Grass supply on the Curley farm has been running well below demand for the year to date. Normal grass growth rates for the farm would average 40kg to 60kg DM/ha, but growth rates in the last two to three weeks have only averaged about 10kg to 13kg DM/ha.

This has significantly impacted on the normal spring grazing regime. Days grazing ahead of stock measured just three to four days, when normally the farm would have between 15 and 20 grazing days ahead. This is despite 60% of the cattle on the farm still being housed.

Similar picture across the country

A similar situation is present on farms right across the country. Teagasc sheep specialist Michael Gottstein advised flockowners to focus on balancing grass supply with demand. He explained that the grazing pattern of ewes influences grazing recommendations. The amount of grass a ewe consumes in a day will be dictated by the height of available grass and the amount of grass consumed in each bite.

In its simplest terms, Michael explained that where a ewe opens her mouth and can take in a full bite of grass, her intake will be maximised. However, where only half a bite of grass is available, her intake will be restricted no matter how long she stays grazing. This in turn will impact on potential performance.

The key grass heights dictating intake are as follows:

  • Grass height of 6cm – intake will be easily maximised.
  • Grass height of 6cm down to 4cm – the ewe will have the ability to consume sufficient grass.
  • Grass height below 4cm – the ewe will not physically be able to make enough bites in a day to consume sufficient grass.
  • Michael explained that there is no problem in letting ewes and lambs graze grass height of under 4cm for a short period of time (half a day to a day) as long as ewes are being transferred to a higher grass height thereafter.
  • Ewes will quickly make up any shortfall in nutrition and this practice is central to letting ewes graze out paddocks earlier in the year and promoting excellent-quality regrowth.
  • Potential concerns

    The problem occurs where paddocks or fields are too big for the number of animals grazing and it takes two to three days for ewes to graze the area from 4cm down to 3.5cm.

    When this happens, one of three consequences will occur:

  • Ewes will have to milk off their back to maintain milk yield.
  • Meals will need to be introduced to supplement intake.
  • In the absence of the two options above, lamb performance will suffer.
  • Many flockowners are still faced with grazing swards with a grass height of 2.5cm to 3.5cm. Michael advises that where lambs are aged greater than five to six weeks of age, it is more beneficial to feed concentrates directly to lambs via creep feeding.

    Ewes will have reached their peak milk yield and feeding concentrates to the ewe will give a poorer return than feeding the lamb directly.

    Where it is possible to let lambs creep ahead of the ewes, it will maintain lamb performance and ewes can be used to graze out swards. This is particularly beneficial as we progress into the grazing season.

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