It’s rare to welcome rain in this country, but it has been welcomed with open arms as grass growth has crashed over the last few weeks.
While the west and northwest had been experiencing a pinch, it was far more serious in the south and east where growth was hitting the low teens for many.
Rainfall has been extremely variable, with the areas requiring it most receiving the least, with heavy supplementation still ongoing on these farms.
With regard to fertiliser, it is probably best to hold off to allow ground to soften somewhat owing to the extreme hardness of these soils.
Jack Spillane – Tipperary Farm, Co Tipperary
We got a small amount of rain yesterday, approximately 11mm. The 133 forward stores that we had on silage and concentrates outdoors are now fully housed on silage and 6kg of meal.
We will start slaughtering heifers in the next two weeks, but it will be a month or six weeks before we have significant numbers. The yearling cattle remain on silage only, as we are trying to hold whatever cover is there at the minute.
Concentrates have been reintroduced to all calves again at the rate of 1.5kg/head/day.
No fertiliser has been spread, as I see little value in spreading while ground is so hard. We have 12 acres of third-cut red clover to be cut towards the weekend; whether this is cut for a fourth cut will be weather dependent. Barley will be harvested at the weekend.
System Dairy calf to beef
Soil type Variable
Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 441
Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 10
Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) 9
Ger McSweeney – Milstreet, Co Cork
I was lucky that I had a cover of grass heading into what was a green drought. We got 16mm of rain over the weekend, which was badly needed. While the quality was not excellent in some paddocks, it did stop me having to feed silage.
The heavier, blacker-type soil sustained growth reasonably well throughout too, which was a great aid.
I went in there with 20 units of 18-6-12 in the last few days and will hold off spreading on the drier ground as I don’t think there would be a response.
I’ve held off weaning any calves as of yet, bar the cull cows. It is my hope that I will be able to keep cows and calves going with grass until early September.
I estimate that I’ll need about 40 more bales for winter feeding, so hopefully I can take out some ground for this.
System Suckler to weanling/beef
Soil type Variable
Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 677
Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 21
Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) 32
Shaun Diver, Tullamore Farm – Co Offaly
We’ve had some rain over the weekend and early this week, and you can see the ground starting to green up. Once growth goes above 25kg we will be in a better place.
We have one batch of cows on grass plus hay to slow them, with another receiving mostly grass and maize silage, and a small amount of grazed grass.
Weaned ewes have been tightened up, while all lambs bar replacement ewe lambs have seen concentrates introduced; 30 lambs plus some cull ewes are to be drafted this week.
Wholecrop silage was harvested at the weekend, yielding 10 bales/acre. This will hopefully receive a run of a disc harrow and be sown with kale for winter grazing of our weanling heifers. We would hope to blanket-spread 60 acres of some of the heavier ground with a bag/acre of 29-0-14.
System Suckler to beef
Soil type Variable
Farm cover (kg/DM/ha) 426
Growth (kg/DM/ha/day) 19
Demand (kg/DM/ha/day) 19
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