Farmers aiming to apply one last dressing of fertiliser on grazing ground should do so within the next week.

The closed period for chemical fertiliser applications on grazing swards begins on Wednesday 15 September, so make sure any final applications are completed before this date.

With daytime temperatures sitting above 20°C this week, nitrogen applied before the weekend will give a return in terms of grass growth and build covers for grazing into the autumn.

The amount of fertiliser to apply will depend on how much grass is currently in front of cattle and the ability of ground to carry stock in to late October.

Rotation length

If cattle already have 25 to 30 days of grass in front of them, then there is little need to spread more fertiliser.

With a rotation of this length, cattle should manage to graze out the farm properly before housing for winter.

However, if grazing rotations are closer to 20 days, applying 20 to 25 units/acre of nitrogen will help build covers towards the 30-day mark and help carry stock into mid-October, weather depending.

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