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Livestock farms continue to struggle with grass growth due to the lack of soil moisture. As farms start to run into a grazing deficit, steps need to be taken to stretch grass covers as soon as possible.
Similarly, cattle groups have to be prioritised to maintain performance. Outlined are five tips to help tackle any shortfall in grass.
1. Give priority to spring-calving cows
Spring-calving cows should now be at, or coming close to, their peak milk production. The breeding season is also likely to be under way for spring-calving cows.
Therefore, these animals should get priority over all other cattle on farm. If cows do not get adequate grazing, they will run into an energy deficit.
This will impact negatively on both milk yield and cow fertility. So, where possible, give spring-calving cows priority for fresh grass.
Where grass is extremely tight, feeding meals for a short period will help to reduce grazing demand and help meet the animals' nutritional requirement.
Buffer feeding silage is an alternative option, but make sure forage is keep fresh. This will avoid palatability issues, as warmer temperatures will cause silage to spoil.
2. Finishing cattle
Next to prioritise is any finishing cattle that are currently at grass. Grazing swards are starting to head out.
As such, cattle will be eating higher levels of stem, which is lower in feed value and harder to digest. This will cause weight gains to drop.
Rather than forcing cattle to clean out swards, or graze covers with higher levels of stem and seed head, introduce concentrates to these animals.
As finishing cattle primarily need energy to encourage fat cover, offer rolled barley and maize depending on value for money. Soya hulls, or sugar beet pulp, could also be fed to avoid digestive upsets.
Feeding levels will vary with grass supplies as well as cattle type. Heifers and native breeds will gain fat quicker than continental steers.
Start with 3kg/day and build up towards 6kg/day, where grass is tight. Keep an eye on fat cover and reduce meals if animals are getting too fat.
When feeding more than 3kg/day, split concentrates across two feeds and limit concentrate feeding to the final six weeks prior to slaughter.
3. Dry off autumn cows
Where October to December cows still have a calf at foot, consider weaning these animals now. Calves will be primarily consuming grass and are less reliant on the cow.
Once weaned, cows can be housed for a week to dry off before returning to grass. At this stage, stock dry cows on rougher grazing ground.
Use a ring feeder to offer silage, or haylage, along with minerals. Buffer feeding will allow higher stocking rates on a smaller land area, freeing up more grass for higher priority animals.
4. Summer-calving cows
On farms that have summer-calving cows, or late-spring-calving animals still to calve down, these animals could be managed in a similar manner at grass.
Group cows on a few designated paddocks with access to supplementary forage in ring feeders or feed trailers. Make sure cows are covered for pre-calving minerals and always keep fodder fresh.
Again, this will help to free up grazing for other stock, such up spring-calving cows and forward stores.
5. Offload unproductive stock
Take a long hard look at the animals in your herd. When grass growth is under pressure and there is limited grazing ahead of stock, there is little point in keeping animals that are under-performing.
All these animals are doing is robbing grass that would be better utilised by higher-performing animals.
Look through your cows. Pull out those repeat offenders that wean light calves, have temperament issues, bad quarters, etc.
The same applies to store cattle. Pull out the animals struggling to gain weight. They may not be worth a lot, but they would be better off sold, freeing up grass for other stock.
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