Continued high grass growth rates over the past few weeks have resulted in most farmers in the Better farm programme opting to remove surpluses in order to reduce the rotation length and maintain sward quality.
Going into paddocks with grass covers of 8-10cm (1,150-1,650kgDM/ha) should be the target for late May. Ideally, grass covers of 8-9cm should be the target as covers above 10cm will have more stem and will be harder to graze out adequately. Our dairy counterparts will see a reduction in milk protein levels where they are grazing off heavy covers – the same principle applies to beef although it is harder to see it.
In order to keep milk protein and yield as high as possible, it is essential to target the right pre-grazing covers. Although grass growth is currently strong, the farmers in the programme are still applying 20-25 units N/acre after grazing in order to keep grass growth rates high and to keep grass leafy and avoid stress.
Silage crops have started to be harvested across the programme farms. The focus is on getting the best-quality silage made as possible on most farms.
Ensilability checks have been done on grass on several farms to ensure that nitrate levels and sugar levels are correct for good preservation. The farmers are trying to wilt grass for 12-24 hours where possible to increase sugar concentration and increase DM% at harvest.
Major focus on maintaining pre-grazing sward height. Pre-grazing covers of 8-10cm (1150-1650kgDM/ha) are being targeted.Where days ahead are over 14, paddocks are being removed as surplus bales.Fertiliser is being applied after grazing to keep grass vegetative and leafy.Silage has started to be harvested on some farms.Ensilability checks are taking place prior to harvest.David Walsh
Co Tipperary
Farming system Suckler to beef/store
Land type Heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 98
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 869
With a date of 3 May, this spring was one of the latest for turning out stock. We have had a substantial amount of rain in between dry, warm spells. This has resulted in growth taking off, but the ground is only just dry and any heavy downpours result in paddocks being damaged.
I am carrying my highest stocking rate ever, with over 4 LU/ha on the grazing ground. I have 25 acres closed for silage and have purchased a standing crop of seven acres as a buffer. Stock are behind on weight due to turnout being delayed by six weeks. I plan to weigh all my yearling stock in the next week or two to assess performance.
I’m hoping to erect a shed this year to accommodate increased stock numbers. This will take the pressure off me in terms of finishing time as last year a lack of space meant I had to kill cattle out of the shed before housing weanlings.
I was late closing silage ground due to weather also, and plan to cut in the next two to three weeks.
Heinz Eggert
Co Kildare
Farming system Suckler to beef
Land type Heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 78
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 1,040
Growth has improved here on Sheplands farm. In the last week, we grew 78kgDM/ha and are running a grass demand of 52kgDM/ha. The average farm cover is 1,040kgDM/ha and we have 14 days grazing ahead of stock.
We have about 25ha of ground closed for silage since 10 April and silage will be harvested in about 10 days. We have not taken surplus paddocks out of the grazing block yet, but will probably remove some paddocks in the coming week. We are currently on the third round of grazing and are following with about three quarters of a bag of sulfa-CAN per acre. Ground that has been grazed three times and has had sulfa-CAN applied, has about 75 units N/acre applied so far this year.
There are two groups of 40 cows, each with a Limousin stock bull, and another group of 30 heifers and 15 cows with a Hereford bull. This year I am breeding 15 of the latest calving cows to the Hereford bull. He has 10 days less of a gestation period than the Limousin bulls.
Richard Jennings
Co Mayo
Farming system Suckler to weanling
Land type Dry to heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/ha) -
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 1,050
Grass growth has been strong here in the past few weeks. With poor growth rates about a month ago, I had spread up to 30 units N/acre after each grazing, and when temperatures increased, the nitrogen was there to drive on grass growth rates.
Silage was closed on 15 April after it was grazed with sheep. It got three bags of 10-10-20 along with 2.5 bags of cut sward per acre as several fields did not get slurry. I am planning on cutting it in about 10 days. Last year I did the same and had 75DMD silage.
Pre-grazing covers have increased a lot in the last week and as a result I took out some surpluses. I made about 30 bales of very good-quality silage from leafy grass of about 12-13cm (2,000-2,300kgDM/ha).
This will be used as winter feed for sheep. I spread fertiliser about 10 days ago and am planning to ease off in the next few weeks. I will apply about 20 units/acre on some paddocks in the next two weeks.
Billy Gilmore
Co Galway
Farming system Heifer to beef/
replacement
Land type Dry
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 99
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 539
Grass growth has increased well in the past few weeks. As a result, I have skipped over another two paddocks in the last week from grazing. These will be cut along with the first-cut silage in about a week to 10 days. The silage ground is closed since mid-April after being grazed bare.
With the strong growth over the past 10 days or so, I have had to graze stronger covers of about 11.5-12cm (2,000-2,150DM/ha) despite having skipped over some fields. My priority at the moment is keeping the ewes and lambs on the best grass possible. Because of this, they were moved off the heavy covers and it was cleaned out with in-calf heifers.
I spread about 23 units N/acre of urea in the spring and followed this with 2.5 bags of 10-10-20, which I got a great response from. As the P&K indexes on the farm are very low, I am continuing to follow with a bag and a half of 18-6-12 after grazing.
Read more
Grass+ dairy: Grass growth rates remain very high
Continued high grass growth rates over the past few weeks have resulted in most farmers in the Better farm programme opting to remove surpluses in order to reduce the rotation length and maintain sward quality.
Going into paddocks with grass covers of 8-10cm (1,150-1,650kgDM/ha) should be the target for late May. Ideally, grass covers of 8-9cm should be the target as covers above 10cm will have more stem and will be harder to graze out adequately. Our dairy counterparts will see a reduction in milk protein levels where they are grazing off heavy covers – the same principle applies to beef although it is harder to see it.
In order to keep milk protein and yield as high as possible, it is essential to target the right pre-grazing covers. Although grass growth is currently strong, the farmers in the programme are still applying 20-25 units N/acre after grazing in order to keep grass growth rates high and to keep grass leafy and avoid stress.
Silage crops have started to be harvested across the programme farms. The focus is on getting the best-quality silage made as possible on most farms.
Ensilability checks have been done on grass on several farms to ensure that nitrate levels and sugar levels are correct for good preservation. The farmers are trying to wilt grass for 12-24 hours where possible to increase sugar concentration and increase DM% at harvest.
Major focus on maintaining pre-grazing sward height. Pre-grazing covers of 8-10cm (1150-1650kgDM/ha) are being targeted.Where days ahead are over 14, paddocks are being removed as surplus bales.Fertiliser is being applied after grazing to keep grass vegetative and leafy.Silage has started to be harvested on some farms.Ensilability checks are taking place prior to harvest.David Walsh
Co Tipperary
Farming system Suckler to beef/store
Land type Heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 98
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 869
With a date of 3 May, this spring was one of the latest for turning out stock. We have had a substantial amount of rain in between dry, warm spells. This has resulted in growth taking off, but the ground is only just dry and any heavy downpours result in paddocks being damaged.
I am carrying my highest stocking rate ever, with over 4 LU/ha on the grazing ground. I have 25 acres closed for silage and have purchased a standing crop of seven acres as a buffer. Stock are behind on weight due to turnout being delayed by six weeks. I plan to weigh all my yearling stock in the next week or two to assess performance.
I’m hoping to erect a shed this year to accommodate increased stock numbers. This will take the pressure off me in terms of finishing time as last year a lack of space meant I had to kill cattle out of the shed before housing weanlings.
I was late closing silage ground due to weather also, and plan to cut in the next two to three weeks.
Heinz Eggert
Co Kildare
Farming system Suckler to beef
Land type Heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 78
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 1,040
Growth has improved here on Sheplands farm. In the last week, we grew 78kgDM/ha and are running a grass demand of 52kgDM/ha. The average farm cover is 1,040kgDM/ha and we have 14 days grazing ahead of stock.
We have about 25ha of ground closed for silage since 10 April and silage will be harvested in about 10 days. We have not taken surplus paddocks out of the grazing block yet, but will probably remove some paddocks in the coming week. We are currently on the third round of grazing and are following with about three quarters of a bag of sulfa-CAN per acre. Ground that has been grazed three times and has had sulfa-CAN applied, has about 75 units N/acre applied so far this year.
There are two groups of 40 cows, each with a Limousin stock bull, and another group of 30 heifers and 15 cows with a Hereford bull. This year I am breeding 15 of the latest calving cows to the Hereford bull. He has 10 days less of a gestation period than the Limousin bulls.
Richard Jennings
Co Mayo
Farming system Suckler to weanling
Land type Dry to heavy
Growth rate (kgDm/ha) -
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 1,050
Grass growth has been strong here in the past few weeks. With poor growth rates about a month ago, I had spread up to 30 units N/acre after each grazing, and when temperatures increased, the nitrogen was there to drive on grass growth rates.
Silage was closed on 15 April after it was grazed with sheep. It got three bags of 10-10-20 along with 2.5 bags of cut sward per acre as several fields did not get slurry. I am planning on cutting it in about 10 days. Last year I did the same and had 75DMD silage.
Pre-grazing covers have increased a lot in the last week and as a result I took out some surpluses. I made about 30 bales of very good-quality silage from leafy grass of about 12-13cm (2,000-2,300kgDM/ha).
This will be used as winter feed for sheep. I spread fertiliser about 10 days ago and am planning to ease off in the next few weeks. I will apply about 20 units/acre on some paddocks in the next two weeks.
Billy Gilmore
Co Galway
Farming system Heifer to beef/
replacement
Land type Dry
Growth rate (kgDm/Ha) 99
Average farm cover (kgDm/ha) 539
Grass growth has increased well in the past few weeks. As a result, I have skipped over another two paddocks in the last week from grazing. These will be cut along with the first-cut silage in about a week to 10 days. The silage ground is closed since mid-April after being grazed bare.
With the strong growth over the past 10 days or so, I have had to graze stronger covers of about 11.5-12cm (2,000-2,150DM/ha) despite having skipped over some fields. My priority at the moment is keeping the ewes and lambs on the best grass possible. Because of this, they were moved off the heavy covers and it was cleaned out with in-calf heifers.
I spread about 23 units N/acre of urea in the spring and followed this with 2.5 bags of 10-10-20, which I got a great response from. As the P&K indexes on the farm are very low, I am continuing to follow with a bag and a half of 18-6-12 after grazing.
Read more
Grass+ dairy: Grass growth rates remain very high
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: