Grass growth across the programme farms averaged 6.55t DM/ha during 2018, down 18% on the previous year when grass growth averaged 7.96t DM/ha on the same farms.

Across 2018, it was a year of two halves when it comes to analysing grass growth. The cold and wet spring inhibited growth during March and April. This was followed by one of the driest summers on record.

The grazing season has finished on a positive note, with favourable growing conditions during September leading to a late burst in grass growth.

This should help to extend the grazing season well into late October, with some drier land likely to carry lighter stock into November.

Ryan McDowell and Oliver McKenna’s farms had the longest time period of monitoring grass growth this year, with both outfits recording growth over 197 days.

Impact of drought

In contrast, Fionbharr Hamill has recorded growth over a 97-day period. The Hamill farm is located between Downpatrick and Strangford and consists of lighter and shallow soils.

Drought conditions during June, July and August severely curtailed grass growth this summer. During the heatwave in late June, the high daily temperature led to grazing swards burning.

This resulted in the farm actually recording negative growth during this period, meaning that existing covers were physically dying off.

To maintain cattle performance, cows were fed silage during July. The farm also had to sacrifice silage ground during late June and July in order to keep cattle fed. The end result has left the farm tight for silage this winter.

Late-season growth

Thankfully, grass growth has increased during September, with more regular rainfall. Grass growth during September alone amounted to 2t DM/ha, an average daily growth rate of 66kg DM/ha/day.

In contrast, grass growth recorded during the drought period from June to August totalled 1.8t DM/ha.

Highest growth

The highest daily grass growth and seasonal yield was recorded on Oliver McKenna’s farm, with 9.96t of grass DM/ha grown during 2018, an increase of almost 1.1t DM/ha on the previous year.

Average daily grass growth was 50.5kg DM/ha/day, almost double the average daily growth on Fionbharr Hamill’s farm.

Land type on Oliver’s farm would be heavy in nature and much better suited to growing grass during prolonged dry spells, as the clay is able to hold moisture.

Annual comparison

The best-performing paddock on Oliver’s farm grew 13.2t of grass DM/ha this year. In 2017, the same paddock grew 11.9t of grass DM/ha.

The effects of the weather over the last two years can be seen in the volume of grass grown on this paddock.

From May to August 2018, the paddock grew more than 10t DM/ha, almost 4t/ha more than the average grass yield of 6.55t recorded across all the farms this year.

For the same period in 2017, the paddock yielded 7.3t/ha, as the downturn in conditions would have curtailed grass growth from late July to the end of August.

Excellent feed value in first-cut silage

First-cut silage has been analysed on the programme farms and results are excellent. With ideal conditions for harvesting silage in May and June, dry matter is high, with an average of 33.9% across the farms.

Dry matter energy is also good at an average 11.1 Mj ME. Protein levels are also relatively good, with the group average at 12.2%.

With swards cut before grass started to head out, digestibility is excellent and reflected in an average D-value of 70 across the group.

This means that cattle can digest the silage much easier, allowing them to make greater use of the energy and protein in fodder to support weight gain in growing cattle and body condition in dry cows.

As a guide to silage analysis, a good barometer to gauge feed value is to have dry matter at 30% to 35%, have an energy level over 11 ME, protein over 12% and D-value of 70% or higher.

There are also high intake ratings for silage. This means cattle will consume more fodder, thereby taking in more energy and protein with it.

This means there is a lower requirement for additional supplementation of silage with concentrates, reducing winter feed costs.

Top performer

Two crops of first-cut silage were made on Barry Carty’s farm. The first crop was harvested in late May on a land block which has been drained and reseeded. The other crop was harvested from older grass on heavier land during mid-June.

The difference in feed value between both crops is significant, with the silage made from the reseeded ground being one of the best forages made on any of the programme farms.

As Barry runs an autumn-calving herd, this silage will support higher milk production in cows once they are housed, as well as providing higher energy intake during the breeding period.

Concentrates will still be fed along with this silage, but mainly to stretch the feed over winter rather than to supply additional energy. With weanlings now being over-wintered and sold in spring, this high-quality silage will support increased weight gain. The silage made from older pasture can be targeted to lower-priority stock.

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