This is a subscriber-only article
Reseeding
The next few weeks are the last window of opportunity to get grass seeds sown in 2020. Leaving it too late is a mistake for a few reasons – for one, land will be out of production later into the year, at a time when grass gets scarce. Wet weather will impact the timing and number of grazings. Finally, opportunities to spray for weeds will become more limited as the year progresses. Choose varieties that are on the Pasture Profit Index and score well in areas that are important to the type of activity you intend to do in that field.
Ground conditions are very poor in many parts of the west and north. The objective there is to prevent the necessity to reseed from doing damage. More rain is forecast for the coming week, so things will get worse before they get better. Limit damage by grazing lighter covers in 12 hour breaks, back fencing and standing off for a few hours if necessary.
Flies/worms
Fly populations tend to increase at this time of year and can be a nuisance for both milking cows and milkers. While flies can be a cause of summer mastitis in dry cows and heifers, they tend to make milking cows unsettled, leading to lots of tail swishing and an increase in clusters getting kicked off. Treatment with a zero milk withdrawal pour-on is relatively cheap, at around 50c/cow, and can be done while cows are being milked. If it prevents the cows from being irritated and makes milking more pleasant, then it’s worth doing.
Deciding whether or not to dose milking cows for worms is a bigger decision, as the costs involved are a lot greater at over €4 per cow. Furthermore, if cows don’t need to be dosed for worms, then you are potentially creating anti-microbial resistance problems. The only real way to know if your cows need to be dosed for worms is by sending away faecal samples and interpreting the results. Bulk tank health screens only show that the animal was exposed to worms in the past. By right, there should be no need to treat adult animals for worms, particularly not during the summer.
Lime
A couple of farmers have been asking about the timing of lime and fertiliser. There is no issue spreading lime and CAN-based fertiliser and/or CAN-based compounds at the same time. However, lime should be spread after slurry and urea. This is because lime particles lying on the ground can increase the risk of nitrogen loss in the slurry and urea. You should wait a week or so before spreading lime after slurry or urea, but you should wait a few months before spreading slurry or urea after lime. August is the traditional time that many farmers apply lime. Most farmers will spread a maximum of 2t/ac in any one application. Select paddocks based on their pH and apply the lime after grazing or cutting for silage. It generally costs around €22 to €24/t for lime to be delivered and spread, so you would need to do at least 10ac at any one time. The payback is fast on soils that are low in pH, improving the efficiency of all other fertilisers and increasing grass growth by 1t/ha, without spreading any extra fertiliser.
SHARING OPTIONS: