BETTER farm: measure before you can manage

So far, grass growth in 2019 has been varied. In early February the grass plant was up and running earlier than usual thanks to pleasant early-spring conditions. That progress hit a wall in March and early April as cold nights and cool daytime temperatures took their toll.

The first meaningful period of growth came in the third week of April thanks to milder, softer conditions. Since then, there have been mixed reports on growth.

The question is, how many of us actually know what way the grass situation is on the farm?

On some farms, growth rates have been continually high for the last three weeks, on others they are only up and down, with wet weather and cold nights still having an effect.

The question is, how many of us actually know what way the grass situation is on the farm?

Let’s face it, we are coming into the peak grass growing months now. The effectiveness of grass management over the next eight weeks is going to have a lasting effect on both grazing conditions and fodder conservation for the rest of the year.

Looking out across the gate or ditch and concluding whether there is grass or there isn’t grass is all fine, but more often than not this tactic ends in one of two ways – running out of grass at a critical time of the year or, more commonly, letting grass run completely ahead resulting in poor utilisation and ultimate wastage. The question I’m asking now is: how many people are measuring grass?

Benefits in Bailieborough

Last week I visited Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER farm beef challenge participant Gareth McCormack on his farm just outside Bailieborough in Co Cavan.

On 35ha of heavy-clay soil, Gareth is running a herd of 50 spring-calving cows.

Male progeny are slaughtered under 16 months of age. Females are either retained as replacements or sold live.

With calving just after winding up last week, there are two things dominating the workload at present – AI and grass.

As of last Wednesday, 30 cows had been submitted for AI

Last year, Gareth made the decision to go 100% AI. Considering he has a full-time job, heat detecting, bringing in cows and completing the AI himself is no mean feat.

As of last Wednesday, 30 cows had been submitted for AI. For more, read the article and watch the video online at ifj.ie/video.

As is the case on farms all over the country at present, grass was one of the main talking points as myself, Gareth and Teagasc BETTER farm adviser Tommy Cox walked the farm. The fact that Gareth has been measuring grass on a weekly basis made the discussion all the more beneficial.

This is something that all members of the BETTER farm beef challenge do on a weekly basis and the difference in grassland management is enormous as a result.

On 24 April, 49 cows and their calves are at grass. Each cow and calf has a combined demand of over 17kg DM/ha. Just over 10ha of silage ground was closed off. The remaining 24ha of grazing ground received 30 units of N per acre early in the spring. Looking at the growth rate, grass is just beginning to take off on the farm. The biggest problem is that 18 yearling heifers are still in the shed and, despite Gareth’s anxiousness to get them out, neither ground conditions nor grass covers were suitable for turnout prior to this point.

Looking at the grass cover here, however, that is set to change. The first thing to consider is grass growth relative to demand. After being low in the weeks previous, growth climbed significantly this week and edged past demand, signalling magic day. A quick look at the weather forecast also gave indications that growth would more than likely increase over the coming week. Furthermore, the days ahead figure on the farm is strong. In peak growth, 10-14 days ahead is loads. Right now, 18 days ahead would be comfortable. Gareth is at 24 days. Finally, looking at the grass wedge, the fact that covers are beginning to creep past the target pre-grazing yield line suggests that a surplus is coming soon. All things considered, the 18 store heifers can be let to grass as soon as possible. To give growth rates a further boost and to improve soil fertility, 1.5bags/acre of 18:6:12 will be applied.

First things first, the 18 store heifers have been let out. This has seen daily demand jump from 35kg to 47kg DM/ha/day. Thankfully, growth is more than making up for this. Since 24 April, growth on the farm jumped to 83kg DM/ha – that’s over 2cm per week. As a result, surpluses look set to appear once again even with the heifers at grass. To combat this, another 2ha have been taken out for silage, reducing the grazing area to 21ha and bringing the stocking rate up to 3.13LU/ha on the grazing platform. In all likelihood, more paddocks will have to be taken out. The maximum days ahead requirement now is 14 days. Average farm cover, should be around 700kg DM/ha (50kg (demand) x 14 (days ahead)). These figures are much higher at present with Gareth.

The two paddocks which are pushing close to 3,000kg DM/ha are new reseeds. Ideally, these would have been grazed sooner but wet weather prohibited this for fear for damaging the new sward. Mowing these new reseeds is not best practice either so a decision was made to strip graze these two blocks, allocating a portion of grass daily. This has already begun (shaded brown = being grazed).

In summary, Gareth is in a great position. All stock are out, growth is running well ahead of demand and farm cover and days ahead are well above where they need to be. As a result, paddocks can be skipped and taken out as surplus bales for the winter and measuring on a weekly basis will help to identify when these can be taken out.

Tommy Cox

Maintaining the right quality and quantity of grass in front of stock during the grazing season is important in maximising performance. Since the programme has begun, Garreth’s continuous improvements his grassland management have been rewarded by increasing the volume of grass he is growing and improved stock performance. Measuring allows Garreth make informed decisions regarding grass and it also identifies if there is a surplus or deficit of grass on the farm.