After a tough start to the spring, farms are now starting to motor through area grazed. However, it does seem that a lot of farms are at different ends of the spectrum. There are those who have managed to get full time grazing since end of February and as a result are on or ahead of target for area grazed, while on the opposite end there are those who are only starting to get grazing and are a long way behind target.
Behind target
Management will be somewhat easier over the coming weeks for those farmers who are behind target.
Most of the cows will be calved at this stage, and now it’s just a matter of getting as much grass into cows as possible. These farmers are playing catch-up and should be focused on keeping the grass demand high by lowering the amount of supplement being fed.
Getting fertiliser out is very important so paddocks that are grazed can start growing again quickly. It’s likely that farms in this bracket will be starting the second round in less than a month.
On or ahead of target
For farms that are either on or ahead of target, it’s about managing the next couple of weeks up to the start of the second round.
Farm cover needs to be watched closely. Don’t allow cover to drop below 600kg DM/ha before starting the second round.
Running cover too low doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue facing farmers at the moment though. The bigger issue seems to be low returning covers on the first grazed paddocks, as a lot of the grazing was done in a short time frame.
To start the second round, the first paddocks should have a cover of around 1,200kg DM/ha back on the starting day.
If the plan is to start the second round in say; ten days, the cover on those first paddocks will need to be around 750kg-900kg DM/ha today.
If this is not the case, cows may need to be slowed down slightly. Feeding silage at this time of year is not ideal, as it will impact production and should only be fed if really necessary.
Getting out with the second round of nitrogen on these farms is one way to boost growth on those paddocks.
If behind target, keep supplement feeding low and graze as much as possible.For farms on or ahead of target, monitor farm cover closely to ensure it doesn’t drop below 600kg DM/ha prior to the start of second round.Assess first paddocks for second round and see where cover is at.Start thinking about getting another round of nitrogen out.Jack Sweeney – Mallow, Co Cork
We’ve 93% of the herd calved and we’re happy with how it’s gone. There’s 80% of the platform area grazed at this stage with cows out day and night since the beginning of March. We are planning to start the second round on 2 April which is just under a week away now.
The first paddock grazed on 5 February has a cover of 1,200kg DM/ha back at the moment, so we’re in a fairly good position. The farm has gotten 50 units/acre of nitrogen so far and we plan to go with another 23 units/acre this weekend.
The cows are on a diet of 4kg of meal plus grass, with silage out of the diet since the first week of March.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.89
Growth (kg/ha) 30
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 808
Yield (l/cow) 23.5
Fat (%) 4.79
Protein (%) 3.69
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.05
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Aidan Lawless – Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford
The autumn herd (this week’s figures) are moving through ground well at the moment. We’ve 60% of the platform grazed today while the spring herd have closer to 30% of their area grazed.
The farm cover is high mainly because we’ve eaten most of the lighter covers, and the remaining 40% of the platform is covers of close to or over 2,000kg DM/ha. The grazing conditions are good, we’re just making up as much ground as possible. The planned start of the second rotation is 10 April.
We’ve 35 units/acre of protected urea gone out and we’ll be going with another 20 units/acre next week.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.7
Growth (kg/ha) 40
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,250
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.68
Protein (%) 3.68
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.09
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
John Keane – Errill, Co Laois
We’re out grazing as much as possible at the moment. We’ve just over 40% grazed to date but it’s been a tough spring so far.
This is a cold enough farm in nature so we don’t tend to be starting the second round here until 20 April. We’ve a good bit of ground to make up but hopefully we should be able to start the second round on time.
There’s some heavier covers that we might have to take out as bales and skip over as the quality will be low.
We’ve 50 units/acre of nitrogen out so far and we’ll be going with another 25 units in the next couple of weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.98
Growth (kg/ha) 15
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 900
Yield (l/cow) 27.5
Fat (%) 4.65
Protein (%) 3.62
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.34
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Niall O’Meara – Killimor, Co Galway
All of the cattle were out at grass, but we’ve had to take them in again since Tuesday. We got an awful lot of rain and there was flooding in some fields.
The cattle did a bit of damage before coming in but had been grazing well up to that. We have 52% of the farm area grazed but we’re behind our usual target.
We’d normally start the second round the first week of April, but it’ll be the third week of April this year. The calves will be weaned the start of April and they’re getting 1kg of meal per day at the moment.
We’ve gotten 15 units/acre of nitrogen out and we’ll be going with another 15 units/acre in the next ten days.
System Suckler to weanling
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 830
Growth(kg/ha) 12
Demand (kg/ha) 29
William Treacy – Hackballscross, Co Louth
We had four batches of cattle out until Tuesday, but after heavy rain we decided to bring two back in.
There was a lot of rain and we didn’t want to damage ground. Ground had dried nicely and was in good condition so we wanted to keep it that way if at all possible.
Silage stocks are starting to run low however, so once the weather picks up, they’ll be straight out again. There’s just the last 15 of the 75 spring-calvers left to calve at the moment.
We spread protected urea and slurry on silage ground, and we’ve some of the grazing ground covered with nitrogen. We’ll be blanket spreading the rest of the grazing block in the coming weeks.
System Suckler to beef
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,065
Growth(kg/ha) 18
Demand (kg/ha) 32
Jack Spillane – Fethard, Co Tipperary
We’ve only about 12% of the platform area grazed to date. There are 349 weanlings out at grass and we’re getting calved in at the moment.
We’ve about 170 in so far out of the 420 we’re hoping to take in. Any ground that we cut silage off has gotten 60 units of nitrogen/acre and the rest of the farm will be getting half a bag of protected urea/acre.
We’ll be taking about half the farm for first cut silage this year. Overall, the farm is drying out well but we got a nice bit of rain the last couple of days. The weanlings aren’t getting any meal at grass. They are out just over a week and seem happy enough.
System Calf to beef
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 692
Growth(kg/ha) 12
Demand (kg/ha) 21
After a tough start to the spring, farms are now starting to motor through area grazed. However, it does seem that a lot of farms are at different ends of the spectrum. There are those who have managed to get full time grazing since end of February and as a result are on or ahead of target for area grazed, while on the opposite end there are those who are only starting to get grazing and are a long way behind target.
Behind target
Management will be somewhat easier over the coming weeks for those farmers who are behind target.
Most of the cows will be calved at this stage, and now it’s just a matter of getting as much grass into cows as possible. These farmers are playing catch-up and should be focused on keeping the grass demand high by lowering the amount of supplement being fed.
Getting fertiliser out is very important so paddocks that are grazed can start growing again quickly. It’s likely that farms in this bracket will be starting the second round in less than a month.
On or ahead of target
For farms that are either on or ahead of target, it’s about managing the next couple of weeks up to the start of the second round.
Farm cover needs to be watched closely. Don’t allow cover to drop below 600kg DM/ha before starting the second round.
Running cover too low doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue facing farmers at the moment though. The bigger issue seems to be low returning covers on the first grazed paddocks, as a lot of the grazing was done in a short time frame.
To start the second round, the first paddocks should have a cover of around 1,200kg DM/ha back on the starting day.
If the plan is to start the second round in say; ten days, the cover on those first paddocks will need to be around 750kg-900kg DM/ha today.
If this is not the case, cows may need to be slowed down slightly. Feeding silage at this time of year is not ideal, as it will impact production and should only be fed if really necessary.
Getting out with the second round of nitrogen on these farms is one way to boost growth on those paddocks.
If behind target, keep supplement feeding low and graze as much as possible.For farms on or ahead of target, monitor farm cover closely to ensure it doesn’t drop below 600kg DM/ha prior to the start of second round.Assess first paddocks for second round and see where cover is at.Start thinking about getting another round of nitrogen out.Jack Sweeney – Mallow, Co Cork
We’ve 93% of the herd calved and we’re happy with how it’s gone. There’s 80% of the platform area grazed at this stage with cows out day and night since the beginning of March. We are planning to start the second round on 2 April which is just under a week away now.
The first paddock grazed on 5 February has a cover of 1,200kg DM/ha back at the moment, so we’re in a fairly good position. The farm has gotten 50 units/acre of nitrogen so far and we plan to go with another 23 units/acre this weekend.
The cows are on a diet of 4kg of meal plus grass, with silage out of the diet since the first week of March.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.89
Growth (kg/ha) 30
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 808
Yield (l/cow) 23.5
Fat (%) 4.79
Protein (%) 3.69
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.05
Concentrates (kg/cow) 4
Aidan Lawless – Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford
The autumn herd (this week’s figures) are moving through ground well at the moment. We’ve 60% of the platform grazed today while the spring herd have closer to 30% of their area grazed.
The farm cover is high mainly because we’ve eaten most of the lighter covers, and the remaining 40% of the platform is covers of close to or over 2,000kg DM/ha. The grazing conditions are good, we’re just making up as much ground as possible. The planned start of the second rotation is 10 April.
We’ve 35 units/acre of protected urea gone out and we’ll be going with another 20 units/acre next week.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.7
Growth (kg/ha) 40
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,250
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.68
Protein (%) 3.68
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.09
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
John Keane – Errill, Co Laois
We’re out grazing as much as possible at the moment. We’ve just over 40% grazed to date but it’s been a tough spring so far.
This is a cold enough farm in nature so we don’t tend to be starting the second round here until 20 April. We’ve a good bit of ground to make up but hopefully we should be able to start the second round on time.
There’s some heavier covers that we might have to take out as bales and skip over as the quality will be low.
We’ve 50 units/acre of nitrogen out so far and we’ll be going with another 25 units in the next couple of weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.98
Growth (kg/ha) 15
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 900
Yield (l/cow) 27.5
Fat (%) 4.65
Protein (%) 3.62
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.34
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Niall O’Meara – Killimor, Co Galway
All of the cattle were out at grass, but we’ve had to take them in again since Tuesday. We got an awful lot of rain and there was flooding in some fields.
The cattle did a bit of damage before coming in but had been grazing well up to that. We have 52% of the farm area grazed but we’re behind our usual target.
We’d normally start the second round the first week of April, but it’ll be the third week of April this year. The calves will be weaned the start of April and they’re getting 1kg of meal per day at the moment.
We’ve gotten 15 units/acre of nitrogen out and we’ll be going with another 15 units/acre in the next ten days.
System Suckler to weanling
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 830
Growth(kg/ha) 12
Demand (kg/ha) 29
William Treacy – Hackballscross, Co Louth
We had four batches of cattle out until Tuesday, but after heavy rain we decided to bring two back in.
There was a lot of rain and we didn’t want to damage ground. Ground had dried nicely and was in good condition so we wanted to keep it that way if at all possible.
Silage stocks are starting to run low however, so once the weather picks up, they’ll be straight out again. There’s just the last 15 of the 75 spring-calvers left to calve at the moment.
We spread protected urea and slurry on silage ground, and we’ve some of the grazing ground covered with nitrogen. We’ll be blanket spreading the rest of the grazing block in the coming weeks.
System Suckler to beef
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,065
Growth(kg/ha) 18
Demand (kg/ha) 32
Jack Spillane – Fethard, Co Tipperary
We’ve only about 12% of the platform area grazed to date. There are 349 weanlings out at grass and we’re getting calved in at the moment.
We’ve about 170 in so far out of the 420 we’re hoping to take in. Any ground that we cut silage off has gotten 60 units of nitrogen/acre and the rest of the farm will be getting half a bag of protected urea/acre.
We’ll be taking about half the farm for first cut silage this year. Overall, the farm is drying out well but we got a nice bit of rain the last couple of days. The weanlings aren’t getting any meal at grass. They are out just over a week and seem happy enough.
System Calf to beef
Soil type Variable
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 692
Growth(kg/ha) 12
Demand (kg/ha) 21
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