Grass growth this week was good at 66kg/ha. Demand has fallen to 31kg/DM/ha. This has dropped considerably, with second cut silage ground coming back into the grazing rotation this week. This has really taken the pressure off the grazing block and allowed Shaun to think about building covers for ewes in advance of the sheep breeding season.
Average farm cover is currently at 802kg/ha, so the farm won’t be that far off its target of having an average farm cover of 1,100kg/ha by the first week in September. The farm is currently stocked at 2.12 L.U/ha. There are currently 26 days grazing ahead of grazing stock on the farm. The plan is to go with one bag/ac of pasture sward to give paddocks a boost for P and K and also boost growth over the coming weeks.
One slurry tank that had a few loads left from the under 16 month bulls being fed indoors was emptied this week, which means all tanks on the farm have been emptied. BEEP weighing was completed this week also.
The average 200-day weight of the bull calves is 308kg, meaning the bull calves are currently gaining 1.31/kg/day since birth. The average weight of the 2021-born heifer calves is 266kg, meaning heifer calves have done 1.12/kg/day since birth. Average cow weight on the farm is 646kg, with the weaning efficiency figure currently standing at 45%.Further details, including a ranking off calf performance on cow type and sire breed type, will be profiled in the Irish Farmers Journal next week.
Other things that have been happening on the farm this week include:
Selection of some of this years heifer calves on #TullamoreFarm thriving well!! pic.twitter.com/dsPL1dzqyX
— Shaun Diver (@diver_shaun) August 18, 2021
#TullamoreFarm flock cleaning off some poorer, strong grass, thin and fat ewes will be picked next week and batched according to meet target BCS for breeding!! A stitch in time approach is key to meet those targets! Don’t forget about the rams also ?? @FJSheep @farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/Bs42gHanqt
— Shaun Diver (@diver_shaun) August 15, 2021
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