Dairylink programme farmers are taking a number of different actions to deal with reduced grass growth across the farms from Tyrone, Cavan and Down.

What action you take basically comes down to the demand for feed and the supply of grass on farm.

The heatwave over the last number of days has significantly stunted growth on farm, especially in Co Down, with growth rates measured as low as 20kg DM/ha this week.

Grazing rotations are down to 15 days instead of 20 days and pre-grazing covers are often lower than 900kg available rather than 1,500kg.

Grass supply has significantly slowed even on heavy farms in Tyrone and Cavan. With the supply of grass well back, farmers must address demand by:

  • Reducing stocking rates, with more area brought into the grazing block or fewer cows grazing.
  • Additional supplement feeding and/or introducing silage with buffer feeds or partial housing.
  • Both of these actions are viable options and, depending on the scale of the situation, can be acted on.

    The most important thing is to identify that there is an issue. Measurement this week on Dairylink farms has highlighted this quickly and will allow project farms get on with solutions.

    Variation in growth conditions across Dairylink farms

    Down

    Both farms in Co Down have experienced a significant drop-off in grass growth over the past two weeks. With high stocking rates on both farms in excess of four cows/ha, changes have to be made to reduce demand on grass.

    Both farms are going to dry off a portion of the autumn-calving cows slightly earlier than planned.

    On both project farms, grass reseeds are struggling due to moisture deficit. Nigel Corbett has just started grazing the reseeded area on the grazing block this week.

    This was sown on 7 May in ideal conditions. It received one shower of rain after seeding and grass germinated well across the area. With dry conditions, the new growth stalled for a period. However, Nigel decided not to spray for weeds to avoid checking growth on this reseed.

    Cows started grazing this area on Tuesday this week, with a pre-grazing cover at 2,700kg DM/ha. Clean-out is good.

    Second-cut silage is ready to cut on the farm. Two paddocks had been brought back into the grazing block after first-cut.

    “We want to get this silage off to allow more area into the grazing block, and we are also considering drying off September-calving cows to reduce demand on the farm,” said Nigel.

    Both farms stopped using pre-cutting and topping three weeks ago.

    Nitrogen is still going on at 25-day intervals, with 25 units (CAN) of nitrogen each time. This week, both farms started spreading nitrogen on pre-grazing covers.

    Bill Brown has 27 cows dry last week. These cows have been out on the grazing block for one week after receiving dry cow treatment. Bill plans to house these cows in an attempt to reduce grass demand. The dry cows will receive low-quality silage and hay when housed. A further 33 cows will be dried off this week.

    In terms of demand, this will reduce Bill’s demand to 40kg DM/ha. While some of these cows will receive a longer than normal 10-week dry period, it is a good option for Bill in the current conditions.

    Cavan

    Both Charles Clarke and David Brady (pictured) enjoyed excellent grass growth last week. David is measuring every four days over the past month to stay on top of grass quality.

    The growth rate on the farm last Thursday was 82kg DM/ha. On Monday of this week, growth had dropped down to 65kg DM/ha. It was 27°C on David’s farm, so it is inevitable the heatwave is going to slow growth further – potentially down to less than 40kg DM/ha.

    This week, David’s demand is 55kg DM/ha with a stocking rate of 3.6 cows/ha.

    With the heatwave forecast, growth will drop off on the farm. He has two paddocks which can come into the grazing block. This will drop demand down to 48kg DM/ha. David plans to hold concentrate feeding level at 2kg/cow/day this week.

    Charles has increased supplement feeding this week to 4kg/cow per day. Growth has slowed down on the farm, with the lower cover paddocks hit hard on growth rate. Average cover per cow is at 150kg/cow with the stocking rate at 3.85 cows/ha.

    Eight acres are still out for drainage work and reseeding. Charles has delayed reseeding in the hope of rain coming soon.