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June is the most difficult month to manage grazing swards as grass usually hits peak growth, as well as starting to head out.
However, over the past month, grazing was even more difficult to manage as frequent, heavy rainfall led to deteriorating ground conditions.
As such, swards were prone to poaching and as there were few opportunities to bale surplus grass, many farmers were forced to keep turning cattle into dense, heavy swards that had gone to seed.
The problem with grazing these swards is that cattle leave high residual covers of rejected grass, which then need to be removed to maintain sward quality in the next rotation.
While farmers have been working their way through heavy covers of grass, there are still plenty of swards which are too strong for grazing.
The problem for these farmers over the next month will be to get the grazing season back on track.
If successful, and weather permits, this should set the farm up for grazing through late summer and well into the autumn period.
Every farm will face different challenges to bring grass back under control. These range from ground conditions, land type, fragmented land, stocking rates and the availability of machinery or contractors.
However, as grass has now passed the period of peak growth and regrowth is less likely to turn to seed heads, the challenge of managing grazing swards should become easier over the next month as weather permits.
Outlined are a series of queries farmers have been asking in order to get grazing back on track for the remainder of the growing season.
What if my contractor is unavailable to bale surplus grass?
Rain hindered silage-making in many parts of the country during June, creating a backlog of first-cut harvesting for contractors.
As such, for many farmers looking to take a few paddocks out as baled silage, separately from the main crop of silage, booking a contractor to bale five or six acres was not a reality in the past month.
However, with contractors starting to catch up on work again, there may be a chance that some bales could be taken out over the coming week, that is, should a grazing surplus still exist on farm.
As heavy covers of grass will have turned to seed, silage quality will be poor. Therefore, as far as possible, target these bales to spring-calving cows when drying off in early winter.
Also, be mindful that if you do cut paddocks for silage, the regrowth will be extremely slow due to the base of the sward dying back.
Therefore, apply a compound NPK fertiliser as early as possible to kick start grass growth and avoid a grazing shortage. A compound fertiliser will also replace the P and K offtake from grass.
Applying slurry will delay grazing the paddock, which could create further problems if you are tight for grass in July.
What if it is not practical to take out surplus grass as bales?
While the normal advice would be to identify a grazing surplus early and take action to remove it, it is not always practical to take out grazing as silage.
Many farmers report higher silage yields this year and are reluctant to make further bales, given there is a cost to making them.
In this instance, the most practical approach is to try to use temporary electric fencing to either strip graze daily, or reduce the size of each grazing block
Also, paddocks damaged from grazing in wet conditions in mid-June may be slow to recover. In such cases, the farmer may not be in a position to take out paddocks with heavier sward covers in case they run of grass in July.
In this instance, the most practical approach is to try to use temporary electric fencing to either strip graze daily, or reduce the size of each grazing block, so that cattle are not wasting grass.
However, once grazed paddocks recover and at ideal grazing covers, it is important to move cattle from paddocks with heavy covers to paddocks with ideal covers to make best use of this grass and maintain animal performance.
Is pre-mowing grass an option?
The simple answer is yes, provided there is a relatively small acreage involved. If there are only a couple of acres of heavy grass to deal with, then pre-mowing grass over a week to 10 days can help to bring grazing back under control.
Any longer or the grazing is too large, then it will be more time and cost-effective to close paddocks for silage.
Pre-mowing will force cattle to eat higher quantities of stem
Pre-mowing will clean off the sward base and improve the quality of sward regrowth, meaning topping is not required.
Pre-mowing will force cattle to eat higher quantities of stem (fibre) which is not ideal for weight gain or milk production, but it is a short-term situation.
But, most importantly, if swards have noxious weeds such as ragwort present, do not pre-mow as cattle will be eat poisonous weeds once cut and left to wilt.
Should I top swards before applying fertiliser?
If there is a high level of stemmy residual grass after grazing, then it is best to top this grass tight to the base of the sward.
Leaving this grass in the sward will reduce regrowth and the rejected grass will only die back and turn white.
Topping this grass will clean off the sward and encourage fresh growth which is more productive and palatable to cattle.
Once topped, the sward will make better use of fertiliser, which should be applied as soon as topping has been completed.
What if cattle are not cleaning out swards properly?
When grazing heavy covers of grass that have turned to seed, it is very easy to enter a cycle of downward grass quality.
For instance, with heavy covers, the natural instinct is to hold cattle for longer than normal in paddocks to increase the rate of cleanout in swards.
However, every additional day cattle are held in one paddock, gives the next paddock two days of extra growing time, meaning the sward in the next paddock gets heavier.
This process is then repeated across the full grazing block.
As cattle enter heavier swards, they spoil grass by trampling and lying, which again means grass is being wasted.
Ideally, strip grazing works best, as cattle get a daily allocation of grass
If you are in a situation where cattle are not cleaning out paddocks and you want to avoid wasted grass, the first step is to reduce the size of grazing area.
Ideally, strip grazing works best, as cattle get a daily allocation of grass.
If it is not practical to move fences daily, then set up the grazing block in 48-hour paddocks.
Keep moving cattle on and do not be tempted to hold them for longer in each grazing division.
There is still likely to be rejected grass, but cleanout will be higher compared with cattle grazing freely across a larger grazing allocation.
Top out-paddocks and apply fertiliser once a week to stimulate regrowth for the next grazing rotation.
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