Well the rain came everywhere last weekend, but those expecting a rapid burst in growth will be disappointed. Farms that stayed green and stayed growing will drive on instantly, but it will take a few weeks for badly burned fields to recover.
Rainfall amounts varied in the drought-affected parts from 16mm to 40mm. Any amount will make a difference but a lot depends on what happens over the next few weeks. If the hot and dry weather returns, the growth won’t come, but if we get soft weather for the next few weeks the outlook for good growth will be very good.
The key thing from a grass point of view now is to give grass a chance to recover. This means going on a very slow rotation length by feeding silage and meal for as long as necessary until grass recovers. For me, recovery is when average farm cover is back to normal, that is 200kg dry matter per cow or 600kg/ha and growing well. This is more important than letting off the reins when growth rates improve. For grass to grow, the farm needs to be at a decent cover. Growth will be higher when average farm cover is higher and at this stage we need all the growth we can get.
A kilo of feed now will grow around 20kg of grass in three weeks’ time, but not if covers don’t get the chance to recover. Therefore, on drought-affected farms there’s a big return from heavy feeding now. Recovery on the worst-affected farms has been slow anyway. Cows should be on a 40+ day rotation. This means they might only be getting 1 or 2kg of grass and the rest may be meal and silage. Farms that weren’t as badly affected have started to take off, so the advice at present is very case-specific. Farms that are green and growing should carry on as normal.
Fertiliser advice is tricky. Again, farms that are green and growing should spread as normal, but those that are burned up should hold off.
There are two types of farms – farms that are growing and farms that have started to recover.Farmers on recovering farms need to hold their nerve and keep feeding strong until covers pick up.
Read more
Grass+: moisture deficits still prevalent in places
Well the rain came everywhere last weekend, but those expecting a rapid burst in growth will be disappointed. Farms that stayed green and stayed growing will drive on instantly, but it will take a few weeks for badly burned fields to recover.
Rainfall amounts varied in the drought-affected parts from 16mm to 40mm. Any amount will make a difference but a lot depends on what happens over the next few weeks. If the hot and dry weather returns, the growth won’t come, but if we get soft weather for the next few weeks the outlook for good growth will be very good.
The key thing from a grass point of view now is to give grass a chance to recover. This means going on a very slow rotation length by feeding silage and meal for as long as necessary until grass recovers. For me, recovery is when average farm cover is back to normal, that is 200kg dry matter per cow or 600kg/ha and growing well. This is more important than letting off the reins when growth rates improve. For grass to grow, the farm needs to be at a decent cover. Growth will be higher when average farm cover is higher and at this stage we need all the growth we can get.
A kilo of feed now will grow around 20kg of grass in three weeks’ time, but not if covers don’t get the chance to recover. Therefore, on drought-affected farms there’s a big return from heavy feeding now. Recovery on the worst-affected farms has been slow anyway. Cows should be on a 40+ day rotation. This means they might only be getting 1 or 2kg of grass and the rest may be meal and silage. Farms that weren’t as badly affected have started to take off, so the advice at present is very case-specific. Farms that are green and growing should carry on as normal.
Fertiliser advice is tricky. Again, farms that are green and growing should spread as normal, but those that are burned up should hold off.
There are two types of farms – farms that are growing and farms that have started to recover.Farmers on recovering farms need to hold their nerve and keep feeding strong until covers pick up.
Read more
Grass+: moisture deficits still prevalent in places
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