Average grass growth rates this week are a little over 5kg/day. That information is purely academic as heavy snow has wiped out any hopes of grazing over the coming days.
The problem with snow is that when it melts ground will be soaked. They sometimes say that for every three inches of snow there is one inch of water. However, the snow that fell on Wednesday seems to be drier and more powdery than the snow that we normally get. Hopefully, this will mean that the snow melt won’t be as bad as other times.
Average soil temperatures are low at 3 or 4 degrees Celsius up to Wednesday and are likely to drop further over the coming days. This will have knock on effects on grass growth in the early part of March. February growth rates are already behind normal. This means we might have to start thinking about delaying the start of the second round by a few days.
Cows that were out grazing will have no choice but to come indoors as too much damage will be done rummaging for grass and intakes will suffer. But ground conditions will remain good until the snow melts. Ground is frozen under the snow. If you are short of cubicle or feed space, feeding cows outdoors is an option and will probably work well until the thaw sets in.
Cows that are back in on silage should be fed the best quality silage. In many cases, these are round bales made from surplus paddocks last May and June. Make sure milking cows have access to water. Consider increasing meal feeding levels over the coming days up to a maximum of 5kg/head/day to cows calved 10 days or more. Freshly calved cows should start off at 2 or 3kg/day.
Widespread heavy snow has forced cows inside.Growth rates and soil temperatures are lower than normal.Feed milking cows good-quality silage.Prepare for land to get wet after the snow melts.Jargon buster
Soil temperatures are measured by Met Eireann at 10cm deep. Perennial ryegrass will need soil temperatures to be above 6°C for growth while other grass species and clover will need soil temperatures to be above eight degrees for growth.
Teagasc Curtins, Cork
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.76
Growth rate (kg/day) 7
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 614
Yield (l/cow/day) 23.49
Fat % 4.69
Protein % 3.61
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.95
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
Cows went out today (Wednesday) as we have had no snow yet. We got a few flakes last night but they didn’t last. The plan is to leave cows out for a few hours tonight and then bring them in. If it snows heavily they will be staying in. We have well over half the herd calved and things are going well, with over 50 heifer calves born and just one case of milk fever. We will be back to on/off grazing when the snow clears. Cows are milking well.
Teagasc Ballyhaise, Cavan
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.9
Growth rate (kg/day) 7
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 723
Yield (l/cow/day) N/A
Fat % 5.23
Protein % 3.89
Milk solids (kg/cow) N/A
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
We have 50% of the cows calved and 13% of the farm grazed. Ground conditions were excellent up to Wednesday. We even got some of the wetter ground grazed off so I’m happy enough to be at where we are. We had one case of milk fever last Saturday but she recovered well. Cows are out today (Wednesday) but will be staying indoors fulltime from tonight onwards until the snow melts. We measured dry matter at 22% on Monday, but some heavier and older covers that weren’t grazed in autumn had a dry matter of 33%.
Teagasc Johnstown, Wexford
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.91
Growth rate (kg/day) 4.5
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 680
Yield (l/cow/day) 29
Fat % 4.30
Protein % 3.39
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.2
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 8.5
There’s a few inches of snow so the cows stayed in today. The figures above are for the autumn-calving herd. We have 30% of their farm area grazed so we’re in a good position. They had been out morning and evening for two or three hours at a time. The whole farm has been covered with nitrogen and slurry and we’ll be going again with nitrogen when the weather improves. Growth rates have been poor, failing to get above 5 or 6kg on most fields but recently reseeded fields are growing better. We are finishing breeding next week after 12 weeks.
Greenfield Farm Kilkenny
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.8
Growth rate (kg/day) 1
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 749
Yield (l/cow/day) N/A
Fat % 4.86
Protein % 3.76
Milk solids (kg/cow) N/A
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
Grazing continued until Tuesday night until snow arrived. Cows have since been held on the woodchip stand-off pad and the roofless cubicles. Grazing was going well as ground had dried up considerably. By Tuesday, 28% of the farm had been grazed. Farm cover was 749kg DM/ha, down from 867kg the week previously. Growth was zero. The last February collection was collected on Tuesday (27 February) at just under 10,000 litres. The last test results from the Co-op were 4.86% fat and 3.76% protein. The last SCC result was 177,000 cells/ml.
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Prices continue to creep upwards
Average grass growth rates this week are a little over 5kg/day. That information is purely academic as heavy snow has wiped out any hopes of grazing over the coming days.
The problem with snow is that when it melts ground will be soaked. They sometimes say that for every three inches of snow there is one inch of water. However, the snow that fell on Wednesday seems to be drier and more powdery than the snow that we normally get. Hopefully, this will mean that the snow melt won’t be as bad as other times.
Average soil temperatures are low at 3 or 4 degrees Celsius up to Wednesday and are likely to drop further over the coming days. This will have knock on effects on grass growth in the early part of March. February growth rates are already behind normal. This means we might have to start thinking about delaying the start of the second round by a few days.
Cows that were out grazing will have no choice but to come indoors as too much damage will be done rummaging for grass and intakes will suffer. But ground conditions will remain good until the snow melts. Ground is frozen under the snow. If you are short of cubicle or feed space, feeding cows outdoors is an option and will probably work well until the thaw sets in.
Cows that are back in on silage should be fed the best quality silage. In many cases, these are round bales made from surplus paddocks last May and June. Make sure milking cows have access to water. Consider increasing meal feeding levels over the coming days up to a maximum of 5kg/head/day to cows calved 10 days or more. Freshly calved cows should start off at 2 or 3kg/day.
Widespread heavy snow has forced cows inside.Growth rates and soil temperatures are lower than normal.Feed milking cows good-quality silage.Prepare for land to get wet after the snow melts.Jargon buster
Soil temperatures are measured by Met Eireann at 10cm deep. Perennial ryegrass will need soil temperatures to be above 6°C for growth while other grass species and clover will need soil temperatures to be above eight degrees for growth.
Teagasc Curtins, Cork
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.76
Growth rate (kg/day) 7
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 614
Yield (l/cow/day) 23.49
Fat % 4.69
Protein % 3.61
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.95
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
Cows went out today (Wednesday) as we have had no snow yet. We got a few flakes last night but they didn’t last. The plan is to leave cows out for a few hours tonight and then bring them in. If it snows heavily they will be staying in. We have well over half the herd calved and things are going well, with over 50 heifer calves born and just one case of milk fever. We will be back to on/off grazing when the snow clears. Cows are milking well.
Teagasc Ballyhaise, Cavan
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.9
Growth rate (kg/day) 7
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 723
Yield (l/cow/day) N/A
Fat % 5.23
Protein % 3.89
Milk solids (kg/cow) N/A
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
We have 50% of the cows calved and 13% of the farm grazed. Ground conditions were excellent up to Wednesday. We even got some of the wetter ground grazed off so I’m happy enough to be at where we are. We had one case of milk fever last Saturday but she recovered well. Cows are out today (Wednesday) but will be staying indoors fulltime from tonight onwards until the snow melts. We measured dry matter at 22% on Monday, but some heavier and older covers that weren’t grazed in autumn had a dry matter of 33%.
Teagasc Johnstown, Wexford
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.91
Growth rate (kg/day) 4.5
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 680
Yield (l/cow/day) 29
Fat % 4.30
Protein % 3.39
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.2
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 8.5
There’s a few inches of snow so the cows stayed in today. The figures above are for the autumn-calving herd. We have 30% of their farm area grazed so we’re in a good position. They had been out morning and evening for two or three hours at a time. The whole farm has been covered with nitrogen and slurry and we’ll be going again with nitrogen when the weather improves. Growth rates have been poor, failing to get above 5 or 6kg on most fields but recently reseeded fields are growing better. We are finishing breeding next week after 12 weeks.
Greenfield Farm Kilkenny
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.8
Growth rate (kg/day) 1
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 749
Yield (l/cow/day) N/A
Fat % 4.86
Protein % 3.76
Milk solids (kg/cow) N/A
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 4
Grazing continued until Tuesday night until snow arrived. Cows have since been held on the woodchip stand-off pad and the roofless cubicles. Grazing was going well as ground had dried up considerably. By Tuesday, 28% of the farm had been grazed. Farm cover was 749kg DM/ha, down from 867kg the week previously. Growth was zero. The last February collection was collected on Tuesday (27 February) at just under 10,000 litres. The last test results from the Co-op were 4.86% fat and 3.76% protein. The last SCC result was 177,000 cells/ml.
Read more
Prices continue to creep upwards
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