A lack of soil moisture has pulled back growth rates slightly this week, though for the most part grass supply remains well in excess of demand. Average growth across all of the BETTER farms this week was 69 kg/DM/day. In places where rain fell on Monday, expect growth to quickly climb back up into the 100s.

In contrast, heavily stocked farms that got little or no rain may be feeling the pinch, particularly in the south. The problem will be compounded where a lot of surplus grass was removed and is slow to come back into the rotation. Widespread rain coming this weekend will help to bolster grass supplies across the country.

With many turning their hands to silage and slurry at present, grass management often takes a back seat. It is paramount that grass budgeting continues.

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Last week, we mentioned that some were measuring their farms twice per week, such was the variable nature of growth. Things can and do turn overnight.

Target around 12 days of grazing ahead of stock on drier ground and 16 days on heavier land. This simply means that if growth were to stop, there would be 12 days’ worth of feeding on the farm. To measure your grass, estimate the height (cm) of grass in your field, subtract 4cm (residual) and multiply the remainder by 250. This will give you a kg DM/ha figure – the grass cover. Correct for field area and repeat this for the whole farm. Daily grass demand (kg DM) is simply stocking rate (LU/ha) multiplied by 18. Divide this into total supply to get a “days ahead” figure. Consider removing grass if the figure is 15 days or greater on dry farms and 20 on heavy farms.

The aim of grass budgeting is to keep as much leaf in the sward as possible. This is the most digestible, energy-dense portion of the plant.

Performance will take a dip where cattle are entering stemmy fields. If you’re unsure as to the quality of your sward, pull up some grass plants from a field close to grazing. There should be three large, bright-green leaves. If these leaves are shrivelling, are beginning to turn yellow at the tips or if there’s a seed head on the plant, your grazing performance is below optimum.

While there may be a reluctance to move for the mower and take out some extra grass, view silage saved today as a valuable resource. If surplus is identified and ensiled quickly, bales should have a DMD in the high 70s. This will reduce meal use in winter, as well as maximising performance at present – a double dividend.

Billy Glasheen

Co Tipperary

Farming system Store to beef

Land type Dry/heavy

Growth rate (kg DM/ha) 88

Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) -

Grass growth has been phenomenal here in the past few weeks. Even though the farm is stocked at 4.25 LU/ha, surplus paddocks have been coming out since mid-May. Target pre-grazing yield is 1,500-1,600kg DM/ha (10 cm) and anything greater comes out before getting too strong. To date I have 100 bales of surplus saved, along with my main cut of silage which was taken last week. Yield wasn’t huge at around 9t per acre, but I’m confident that the crop’s quality will be exceptional.

My first batch of under-16-month bulls were killed in the last fortnight and averaged 395kg carcase weight. While I am happy with their performance, it will be my last year of 16-month bull-production. I pay €1,000 for a weanling, put €400 worth of meal into him and will do well to make €100 profit per head this year - that isn’t sustainable. When producing to such an exact spec, the rewards need to be greater.

David Mitchell

Co Monaghan

Farming system Suckler to beef

Land type Very heavy

Growth rate (kg DM/ha) -

Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) -

I’m actively removing paddocks to keep good-quality grass ahead of the stock. I am targeting a pre-grazing cover of 1,100-1,200kg DM/ha (8-9cm), so I need to take action quickly when grass begins to kick on. Three paddocks came out last week and two more will come this week.

First-cut silage was taken on Monday and though yield was moderate, I’m happy that quality will be very good. I follow cattle with CAN (one bag) or a compound fertiliser where indices are low. Some of my land is low (index 2) in P.

Breeding began in mid-April and will finish in three weeks. I estimate that 90% of cows have been bred at this stage.

James Strain

Co Donegal

Farming system Suckler to weanling

Land type Heavy

Growth rate (kg DM/ha) 75

Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) -

While grass covers are just beginning to get strong, I haven’t removed any surplus yet. Some of the grazing platform was reseeded three weeks ago and this has put pressure on the rest of my grazing ground. Daily demand is 62kg DM/ha and the farm grew 72kg DM/ha last week, so at the moment things are comfortable. There are 12 days of grass ahead of stock and paddocks are getting a bag and a half of 18-6-12 after every grazing.

With the rain that fell early in the year, I found it hard to graze paddocks out well. I am seeing the effects of that now, with some of my swards becoming stemmy and heading out. However, quality remains good for the most part. The main first cut of silage will hopefully happen this week.

I calve my cows in the winter (Nov-Jan), with a view to selling bulls in October at around 500kg liveweight and heifers in the spring from grass. For the bulls, there are large finishers in this part of the country who want this type of animal, so the market is there.

Niall Patterson

Co Leitrim

Farming system Suckler to weanling

Land type Very heavy

Growth rate (kg DM/ha) -

Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) -

I’m finding it hard to keep a handle on grass supply at present. Grass is booming and though a 10cm pre-grazing height is my target, I find myself letting stock into heavier covers than I would like. A residual of 4cm is still the aim and the topper comes out when this isn’t hit. Thankfully it hasn’t been out too often. I’ve made bales on two paddocks so far to try and manage the supply and maintain quality. More will come out this week in conjunction with our first cut of silage which is bulking up well. I recorded grass growth rates in excess of 200kg DM/ha/day for two consecutive weeks on some reseeded silage ground. Sheep only came off it on 5 May and it received just 60 units of nitrogen since. I’m following stock with a bag of CAN or a bag and a half of 18-6-12, depending on individual paddock soil indices.

To date, around 80% of cows have been bred.