Reseeds

There has been a flurry of reseeding on good ground since the weather picked up in the past week or so. Those on heavier soils that have ground sprayed off will have to wait a bit longer for land to be dry enough to work. Obviously, later sowing is not ideal as the odds of getting a grazing this season will be lessened, but it’s still better to get the seeds in when conditions are good than to muck them in for the sake of earlier sowing.

Accepting that grass seed sown in September is unlikely to be grazed in 2020, seeds can still be sown throughout the month, so farmers can afford to wait until conditions are right. That’s presuming conditions will improve. Increase the seeding rate by 10% or 20% when sowing later in the year. Watch emerging reseeds for signs of pests such as frit fly (which attacks the crops in circles usually in the middle of the field) and slugs, which usually attack from the headlands. Slugs appear to be more of a problem this autumn.

There is only one month left to buy clover-safe sprays that are licensed for use on reseeds. At this stage, merchant stocks are very tight. These sprays can be used for another 12 months. After that, it is hoped a replacement product will be available. There will still be clover-safe weed sprays available, but these have not been licensed for use on reseeds.

Fertiliser

This is the last weekend chemical nitrogen and phosphorus is permitted to be spread. The closed period starts on Tuesday 15 September. Fields that haven’t received any nitrogen for the last three or four weeks should be topped up before the closing date to drive on grass growth into October. How much to spread will depend on grass demand (stocking rate), current average farm cover and expected growth rates. A couple of points to note:

  • The highest risk time for nitrate leaching into waterways is autumn/early winter.
  • Target more N in fields where the return will be highest – dry fields with good access.
  • Avoid spreading on fields that are very wet.
  • Reduce rates on fields with high clover content.
  • Target application rates of 20 to 40 units/acre depending on demand and previous application history.
  • Conditions are ideal for urea-based fertilisers.
  • Grazing

    Here are a few tips about grazing management in the autumn. Utilisation is key. There is no point in growing a lot of grass if it can’t be utilised. This requires a good roadway infrastructure and plenty of access points. There is still time to improve infrastructure this year. Feeding a lot of supplement will reduce grass utilisation because cows won’t have the appetite to clean out paddocks, particularly if they know they can wait and get extra feed back in the yard. Therefore, if putting in extra feed to build up grass covers, you must tighten up grazing to ensure a good cleanout. This means allocating the correct amount of grass and moving the wire at each milking. Bulky feeds like silage are good at reducing grass demand but make it hard to get a good cleanout, so only feed extra when absolutely necessary.