Grass growth in the last week was up all over the country, with most farms growing over 75kg per day. The burst of growth has come at the right time for a lot of farmers who were feeling the pinch over the last few weeks. Concentrate levels on these farms may have been increased and reducing this should be a priority now. This will help increase grass intake and control grass quality while growth rates are high.
On the other side, some farms have built up a surplus of grass again. It’s important to make decisions based on the pre-grazing yield of paddocks and the cover per LU. Target a pre-grazing yield of 1,400 to 1,500kg DM/ha and a cover/LU of 180kg.
In some cases where farms are at a low stocking rate with silage ground back in, the cover per LU can be over 200 and pre-grazing yields still be as low as 1,200, in which case you know a surplus of grass is building but you should wait for pre-grazing cover to rise before acting on it.
However, as soon as one field hits 1,500 cover along with a cover per LU of over 200kg/LU, you need to take out a paddock straight away.
The forecast for the next seven days will be relatively dry, with little or no rainfall in most parts. For those on drier land, I would be cautious about taking out paddocks and dropping below 180kg/LU as grass growth will be back if the dry conditions continue.
We’re in a period of high growth and the farm should be walked every five days. Identifying a surplus of grass early and being able to reduce the concentrate level by 2kg in a 100-cow herd is a tonne of meal saved over five days.
That’s close enough to €300 saved for a farm walk, better-quality grass and possibly less money to be spent on the contractor.
Grass growth averaged 75kg.Make decisions based on both the pre-grazing yield of paddocks and the cover per LU.For those on drier land, I would be cautious about dropping below 180 cover/LU.In periods of high growth, the farm should be walked every five days.
Grass growth in the last week was up all over the country, with most farms growing over 75kg per day. The burst of growth has come at the right time for a lot of farmers who were feeling the pinch over the last few weeks. Concentrate levels on these farms may have been increased and reducing this should be a priority now. This will help increase grass intake and control grass quality while growth rates are high.
On the other side, some farms have built up a surplus of grass again. It’s important to make decisions based on the pre-grazing yield of paddocks and the cover per LU. Target a pre-grazing yield of 1,400 to 1,500kg DM/ha and a cover/LU of 180kg.
In some cases where farms are at a low stocking rate with silage ground back in, the cover per LU can be over 200 and pre-grazing yields still be as low as 1,200, in which case you know a surplus of grass is building but you should wait for pre-grazing cover to rise before acting on it.
However, as soon as one field hits 1,500 cover along with a cover per LU of over 200kg/LU, you need to take out a paddock straight away.
The forecast for the next seven days will be relatively dry, with little or no rainfall in most parts. For those on drier land, I would be cautious about taking out paddocks and dropping below 180kg/LU as grass growth will be back if the dry conditions continue.
We’re in a period of high growth and the farm should be walked every five days. Identifying a surplus of grass early and being able to reduce the concentrate level by 2kg in a 100-cow herd is a tonne of meal saved over five days.
That’s close enough to €300 saved for a farm walk, better-quality grass and possibly less money to be spent on the contractor.
Grass growth averaged 75kg.Make decisions based on both the pre-grazing yield of paddocks and the cover per LU.For those on drier land, I would be cautious about dropping below 180 cover/LU.In periods of high growth, the farm should be walked every five days. 
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