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Grass growth has really taken off in the last fortnight, with growth rates doubling in the past week alone to 81kg DM/ha/day.
Trying to keep grass quality under control so that cattle are on the best swards available is becoming more difficult.
However, we are in a fortunate position to have our own silage machinery on farm, so we are able to close off grazing paddocks and remove them as either baled silage, or ensile grass in the clamp.
On Friday of last week, we lifted seven acres of surplus grazing and ensiled this in the pit. We harvested silage from nine acres of surplus grass from the grazing block the previous week.
This silage will be targeted to young, growing cattle next winter or, alternatively, they can be fed to autumn-calving cows as the feed value of these bales will be high.
Grass quality
Staggering the cutting date of the full 16 acres of surplus grazing makes it much easier to manage the grass quality during June when grass growth is at its peak.
Grazing days ahead of cattle are running around 12 to 14 days at present, so by taking out blocks at weekly intervals means it is easier to manage the grass wedge.
By taking out paddocks, we are shortening the length of the grazing rotation, which means there is less grass getting ahead of cattle.
In addition, the two land blocks will be coming back into the grazing rotation at different times with grass covers that are better suited to grazing.
This should also mean we can better utilise the high quality regrowth with grazing stock in the next rotation.
Grazing wedge
An example of the grazing wedge over the past week is outlined in the graph.
The wedge outlines the level of grass cover on all the paddocks on the grazing block and represented by the individual columns.
The diagonal line represents the level of grass growth needed to meet the grazing demand of cattle on the grazing block.
If the columns are above the demand line, then there is currently too much grass on them and vice-versa.
To have the best grass available for grazing stock, paddocks should be as close to the demand line as possible.
We have been monitoring grass growth for several years now and find that the grazing wedge is a great way of improving grassland management and liveweight gain from grass.
Second cut silage closed off
We harvested 85 acres of first-cut silage on 25 May. We were surprised at the yields harvested as growing conditions were far from ideal this spring.
However, grass bulked up really well during the final fortnight before it was cut and the clamp is full. Silage quality should be excellent and will help to limit the level of concentrate feeding required next winter.
We have closed off the same 85 acres for silage with the aim of harvesting grass on the first week of July.
Fertiliser was spread on 28 May with 2.5 bags per acre of CAN applied. Slurry was then applied on 1 June at a rate of 2,500 gallons per acre.
Although second-cut silage should be harvested in early July, there are no plans to make a third cut.
Instead, the 85 acres will be used to relieve the pressure on the grazing ground in late summer as grass growth slows considerably from July onwards on this farm.
Also, we have an autumn herd of 30 cows due to calve from early August, so we need to bring the silage ground into the grazing rotation to reduce the stocking rate and ease the demand for grass.
We will complete a winter forage budget again after the second cut has been harvested. f there is a possible fodder deficit, we still have time to make some extra silage bales.
The breeding season for the spring-calving herd started on 15 May and things appear to be progressing well.
This year, we have 54 cows and 24 heifers to breed. Cows are being served with either a Simmental, Stabiliser or Limousin bull.
This is the first year for the Simmental bull to breed on farm and he was purchased with the intention of breeding replacements.
From the 24 heifers selected for breeding, 20 were synchronised and inseminated to AI sires on 31 May. The other four heifers went to the Stabiliser stock bull.
We have quite a few Simmental heifers coming into the herd, along with Stabiliser-bred animals. Therefore, we have purchased a new Limousin stock bull to serve any heifers that repeat.
This new bull has been sourced from the same herd as our older Limousin bull, so we are confident that he will be fit for purpose.
Herd health
Cows were given a mineral bolus before they went to the stock bulls.
This should cover them for trace elements during the breeding period and help improve conception rates.
Maiden heifers have also received a worm dose before breeding with a Noromectin pour-on used. We also treated the autumn calves at the same time.
Spring-born calves are due to get their first in the coming weeks and will also receive a pour-on for convenience.
Bull beef
Our 2017 spring-born bulls are now coming fit for slaughter. We have slaughtered 12 bulls to date with carcase weights of approximately 360kg.
The bulls were approximately 14 months of age, which gives a daily lifetime carcase gain of 0.85kg/day on farm.
There are still 16 bulls to be slaughtered before the end of the month which will see them killed at just under 15 months of age.
These animals are currently on ad-lib levels of concentrates, which would be close to approximately 12kg/day plus straw.
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