Conditions for growth were close to perfect this week with plenty of moisture still in the ground and temperatures well up on previous weeks.

Some farms finally broke into the 100s in terms of kilos of grass grown per day. This is a couple of weeks behind where it would normally be, but nevertheless it has arrived.

While good growth rates are a positive, managing grass quality will now become a real challenge.

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A farm stocked at 3.5 LU/ha currently and grazing 18kg DM/cow has a demand of 63kg DM/ha (18kg x 3.5 LU). At a growth of 90kg for example the farm is growing 27kg more than it needs. In the space of a week farm cover will creep up very quickly and so too will pre-grazing yields. Grazing heavy covers will hurt production and the quality of that sward, next time around.

Take action early and select any paddocks with covers of over 1,500kg DM/ha for surplus bales over the next week.

Meal feeding rates should be at the lowest rate possible, but ensure cows are getting minerals.

If paddocks are starting to get a little stemmy or cows are leaving grass behind them after grazings, consider choosing that paddock for bales in the next round. Toping is also an option, but it will dent growth for a couple of days.

Silage

Most farms have caught up by now, with majority of farms having first-cut silage now made. On fields where a second cut will be taken, ensure the ground is getting enough nutrients. Slurry should be the first port of call this week to get some N, P and K back in the soil.

Keep an eye on reseeds over the next week. Ideally, the field should be getting post-emergence spray around week five or six post-sowing, when the grass plant is between the second and third leaf stage.

These paddocks will need to be grazed between 800kg to 1,000kg DM/ha to give both the clover and grass plant a chance to establish itself effectively.

With good growing conditions, a week could take a reseed to these covers very quickly.

Swardwatch

  • Growth is up this week. Walk the farm at least once over the next seven days to assess covers.
  • Target a cover per cow of 170kg DM and plan to take out higher pre-grazing covers or stemmy paddocks for bales.
  • Get slurry out on silage ground and the equivalent of 0.8kg N/day out on grazing ground.
  • Keep an eye on reseeds and post-emergence spray at the correct time.

    • Jonathan Dwyer, Moneymore, Co Laois

    The figures for this week are from the weekend and I’d expect growth is closer to 100kg now. Grass had been getting tight but this week will give us breathing space. The cows are going into covers of 1,200kg DM/ha and cleaning them out very well. We had made cows graze down a few paddocks just to correct quality in the last couple of weeks. As a result, grass quality is really good and that’s reflected in milk protein. Fertiliser applications are split; high clover paddocks are getting parlour washings only, paddocks with less clover are getting 12 units/acre of N and paddocks with little to no clover are getting 25 units.

    Average farm cover (kg/cow):140

    Stocking rate (LU/ha):4.5

    Growth (kg/ha):78

    Yield (l/cow):19.7

    Fat (%):5.01

    Protein (%):4.12

    Milk solids (kg/cow);1.85

    Concentrates (kg/cow);2

    Joseph Dunphy, Easkey, Co Sligo

    Managing grass quality is the biggest challenge at the moment. We’re going into covers of 1,400kg DM/ha and allocating 21kg/cow/day and cleaning out well. We’ve three paddocks closed off for surplus bales this week, that were just gone ahead of the cows and a bit stemmy. One or two paddocks have also been topped along the way, just for quality. In terms of fertiliser, we’re going with a bag/acre of 23-2.5-10. We got silage cut a couple of weeks ago and that’s gotten 2,500 gallons/acre of slurry and 65 units of N/acre since. We hope to get the second-cut at the end of June. Breeding is going well, with 82% of cows submitted after two weeks.

    Average farm cover (kg/cow):178

    Stocking rate (LU/ha):3.6

    Growth (kg/ha):75

    Yield (l/cow):24.5

    Fat (%):4.72

    Protein (%) :3.81

    Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.15

    Concentrates (kg/cow): 2

    Jack Kearney, Rathcormac, Co Cork

    Growth has really pushed on here and cover has built up quickly. We’re trying to keep quality right by going into good pre-grazing covers. If there are any quality issues we’re trying to correct with baling and if really necessary, topping.

    Four paddocks are out for bales now next week. The cows are being followed with 22 units/acre of nitrogen.

    We might look at pulling this back now with high growth but we also want to get some good-quality bales made incase we get a dry spell over the next couple of months and need to feed it back.

    We’ve just passed week three of breeding and so far 96% have been submitted.

    Average farm cover (kg/cow): 179

    Stocking rate (LU/ha): 3.75

    Growth (kg/ha) : 103

    Yield (l/cow): 26.1

    Fat (%):4.35

    Protein (%);3.61

    Milk solids (kg/cow): 2.13

    Concentrates (kg/cow; 2