Grass+ Beef: grazing a pipe dream for many until conditions improve

It’s been another wet week overall, with little to no chance of drying out. Again, it seems the east and southeast has been affected the worst, with rising slurry levels and a diminishing fodder supply being a worry to many farmers who are unfamiliar with these kinds of conditions in spring.

Where there is a fodder deficit looming on your farm, an early decision has to be made to ensure that a small issue doesn’t multiply.

Forward store cattle or cull cows can be offered additional concentrates to push them on, or sold live as they are. Fodder could also be purchased in, but doing so can mean poor quality feed coming in to the yard. On-off grazing may be achievable if you are around the yard most of the day and have ground that is relatively dry at the minute. The key with on-off grazing is to get cattle hungry before turn out so that they immediately put their heads down to graze instead of running and tearing through a paddock.

After two to three hours, cattle will have their bellies filled and can be turned back indoors. A morning and evening grazing of two to three hours per round can see up to 95% of the animal’s intake requirements met. It may be a cheaper (though more laboursome option) for farmers who have grass and time on their hands.

Ger McSweeney – Millstreet, Co Cork

It’s been incessant with rain, we’re getting no day without it and it’s making it very difficult for ground to dry out at all.

Saying that, after doing the grass walk there are some paddocks that if weather did improve I could get some of the yearling heifers out on to them. This time last year we did have them out, but they did end up coming back in again. Grass growth over the winter months has been surprising, with some nice covers there.

Slurry is an issue. We got a few loads out in that drier weather after the closed period, but since then it’s been a struggle to get anything moving, with tanks now rapidly filling again.

Calving is nearly finished, with just two cows left to calve down. It will be a while before we see cows and calves turned out, but it’s still only mid-February so we won’t panic.

System Suckler to beef

Soil Type Variable

Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 1,142

Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 5

Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) NA

Mark Maxwell – Ballinagore, Co Westmeath

Slurry is a major headache at the minute. We have been getting out with some loads on drier paddocks, but these drier paddocks are starting to become scarce now too. We would usually have some stock turned out by 20 February but that won’t be happening this year.

Fodder supplies are fine, and we do have a nice cover of grass on farm, it’s just a matter of waiting for ground to soak out to get cattle turned out. No fertiliser has been purchased as of yet – I’ll hold off until March before making any decisions.

Cows have started calving this week, and while they are slow to take off it will be busy when we are at peak. I normally hold off until March to purchase any dairy beef calves, which gives us a chance to clear out some shed space. We are drafting cattle for the factory regularly, mainly dairy beef heifers and cull cows.

System Suckler to beef

Soil Type Variable

Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 997

Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 3

Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) NA

Shane McGuinness – Newford Farm, Co Roscommon

We have 67 out of 91 cows calved in a little over three weeks. Thankfully all has gone well so far.

The last remaining cows will drag out now, but it’s been great to get the bulk of them calved both early and quickly.

We turned out 18 cows with the oldest calves earlier this week and they appear to have gotten on OK – cows are content and calves are healthy. We were concerned with disease build up with such a volume of calves being born so quickly.

Half of the slurry ground that was trafficable received 2,000 gallons slurry/acre last week, with the remainder likely to get urea in a few weeks. We are hoping to get an early cut again in April similar to last year on this. Replacement heifers are on target for weight, weighing 330kg yesterday. Bull calves are being banded today for the first time ever.

System Suckler to beef

Soil Type Variable

Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 951

Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 4

Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) NA