In this week’s instalment of the BETTER farm beef programme’s challenge reviews, we take a look at the grass growth challenge.

This challenge was a mandatory challenge for all 23 of the BETTER farm participants.

Its objective was to drive performance from grassland, with the aim of upping in the production of an extra 2t of grass dry matter per hectare across the three year programme.

Drystock sector

So why is this significant?

Irish and UK beef systems are in the majority grass-based, unlike most of Europe which features mainly concentrate based systems.

While beef farmers will argue as to whether this grass-based system offers a competitive advantage in the market place, there is no doubt that it can bring a cost benefit.

On average, production costs in grass-based beef systems are 80% to 85% less than in concentrate systems.

At this stage, most drystock farmers are probably familiar with Teagasc calculations which show that every extra tonne of grass dry matter (DM) per hectare utilised on drystock farms is worth €105 to the farmer.

But as a sector, we have to ask ourselves: are we seriously trying to grow more grass and cash-in on this financial benefit?

Measuring

For a start, how can you grow more grass if you don’t know how much you are growing in the first place?

Here is one striking statistic: there are over 75,000 beef farms in Ireland, yet there are only 571 drystock farmers actively measuring grass on PastureBase. What’s worse, just 248 of those measure more than five times per year.

It’s pleasing to see that for these farmers, measuring is making a difference. In 2018, these progressive, grass measuring beef farms grew just over 9t DM/ha for the year, with the top performers up on 17t DM/ha.

In reality, the average drystock farm in the country grows approximately 6tDM/ha.

In the off-season, have a think about ways to grow more grass next season. Make one small change this winter such as buying a reel and pigtails or even paddock up one field.

To measure change, measure the grass – it can be as technical as cutting and weighing or using a plate meter, or as simple as a sward stick or even drawing grass measurements on your welly boot.

Find out more

To find out how the grass growth challenge went for the BETTER farm beef challenge participants, see this week’s Irish Farmers Journal in pint or online.