor mineral inclusion rates in concentrates if feeding at these high levels.

In situations where forage replacers such as PKE and soya hulls are not available, some co-ops are offering ‘fodder stretcher’ alternatives, which include other feeds such as maize gluten and wheat feed within three-way and five-way mixes. Michael highlighted that, if high levels of barley, gluten and other such feeds are included in the mix, these feeds do not have high fibre levels to regulate intake, and caution is advised especially with high levels of concentrate being fed in the parlour.

Michael concluded by saying that farmers should ensure that parlour concentrates should not make up more than 50% of the total daily diet, and a minimum of 40% forage should be maintained in the total diet at all times. He also suggested that farmers should ask their mill to include native grains in the parlour concentrate where possible.