Different farmers have different weather wishes depending on where they farm.

The dry, but harsh and windy weather of the last five or six days was welcomed by those on heavier farms who are looking for land to dry out a bit.

But for those with most of their farm grazed and beginning to worry about having enough grass back on the second rotation, softer and milder weather is on their wish list.

It looks like everyone will get their wish before this week is out. Rainfall amounts are negligible and daytime temperatures are set to reach 15°C to 16°C, with nighttime temperatures no less than 6°C.

This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in grass growth rates, with rates of 20kg to 30kg per day expected over the coming week.

Growth rates

These sort of growth rates are more or less equal to demand on many farms, so if average farm cover is high, as is the case on many farms, it’s time to think about ways to increase demand to ensure that more of the grass that’s on the farm is eaten by stock.

Things such as ceasing to feed silage to milkers, reducing meal feeding rates, turning out heifers and dry cows to grass will all increase demand.

For those with much less grass on the farm because most of the area has been grazed, the higher growth rates are coming just at the right time.

There needs to be sufficient regrowth on the first grazed paddock to sustain a rotation length of 18 to 21 days long

They need to manage the situation carefully to avoid depleting average farm cover to less than 500kg/ha.

There needs to be sufficient regrowth on the first grazed paddock to sustain a rotation length of 18 to 21 days long.

If required, feed extra silage now to slow down the end of the first rotation and buy time for growth to pick up on the first grazed paddocks.

It’s also worth remembering that we’re still in mid- to late-March and the weather could change again for the worse, as April can either be a great month or a difficult month.

Don’t put away the long trousers just yet.