Downpatrick, Co Down
Our farm is really suffering from the drought and grass is badly burned. Paddocks that have been grazed have stalled with no regrowth, so the rain forecast this week will be greatly welcomed and hopefully kickstart grass growth again.
I am trying to reduce paddock size to increase grass utilisation and slow down the current rotation. To do this, paddocks are being split with electric fencing. I installed extra drinking troughs to provide better access to water as cattle were waiting too long to drink at existing troughs. We started feeding our first-cut silage two weeks ago. Cattle are getting baled silage made from surplus grazing in May. We made 52 bales in total and will use these before opening the pit.
Silage is being fed every second day in feeding trailers to try to stretch whatever grass is available on the farm.
One group of cows and breeding heifers are being strip-grazed to improve grass utilisation. This is working fine, but silage is still being offered as a buffer feed to stretch grass supplies.
Store bullocks and one group of cows are basically on a silage-only diet, as grazing days ahead are tight. No meal is being fed to the bullocks yet, but this will be reviewed depending on future grass growth.
Ground conditions are ideal for feeding silage in the fields as cattle are causing no surface damage. Even though grass is in short supply, cattle are settled with the dry conditions which is a blessing.
Second-cut silage is not growing due to the lack of moisture and some of it will end up being grazed. The remainder will be cut once grass starts growing again. I will close ground and make a third cut of silage to boost fodder reserves.
Last year, we grew forage rape which worked really well for out-wintering cows and I am planning to repeat this for the winter. I would like to get forage rape sowed in the coming weeks to maximise yields for winter grazing.
Dromore Co Down
Our farm is getting through the dry spell OK. Hopefully the rain this week will kickstart grass growth, especially for second-cut silage. At the start of July, I had 10 days of grazing ahead of cows. However, to stretch the rotation, we decided to graze paddocks much tighter than normal.
By reducing residual covers from 1,800kg DM/ha to 1,600kg, we have stretched the rotation out to approximately 18 to 19 days ahead of cows.
However, with such a low residual, regrowth is very slow and we have been holding off on sowing fertiliser.
Thankfully, we brought an extra five paddocks into our grazing rotation after the first cut silage was harvested. This has been a good move as it has helped to take the pressure off grazing ground.
Where grass is available, quality is good. While grass growth is poor on grazed paddocks, growth rates are still relatively OK on ungrazed paddocks that have a good grass cover present.
Creep feeders were put out with calves recently to take the pressure off cows and reduce grazing demand.
Using creep feeders will also help to maintain calf performance as some cows are lacking in milk.
Feeders are also being used to entice calves to forward creep graze, which will also help to maintain calf performance.
Our finishing bulls are coming close to slaughter. Intakes have gone down with the heat, but liveweight gain remains above 2kg/day.
Garrison Co Fermanagh
Grazing ground is in excellent condition on our farm after three weeks without rain. However, even though we work on heavier land, a long, dry spell can still create some problems for us.
Getting drinking water to cows is becoming an issue. On some grazing land, water is provided via streams which are starting to dry up.
Autumn-born calves are being fed meal, so they have an increasing demand for water, especially as cows are starting to go dry.
To ease the demand for grass, I am planning to start weaning the stronger autumn calves shortly.
Where cows are grazing older swards, grass quality would be an issue and again, this would be affecting on milk production for spring-calving cows. Therefore, I have increased meal levels to calves to keep them gaining weight.
After getting off to a good start, second-cut silage has slowed recently and grass is starting to shoot.
The good weather did provide a great opportunity to make some hay recently. We managed to make 50 round bales and it will be a valuable feed this winter.
Tips for coping with dry spell
Average farm cover: try to maintain a target grass cover of 2,000kg DM/ha, which is approximately 6cm in grass height. When rain does come, it is important to have some level of grass cover to kickstart growth again. Bare paddocks will still be slow to recover after rain.Fertiliser: there is little benefit in spreading fertiliser until rain is forecast as the pellet will sit on the soil surface. Be ready to get nitrogen on to grass as soon as rain is forecast.Water provision: suckler cows need as much as 90 litres of water per day in current conditions. Weanlings will need up to 25 litres, or more if meal is being fed to stretch grass supplies. Store cattle require as much as 60 litres daily with cattle on ad-lib meals requiring up to 70 litres daily.Feed silage: feeding silage to reduce grazing demand is recommended. Start with baled silage rather than pit. Ground conditions will allow silage to be fed in most fields without the risk of sward damage. Feed a little and often so that silage is not heating once opened. Offer meals: feeding concentrates will reduce grazing demand. Target meals to calves that are destined for finishing as bull beef, as well as store cattle that will be sold live, or finished in early winter. Meals can be fed in a trough, or fed on top of the grass provided ground conditions remain dry.Wean autumn cows: weaning autumn-calving cows will greatly reduce grazing demand. Once cows are dried off, they can be stocked tighter and used to clean out paddocks after young stock.Graze silage ground: if grazing remains tight, consider grazing some silage ground. Use electric fencing to control grazing and improve utilisation of heavy grass covers.
Downpatrick, Co Down
Our farm is really suffering from the drought and grass is badly burned. Paddocks that have been grazed have stalled with no regrowth, so the rain forecast this week will be greatly welcomed and hopefully kickstart grass growth again.
I am trying to reduce paddock size to increase grass utilisation and slow down the current rotation. To do this, paddocks are being split with electric fencing. I installed extra drinking troughs to provide better access to water as cattle were waiting too long to drink at existing troughs. We started feeding our first-cut silage two weeks ago. Cattle are getting baled silage made from surplus grazing in May. We made 52 bales in total and will use these before opening the pit.
Silage is being fed every second day in feeding trailers to try to stretch whatever grass is available on the farm.
One group of cows and breeding heifers are being strip-grazed to improve grass utilisation. This is working fine, but silage is still being offered as a buffer feed to stretch grass supplies.
Store bullocks and one group of cows are basically on a silage-only diet, as grazing days ahead are tight. No meal is being fed to the bullocks yet, but this will be reviewed depending on future grass growth.
Ground conditions are ideal for feeding silage in the fields as cattle are causing no surface damage. Even though grass is in short supply, cattle are settled with the dry conditions which is a blessing.
Second-cut silage is not growing due to the lack of moisture and some of it will end up being grazed. The remainder will be cut once grass starts growing again. I will close ground and make a third cut of silage to boost fodder reserves.
Last year, we grew forage rape which worked really well for out-wintering cows and I am planning to repeat this for the winter. I would like to get forage rape sowed in the coming weeks to maximise yields for winter grazing.
Dromore Co Down
Our farm is getting through the dry spell OK. Hopefully the rain this week will kickstart grass growth, especially for second-cut silage. At the start of July, I had 10 days of grazing ahead of cows. However, to stretch the rotation, we decided to graze paddocks much tighter than normal.
By reducing residual covers from 1,800kg DM/ha to 1,600kg, we have stretched the rotation out to approximately 18 to 19 days ahead of cows.
However, with such a low residual, regrowth is very slow and we have been holding off on sowing fertiliser.
Thankfully, we brought an extra five paddocks into our grazing rotation after the first cut silage was harvested. This has been a good move as it has helped to take the pressure off grazing ground.
Where grass is available, quality is good. While grass growth is poor on grazed paddocks, growth rates are still relatively OK on ungrazed paddocks that have a good grass cover present.
Creep feeders were put out with calves recently to take the pressure off cows and reduce grazing demand.
Using creep feeders will also help to maintain calf performance as some cows are lacking in milk.
Feeders are also being used to entice calves to forward creep graze, which will also help to maintain calf performance.
Our finishing bulls are coming close to slaughter. Intakes have gone down with the heat, but liveweight gain remains above 2kg/day.
Garrison Co Fermanagh
Grazing ground is in excellent condition on our farm after three weeks without rain. However, even though we work on heavier land, a long, dry spell can still create some problems for us.
Getting drinking water to cows is becoming an issue. On some grazing land, water is provided via streams which are starting to dry up.
Autumn-born calves are being fed meal, so they have an increasing demand for water, especially as cows are starting to go dry.
To ease the demand for grass, I am planning to start weaning the stronger autumn calves shortly.
Where cows are grazing older swards, grass quality would be an issue and again, this would be affecting on milk production for spring-calving cows. Therefore, I have increased meal levels to calves to keep them gaining weight.
After getting off to a good start, second-cut silage has slowed recently and grass is starting to shoot.
The good weather did provide a great opportunity to make some hay recently. We managed to make 50 round bales and it will be a valuable feed this winter.
Tips for coping with dry spell
Average farm cover: try to maintain a target grass cover of 2,000kg DM/ha, which is approximately 6cm in grass height. When rain does come, it is important to have some level of grass cover to kickstart growth again. Bare paddocks will still be slow to recover after rain.Fertiliser: there is little benefit in spreading fertiliser until rain is forecast as the pellet will sit on the soil surface. Be ready to get nitrogen on to grass as soon as rain is forecast.Water provision: suckler cows need as much as 90 litres of water per day in current conditions. Weanlings will need up to 25 litres, or more if meal is being fed to stretch grass supplies. Store cattle require as much as 60 litres daily with cattle on ad-lib meals requiring up to 70 litres daily.Feed silage: feeding silage to reduce grazing demand is recommended. Start with baled silage rather than pit. Ground conditions will allow silage to be fed in most fields without the risk of sward damage. Feed a little and often so that silage is not heating once opened. Offer meals: feeding concentrates will reduce grazing demand. Target meals to calves that are destined for finishing as bull beef, as well as store cattle that will be sold live, or finished in early winter. Meals can be fed in a trough, or fed on top of the grass provided ground conditions remain dry.Wean autumn cows: weaning autumn-calving cows will greatly reduce grazing demand. Once cows are dried off, they can be stocked tighter and used to clean out paddocks after young stock.Graze silage ground: if grazing remains tight, consider grazing some silage ground. Use electric fencing to control grazing and improve utilisation of heavy grass covers. 
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