Closing for Silage: If you have not already done so, you should be thinking of closing off ground for silage. Ground that is closed off this weekend and receives 100 units of nitrogen will take at least 50 days (assuming the crop uses two units of N per day) before it is ready to cut. The earliest cutting date will be 14 June, although it is possible to get an ensilability test carried out on the sward beforehand to see if all of the nitrogen has been used up. Many farms will opt for a late cut of silage to get bulk, but with high ryegrass swards, it is possible to get a yield of 10 tonnes per acre and still produce a silage crop of high feed value.

Silage quality will reflect the sward quality. Grass tends to head out at the same stage every year, so grazing before closing will not delay the sward producing a seed head. Grazing before closing will prevent the base of the sward dying off and leaving a white aftermath when harvested. Having no dead grass in the sward can improve the feed value of the silage by 3 DMD units, which is similar to 0.75kg of meal. Swards that were closed with a heavy cover of grass on them should be harvested as early as possible, even if it means baling rather than bringing the grass into the pit. Delaying cutting will again mean that the base of the sward will start to turn white as dead matter builds up. Once harvested, the white aftermath is very slow to regrow.

Young swards should receive up to 100 units of nitrogen and older swards around 80 units as they are less able to utilise the nutrient. At soil index 3 for P and K, the crop needs 100-16-96 units of N-P-K. 3,000 gallons per acre of cattle slurry will supply approximately 18 units of nitrogen, 21 units of P and 90 units of K so the crop can be balanced with three bags per acre of CAN.

Vaccines: Heifers that have been given their first shot of a BVD and lepto vaccine four weeks ago should now be receiving their second shot. Cows should also be getting their annual booster. Do not forget to include the stock bull. Calves that received their first dose of black-leg vaccine should also be getting a booster around now. Simply giving one shot of a two-shot programme to prevent clostridial diseases is a false economy as the cover period will not last the grazing season. The second shot will provide cover throughout the remainder of the year and a single booster can then be given next spring.

Creep feeding calves: I was on a suckler-to-beef farm recently and the creep feeders were already being used for spring-born and autumn-born calves. With good quality spring grass available, I asked why he was using the creep feeder. The response was that it takes the meal to get gain on calves. The autumn calves still sucking the cow were obviously using the feeder as they were lying stretched out beside it. Spring grass generally has a protein content of 18% to 22% and a UFL of 1.0 to 1.5, which is far superior to concentrates. Factoring in that 1kg of concentrates costs €0.26, whereas 1kg DM of grass costs €0.05, the economics of offering creep feed at this stage of the year does not pay. Profitable suckler beef systems depend on grazing cheap grass.