Like has been the case all year, grazing conditions are varying significantly depending on the part of the country you’re in.
On the back of torrential rain at the end of last week, many farms on heavier ground in the west and northwest of the country are experiencing very difficult ground conditions.
Rainfall of over 100mm in the space of five days has meant the majority of these farms have been forced to house cows by night with some farms fully housed.
While the rest of the country received in the region of 30-50mm the ground conditions appear to be manageable with soil moisture deficits still above zero.
There is little to no rain expected this week so most farms will get a chance to motor on with grazing.
For heavier farms the goal will be to start dropping average farm cover now. Approximately 20% of the farm should be closed at this stage. Most farms will be behind this target after being forced to house cows last weekend.
To get back on track, grass needs to make up a high percentage of the diet. This will mean on/off grazing for a lot of farms until ground conditions improve.
Manage the average farm cover as opposed to specific dates from now on. On heavy farms the target should be 550kg DM/ha on the first week of November to have a cover of at least 850kg DM/ha back by 1 December.
On drier farms the target at housing in the middle of November is 650kg DM/ha. The final rotation should be starting now with a target of closing 65% of the farm by 1 November.
Some heavier farms fell behind closing targets after heavy rain last week. Prioritise grass in the diet to get back on track over the coming weeks.On/off grazing might be necessary to achieve the targets.On drier farms, conditions have held well and the final rotation should be starting now. Target 65% of the farm closed by the 1 November.Now is the time to graze autumn reseeds if conditions allow. This should allow for one more grazing before closing up.Bronwyn Fitzpatrick – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
The farm is absolutely drowned in places after the rain we got last week. We had 81mm which is roughly 8% of our annual rainfall over the space of three days. The cows are housed by night now since the heavy rain but we’re still managing to get them out by day on the drier ground.
They’re on 8kg DM of silage at night and being allocated 8kg DM of grass by day. We have good accessibility to paddocks here with plenty of gaps so it’s made it easier to strip graze paddocks without damaging them. We culled six cows in the last week and there’s another 23 to go over the next two weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.8
Growth (kg/cow) 57
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 861
Yield (l/cow) 19.13
Fat (%) 4.87
Protein (%) 4.38
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.82
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Mike Dunne – Kilworth, Co Cork
Things are going well at the moment after a very tough August and September. Average farm cover is finally back in a good place.
We were completely burnt in August with an average cover of 300kg DM/ha at the start of September. We were forced to feed our way out of the problem which we done.
Thankfully growth is up now and grazing conditions are good so we should be in for a good back end if the weather plays ball. The cows are on four kilos of meal and being allocated 16kg DM of grass. We could look to start closing paddocks this weekend but with the high growth rates we might hold off until next week.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.3
Growth (kg/cow) 69
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1067
Yield (l/cow) 17
Fat (%) 4.92
Protein (%) 4.16
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.59
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Cian O’Dwyer – Moneymore, Co Laois
We got heavy rain last week but we were able to keep the cows out full time. They went on 12-hour breaks for the few bad days but they are back on 24-hour breaks now.
This is a satellite unit so the cows come off this farm by the second week of November and return to the home farm.
We close at an average cover around 500kg DM/ha at that stage and the cows return at the end of February with an opening cover around 1100kg/DM/ha. We’re planning to get lime out now in the coming weeks and any paddocks low in K are going to be getting a bag of 0-0-50 as well.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.33
Growth (kg/cow) 52
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 913
Yield (l/cow) 16.5
Fat (%) 5.73
Protein (%) 4.47
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.75
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
Like has been the case all year, grazing conditions are varying significantly depending on the part of the country you’re in.
On the back of torrential rain at the end of last week, many farms on heavier ground in the west and northwest of the country are experiencing very difficult ground conditions.
Rainfall of over 100mm in the space of five days has meant the majority of these farms have been forced to house cows by night with some farms fully housed.
While the rest of the country received in the region of 30-50mm the ground conditions appear to be manageable with soil moisture deficits still above zero.
There is little to no rain expected this week so most farms will get a chance to motor on with grazing.
For heavier farms the goal will be to start dropping average farm cover now. Approximately 20% of the farm should be closed at this stage. Most farms will be behind this target after being forced to house cows last weekend.
To get back on track, grass needs to make up a high percentage of the diet. This will mean on/off grazing for a lot of farms until ground conditions improve.
Manage the average farm cover as opposed to specific dates from now on. On heavy farms the target should be 550kg DM/ha on the first week of November to have a cover of at least 850kg DM/ha back by 1 December.
On drier farms the target at housing in the middle of November is 650kg DM/ha. The final rotation should be starting now with a target of closing 65% of the farm by 1 November.
Some heavier farms fell behind closing targets after heavy rain last week. Prioritise grass in the diet to get back on track over the coming weeks.On/off grazing might be necessary to achieve the targets.On drier farms, conditions have held well and the final rotation should be starting now. Target 65% of the farm closed by the 1 November.Now is the time to graze autumn reseeds if conditions allow. This should allow for one more grazing before closing up.Bronwyn Fitzpatrick – Teagasc Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
The farm is absolutely drowned in places after the rain we got last week. We had 81mm which is roughly 8% of our annual rainfall over the space of three days. The cows are housed by night now since the heavy rain but we’re still managing to get them out by day on the drier ground.
They’re on 8kg DM of silage at night and being allocated 8kg DM of grass by day. We have good accessibility to paddocks here with plenty of gaps so it’s made it easier to strip graze paddocks without damaging them. We culled six cows in the last week and there’s another 23 to go over the next two weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.8
Growth (kg/cow) 57
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 861
Yield (l/cow) 19.13
Fat (%) 4.87
Protein (%) 4.38
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.82
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Mike Dunne – Kilworth, Co Cork
Things are going well at the moment after a very tough August and September. Average farm cover is finally back in a good place.
We were completely burnt in August with an average cover of 300kg DM/ha at the start of September. We were forced to feed our way out of the problem which we done.
Thankfully growth is up now and grazing conditions are good so we should be in for a good back end if the weather plays ball. The cows are on four kilos of meal and being allocated 16kg DM of grass. We could look to start closing paddocks this weekend but with the high growth rates we might hold off until next week.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.3
Growth (kg/cow) 69
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1067
Yield (l/cow) 17
Fat (%) 4.92
Protein (%) 4.16
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.59
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Cian O’Dwyer – Moneymore, Co Laois
We got heavy rain last week but we were able to keep the cows out full time. They went on 12-hour breaks for the few bad days but they are back on 24-hour breaks now.
This is a satellite unit so the cows come off this farm by the second week of November and return to the home farm.
We close at an average cover around 500kg DM/ha at that stage and the cows return at the end of February with an opening cover around 1100kg/DM/ha. We’re planning to get lime out now in the coming weeks and any paddocks low in K are going to be getting a bag of 0-0-50 as well.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.33
Growth (kg/cow) 52
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 913
Yield (l/cow) 16.5
Fat (%) 5.73
Protein (%) 4.47
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.75
Concentrates (kg/cow) 3
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