Despite all the dry weather of the last two weeks, heavy ground is still slow enough to dry out.

We were cursing the easterly wind when it was here, but without a strong breeze land is slower to dry out.

Maybe we are only finding things to complain about because in reality the situation is still very good.

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Colder weather is set to reduce grass growth rates but most farms are OK for grass.

Those at the end of the first rotation can be a bit tight for grass, but really you’re only tight if the average farm cover is at 500kg/ha.

In such cases all you can do is maintain the cover at that by setting the demand the same as the growth rate.

So if the growth is 30kg/day and the farm is stocked at three cows/ha then the most amount of grass that can be fed per cow is 10kg per day. The rest will have to be made up of silage and meal.

Most farms aren’t in this position though. Even if they are at the end of the first rotation, the average farm cover is higher than 500kg/ha, so they can keep going before putting in extra feed.

Where land is still tender, continue to keep cows and cattle on 12 or 24 breaks as much as possible. Even where there is plenty of grass ahead of stock continue to focus on getting a good cleanout as this will ensure good quality in the next rotations.

Sward Watch

  • Grazing conditions are close to excellent in most places although very heavy ground is slow to dry out.
  • Growth rates are set to dip over the coming days as colder weather moves in across the country.
  • Farmers with a lot of grass will have to decide on what paddocks they are going to skip over and close for silage.
  • Conditions are ideal for fertiliser. The Teagasc advice for nitrogen on silage ground is to apply a maximum of 80 units/acre split between two applications. Deduct about half the nitrogen already applied for grazing and deduct any N supplied by slurry.
  • Even though there might be a lot of grass on farms, applying fertiliser now will ensure high growth rates in April.

    • Dairy farms

    David Fogarty – Wellingtonbridge, Co Wexford

    We usually never get to finish the first rotation here, even though cows are out grazing most of the time.

    We started into the first second round paddock on Wednesday and will graze that by day and a first rotation paddock by night.

    Some of the first round paddocks are now closed for silage and the stocking rate is up to 3.8 cows/ha.

    I usually push this up to 4.7 or 4.8 cows/ha by late April, as I find if you don’t set the demand high enough we end up making a lot of bales which are a nuisance.

    I have 30 units/acre of nitrogen spread to date and about 20 units/acre of N out in slurry.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha): 2.7

    Growth Rate (kg/day): 42

    Average Farm Cover (kg/ha): 727

    Yield (l/cow/day): 24.1

    Fat %: 4.67

    Protein %: 3.61

    Milk Solids (kg/cow): 2.06

    Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day): 3

    Danny Bermingham – Doonbeg, Co Clare

    This weather is really suiting us. I got 37 grazings in March which is not normal. I’ve plenty of grass and have no worries about running out. They’re out day and night and we’re no longer backfencing. Ground is tacky enough though, it’s not drying very quickly. About 80% of the farm got a half bag/acre of urea in early March which has been a great help. I reckon I’ll get most of the farm grazed this year before closing up for silage. I’m feeding a good bit of meal but they’re milking well so I’ll hold it for another while. Plan is to follow the cows with 26 units/acre of nitrogen next week. The yearlings are still in the shed.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha): 2.5

    Growth Rate (kg/day): 18

    Average Farm Cover (kg/ha): 940

    Yield (l/cow/day): 31

    Fat %: 4.59

    Protein %: 3.62

    Milk Solids (kg/cow): 2.62

    Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day): 5.5

    Brendan Horan – Teagasc Curtins, Fermoy, Co Cork

    The figures below are based on grass and white clover. Post-grazing residuals have been around 3.8cm for a few days and we reduced concentrate to 2kg/day from last weekend. We are now grazing full 36 hour paddocks, 76% of the area was grazed on Monday.

    With less than 1,200kg of pre-grazing herbage masses left on the first round, we expect to begin the second round with pre-grazing covers of 1,300kgDM/ha on 7 April. All paddocks got 40 units of protected urea last week unless they have received slurry in the last month, in which case they received 20 units/acre of nitrogen.

    Stocking Rate (cows/ha): 2.75

    Growth Rate (kg/day): 40

    Average Farm Cover (kg/ha): 682

    Yield (l/cow/day): 22.3

    Fat %: 4.59

    Protein %: 3.49

    Milk Solids (kg/cow): 1.9

    Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day): 2

    Beef farms

    Donall Fahy – Grange, Co Meath

    Yearlings were turned out on 18 March, targeting moderate covers to increase area grazed. Turnout weight of Angus and Holstein Friesian steers was 352kg and 343kg respectively, having gained 0.7kg/d on red clover and perennial ryegrass silage, plus 1.5kg of concentrate over winter. Grazing ground received 40 units of N/acre and half the farm is closed for first cut silage. Grass silage swards received 80 units of N/ha, while grass and red clover swards received no chemical N. All silage swards received 2,500-3,000gls of slurry in January. One pit of silage is untouched due to the reduced age at slaughter achieved from high merit Angus steers, slaughtered from 20-22 months at a carcase weight of 320kg.

    System: Dairy calf-to-beef

    Soil type: Mostly dry

    Farm cover (kg DM/ha): 1,270

    Growth (kg DM/ha/day): 18

    Demand (kg DM/ha/day): 43

    Ger McSweeney – Millstreet, Co Cork

    Growth is moving but is still quite slow. The cold and frosty nights are definitely having an impact. If we get over this coming week things will hopefully start to be more kind.

    Saying that, the dry matter is high at the moment and ground conditions are excellent, so stock are content at grass. I have three quarters of the cows out at this point, I am holding some of the latest calved cows in until this cold period passes. There are three cows left to calve.

    Two weeks ago I spread 23 units of protected urea on grazing ground that had been grazed. I am also trying to get as much as possible of the silage ground grazed prior to closing, with slurry ready to go on this ground later this week.

    System: Suckler to beef

    Soil type: Variable

    Farm cover (kg DM/ha): 890

    Growth (kg DM/ha/day): 16

    Demand (kg DM/ha/day): 25

    Declan Marren – THRIVE Farm, Co Tipperary

    The 145 yearling stock were turned back to grass once again on 16 March having been rehoused for a week due to poor weather. The heaviest covers on the farm are now mostly grazed. With ground conditions now excellent, we were able to split these paddocks in two to maximise grass utilisation and keep stock off grazed ground to aid regrowth.

    This week 40ac of grazed ground received 30 units of nitrogen – the first application of the year. Growth has been lower than normal over the last two weeks, however the average farm cover is still ahead of where we need it to be at this time of year.

    There are now 132 calves on farm for rearing this spring, with the final few calves expected to be on farm in the coming days.

    System: Dairy calf to beef

    Soil type: Mostly dry

    Farm cover (kg DM/ha): 927

    Growth (kg DM/ha/day): 14

    Demand (kg DM/ha/day): 24