Grass growth this week was 17kg/day. It is as important to walk the farm this week as any other week in the year, even if you think you only have a few days left at grass.

Knowing your average farm cover (AFC) will let you know if you can afford to keep grazing.

You might have planned to graze two or three more fields but if your AFC has dropped lower than expected, stopping grazing may be necessary to achieve your target closing cover.

Grazing for two or three days extra at this time of year can have a huge impact on your AFC as in a lot of cases cattle are eating double what the growth rate is.

The main thing now is not to overdo the grazing and ensure there is enough grass left for the spring. Anyone who has fallen below an AFC of 500kg should be finished grazing.

Housing now will suit a lot of farmers as ground conditions are very challenging but anyone with a high AFC and a cover over 1,500kg should try to graze it.

In some areas, ground conditions are holding up and the plan is to graze on until mid to late November.

If so, you will need to increase supplementation and ensure your AFC stays within 100kg of your target closing cover.

Another option to reduce demand would be to dry off early calving heifers, cull cows and low-producing cows and house them.

This should help extend the days at grass.

The use of spur roadways and on/off grazing needs to be implemented if trying to keep cows at grass in wet conditions.

Once cows only walk over an area once, the damage will be minimal and the land will be well recovered come next March when they will be grazing it again.

The Irish Farmers Journal Grass Course is running next year again. If you would like to:

  • Improve your grass management skills.
  • Learn how to measure grass.
  • And understand the figures.
  • Or get involved in an advanced grass group to challenge yourself to grow and utilise more grass.

    • Contact: sconnolly@farmersjournal.ie or ring 087-669 6490.