It’s hard to even remember when we last had any rain worth talking about and soil moisture deficits (SMD) are showing it.
The northern-most tip of the country is showing an SMD of 30mm, though the majority of the country is in a deficit of greater than 50mm.
The net result is that growth is being severely restricted, but most so in the south and southeast.
In a line between west Clare and north Louth, SMD is sitting between 70mm and 90mm - drought conditions.
It will take significant rain to correct this and even when this happens, thundery bursts will only run off this extremely hard ground. Gentle, soft rain to soften ground first is needed.
Fertiliser advice
The above is critical when it comes to spreading fertiliser. Hard soils won’t have any capacity to absorb chemical nutrients and there is a danger that spreading them on these soils when there is a deluge of rain to follow will lead to a huge risk of nutrients being washed into water courses - neither good for the environment or your pocket.
Wait for ground to soften slightly before spreading is the safest option.
When applying fertiliser, do so modestly. Scorched ground is not going to be driven on by high levels of nitrogen (N) and where there is grass cover, we do not want nitrate poisoning or souring of grass in front of cows.
An application of 18 to 20 units N/acre is more than sufficient.
Watery slurry is also another good alternative given the current cooler air temperatures.
Supplementation
Supplementation will continue to be needed for many, as this will be a long, slow process of coming out of this drought.
If needs be, cattle or cows may have to be housed full-time to protect cover.
This may seem out of the ordinary, but there is little point in eating into remaining cover and then staring at grass growing at a snail’s pace for the next month.
It will also allow for the rotation to come back in order - graze everything now to the butt and it will all be ready for grazing at the same time again, which will be a management issue.
SHARING OPTIONS