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Grass growth has come under pressure as cooler temperatures and rain have slowed regrowth on grazed swards.
Until temperatures increase and improve growth rates, outlined are five tips to stretch grazing covers.
Press pause on turning stock out to grass
Hold off turning any more cattle out to grass until growth rates can meet the demand of grazing animals.
Even if temperatures do start to increase, it will take the best part of two to three weeks for covers to get ahead of cattle.
Turning more animals out over the next week will keep rotations under pressure and cattle will be nipping off regrowth or re-entering grazed paddocks too soon.
If grass growth is still struggling to meet livestock demand, consider rehousing some stock or selling some animals earlier than planned.
Heavier stores are holding their value better than light animals going through the live ring. Selling heavier stores will have a greater impact on relieving grazing pressure.
Fertiliser
While it may have been beneficial to hold back on fertiliser so far this spring, it has to be spread at some point to kick start grass growth.
Temperatures are slowly rising, so applying 25 to 30 units/ac to productive swards will give a growth response and help build covers in front of stock.
Re-grouping cattle that are spread over the grazing block
If there are small groups of cattle spread over the whole grazing block, think about re-grouping these animals into larger groups.
Cattle spread over the whole farm will keep nipping off regrowth and make it hard for covers to build.
Batching cattle into larger groups will increase the grazing pressure on individual paddocks, but it will free up other fields and protect regrowth between each grazing.
Strip grazing and back-fencing
If ground conditions are marginal, you need to protect regrowth and control grazing to prevent animals from trampling covers or poaching grazed areas.
Strip grazing can increase grass utilisation and stop covers being spoiled. But moving fences every day takes time.
Also, it is important that fences are moved on time to stop animals becoming unsettled. So this option won’t be practical for every farm.
Back-fencing grazed areas can also protect regrowth and prevent poaching, helping covers to rebuild for the next rotation.
Concentrates
Feeding some concentrates can reduce grazing demand and slow down rotations, but this comes at a cost. Also, cattle can poach swards around troughs.
Feeding meals on top of grass can help to prevent this as a different feeding spot can be chosen every day.
Offering some hay, straw or silage on a hardcore area can also reduce grazing demand if swards under pressure.
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