Dry weather over the last week has been a welcome reprieve from the rain for most farmers, particularly those in the west and on heavier soils in other parts of the country.
The forecast for the coming week is mixed enough, with colder temperatures set to move in and more rain coming also.
There are two things that make me pessimistic about the prospect for good growing conditions in October.
The first is that soil temperatures are not high. According to Met Éireann data, soil temperatures over the last week are normal but with colder air temperatures set to move in, I would think that soil temperatures over the coming week will be lower than normal.
Secondly, soil moisture deficits are less than 5mm in most parts of the country, meaning that even well-drained soils are very damp or wet.
If anything will reduce grass growth rates, it's cold and wet soils and, unfortunately, that seems to be the case this autumn.
Grass growth rates will tail off quickly in October anyway, as daylight hours decrease and the nights get longer.
This means that farmers who were looking for good growing conditions and good growth rates to continue for October could be disappointed.
This will have implications for farmers that are currently behind target for grass covers. If herd demand exceeds grass growth, then covers will start to reduce.
The target closing for most farmers is 900kg DM/ha by 1 December, but many farms are well below this figure already.
If they are to get back on target, it will mean a reduced demand from now on. Some will achieve this by housing early, while others will have to feed a lot of supplement for the next few weeks to reduce demand.
Alternatively, now could be the time to offload surplus stock such as culls cows. Many farmers made the decision to keep these cows and milk them on, but with milk prices falling and many farms under pressure for grass, it could be the right time to offload them.
Dry weather over the last week has been a welcome reprieve from the rain for most farmers, particularly those in the west and on heavier soils in other parts of the country.
The forecast for the coming week is mixed enough, with colder temperatures set to move in and more rain coming also.
There are two things that make me pessimistic about the prospect for good growing conditions in October.
The first is that soil temperatures are not high. According to Met Éireann data, soil temperatures over the last week are normal but with colder air temperatures set to move in, I would think that soil temperatures over the coming week will be lower than normal.
Secondly, soil moisture deficits are less than 5mm in most parts of the country, meaning that even well-drained soils are very damp or wet.
If anything will reduce grass growth rates, it's cold and wet soils and, unfortunately, that seems to be the case this autumn.
Grass growth rates will tail off quickly in October anyway, as daylight hours decrease and the nights get longer.
This means that farmers who were looking for good growing conditions and good growth rates to continue for October could be disappointed.
This will have implications for farmers that are currently behind target for grass covers. If herd demand exceeds grass growth, then covers will start to reduce.
The target closing for most farmers is 900kg DM/ha by 1 December, but many farms are well below this figure already.
If they are to get back on target, it will mean a reduced demand from now on. Some will achieve this by housing early, while others will have to feed a lot of supplement for the next few weeks to reduce demand.
Alternatively, now could be the time to offload surplus stock such as culls cows. Many farmers made the decision to keep these cows and milk them on, but with milk prices falling and many farms under pressure for grass, it could be the right time to offload them.
SHARING OPTIONS