Key Teagasc advice for beef, dairy, sheep and tillage farmers

Michael Egan, Teagasc Moorepark, Co Cork, Nicky Byrne, Teagasc Grange, Co Meath and Philip Creighton, Teagasc Athenry, Co Galway

As we enter the main part of the grazing season, the focus now must be on maintaining an adequate supply of high-quality grass to boost milk production and liveweight gain. Increasing the utilisation and quality of grazed grass on dairy, beef and sheep farms has been shown to have one of the most significant effects on farm profitability. The purpose of this article is to give an update on some of the management decisions being taken across our research farms and outline grazing management practices that can be implemented at farm level across all enterprises.

Update from the Teagasc Moorepark grazing study

Cows were turned out to grass in February at a farm cover of 1,070 kg DM/ha. The second rotation began on 6 April. Due to high growth rates (+ 45 kg DM/ha) in late March, 10% of the first rotation was not grazed and was closed for silage. This area was cut for high-quality baled silage last week and had a cover of 4,250kg DM/ha. Also, a number of surplus paddocks (>1,700 kg DM/ha) were removed in order to maintain grass quality and residuals at 4cm. This area will receive 2,500 gals/acre of slurry using the trailing shoe.

Grass growth this week was 81kg DM/ha; taking out the surplus paddocks increased demand to 76 kg DM/ha/day. This resulted with an average cover per cow of 177kg DM, pre-grazing covers of 1,550kg DM/ha and grazing residual of 4cm.

Cows are currently on 1kg of concentrate and a total of 185kg has been fed per cow up to 25 April. Cows are currently milking 2.45kg milk solids per cow (3.70% protein and 4.65% fat). Cows are being allocated 17kg DM grass per day and are on 36-hour allocations. Eighty-eight kg of N/ha (77 units/ac) was spread by 1 April, and cows are being followed with 25 units of protected urea after grazing.

Update from the Teagasc Grange dairy calf-to-beef system study

Due to the late start to the grazing season (18 March) and low spring grass demand experienced across calf-to-beef systems, we started our second grazing rotation last week. To increase demand, 54% of each farmlet is now closed for first-cut silage; targeted cutting date mid-May to ensure high-quality silage is made. To allow the second grazing rotation to start, two paddocks from each farmlet (four days of grass) were removed as surplus bales. Grass quality is excellent in the second rotation. This was facilitated by grazing to a residual of 4cm in the first rotation.

All steers are receiving 48-hour grass allocations, targeting covers of 1,300-1,500kg DM/ha and are grazing to a target post-grazing height of 4cm. This will continue until autumn. Where options arose, paddocks with the best fertility and those suitable for calf grazing were chosen for removing as surplus bales.

These paddocks will be grazed by weaned calves at a light cover (800-1,000kg DM/ha) of high-quality, palatable grass to maximise calf performance. Having skipped these paddocks, we now have an average farm cover of 725kg DM/ha, and with a daily demand of 42kg DM/ha we have 17 days of grass ahead.

Growth rate last week was 40kg DM/ha and is just in line with our demand. From now, we aim to maintain 12-14 days of grass ahead throughout the summer. Animal performance has been excellent, with Holstein Friesian and Angus steers weighing 341kg and 338kg achieving an ADG of 1.1kg and 1.3kg since turnout on a grass-only diet, respectively.

The objective is to maintain the ADG of steers above 0.9kg throughout their second grazing season, particularly as grass enters the reproductive growth phase.

Update from Teagasc Athenry Sheep Research Demonstration farm.

Our opening farm cover at the beginning of March was 611kg DM/ha or 20 days ahead, which was around five to seven days behind target. This, coupled with poor weather conditions in early March, meant we supplemented ewes at grass for a week post-turnout (0.5kg concentrate/hd/day) to reduce demand and guard against grass tetany. Grass growth rates improved greatly in late March/early April, averaging 41kg DM/ha/day for April to date.

We were able to graze out swards to 3.5cm, which has set up excellent grass quality for subsequent grazing rotations when lambs will begin grazing. We began subdivided paddocks in early April to maintain grass quality, reduce residency time, increase grass utilisation and improve grass regrowth potential.

Due to strong grass growth (50+ kg DM/ha/day), we made the decision to close the last 20% of each farmlet for silage in mid-April in order to start the second rotation on 17 April. To date, a total of 57kg of N has been applied per ha (46 units/ac) in two applications in February/March (depending on ground and weather conditions) and April as paddocks were grazed.

Current grass growth rate is 57kg DM/ha, demand is 43kg DM/ha/day and days ahead are 15. We will increase demand over the coming week as we remove more surplus grass for silage. Average ewe BCS going to grass was 3.2. Preliminary analysis of lamb performance up to five weeks of age, show average daily gains from birth of 281g (13 ewe/ha SR) to 292 g (11 ewe/ha SR) /hd/day.

Grazing recommendations

Regardless of enterprise, the key objective over the coming weeks and months will be to maintain an adequate supply of high-quality grass. This will be achieved by grazing the correct pre-grazing covers and achieving the correct grazing residual, which will in turn support high levels of animal performance (milk solids or kilograms of liveweight gain) and reduce the need to supplement animals.

Grazing grass covers of 1,300-1,500kg DM/ha (8-10cm cattle, 7-9cm sheep), while maintaining a rotation length of between 18-21 days will help maintain grass quality in the May to July period, when swards can often become stemmy. In late April, the grass plant changes from a vegetative (leafy) to reproductive (stemmy) phase. In this period if pastures get stemmy it will reduce animal performance, the main reason for this being that targeted residuals are not been maintained.

Green leaf content is directly related to grass digestibility; a 5.5% change in leaf content equates to a one-unit change in sward digestibility.

Maintaining an average grass cover per LU of 160-180kg DM or 12-14 days ahead will ensure that high-quality pastures are maintained. Pre-grazing herbage mass of >1,700 (>10cm) should be removed as high-quality baled silage, as grazing will reduce grass utilisation levels and animal performance.

Inputting a weekly farm grass cover on PastureBase Ireland and using the information gained is the best way to make grassland management decisions on your farm over the next four months.

This will allow you as a grassland farmer to react in time to correct any surpluses or deficits. This will result in higher animal performance and reduced costs.

Michael Gottstein, sheep specialist, Teagasc Macroom, Co Cork

The first two parasites which young lambs will encounter are nematodirus and coccidiosis.

Nematodirus

Nematodirus (battus) is a parasite which is pathogenic to young lambs. Nematodirus eggs overwinter on pasture and hatch after undergoing a cold period (winter), followed by a 10-day period where the temperature is above 10ºC. This mass hatch in the spring results in young lambs which have not yet developed immunity taking in large numbers of infective larvae.

As the damage to the lamb’s digestive system is caused by larvae (not egg laying), faecal egg counts are of limited use in determining when treatment is need. Consequently, lambs are generally dosed at five weeks and 10 weeks of age to control this parasite.

Every year the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issue a nematodirus forecast which can be found on its website or by following the link https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/pressreleases/2020/april/title,141793,en.html. This is a useful guide in determining when treatment should be given for farmers who are unsure or where signs of nematodirus are not obvious.

Nematodirus is controlled by all over-the-counter oral anthelmintic classes. In Ireland there is currently no evidence of anthelmintic nematodirus resistance to any of the wormer classes. Consequently, it is strongly recommended that farmers should use only Benzmidazole (white) drenches for the control of nematodirus in young lambs (usually up to end of May).

Coccidia

Coccidia is a tiny parasite which affects young lambs, causing severe blood-stained scouring and death if not treated. Similar to nematodirus, the oocysts are passed out by adult sheep and lambs in huge numbers and can overwinter in the environment. The parasites need wet conditions so areas around feeders/water troughs are ideal for infection to thrive. Lambs usually develop immunity to the parasite at around eight to 10 weeks of age.

Faecal egg counts are not reliable indicators for coccidia treatments as there are lots of different species of Coccidia which are found in sheep but only two species are pathogenic. Coccidia can be controlled by oral drenches or medicated feed. There are a number of products on the market:

In-feed medication Deccox – incorporated into the compound feed. The rate of inclusion depends on the feeding rate.

Daily concentrate

Drenches

Diclazuril (Vecoxan) – causes interruption of the coccidial life cycle and blocks excretion of oocysts for approximately two weeks. Consequently, when using this product a second treatment two to three weeks after the initial treatment may be needed. Meat withdrawal zero days

Toltrazuril (Baycox, Bovicox, Chanox, Ridacox, Tolracol, Tolranil, Tratol etc) – active against all intracellular development stages of coccidia. Consequently, one treatment is usually sufficient. Meat withdrawal = 42 days.

Watch lambs for signs of scour. Twin-reared lambs and single lambs from ewes with poor milk will be the first to be challenged by parasites as they will be eating grass earlier. If there is doubt as to which parasite is causing the problem, then the advice is to treat for nematodirus first and if lambs are still scouring after a few days to follow up with a coccidia treatment. On farms with a history of both diseases, both treatments can be given at the same time (two separate treatments – never mix the products).

Scan the QR code here with the camera of your smartphone and it will bring you to our sheep podcast series where you will find podcasts on coccidiosis in lambs and lots of other sheep topics.

Alan Dillon, Teagasc beef specialist, Teagasc Offices, Gortboy, Kilmallock, Co Limerick

The weaning of dairy-bred calves has begun on many beef farms. Calves should achieve a weight gain of 0.7 kg/day over the milk feeding period. The transition from pre-ruminant to ruminant phase occurs between weeks four and eight of age; this is the period that the rumen takes over the main responsibility of feed digestion.

Calves should be introduced to a coarse ration along with a high-quality fibre from two weeks of age. The objective of this period is to encourage young calves to increase their intake of solid feed to enhance rumen development and increase performance. As calves approach target weaning weight/age steps should be taken to ensure this is a stress-free period and that calves continue to achieve a high level of average daily gain.

Calves should be eating at least 1kg/day of concentrate for the week before weaning. The main factors which influence concentrate intake are the age of calf, the quantity of concentrate offered and the volume of milk fed.

To help increase the level of concentrate intake, calves should be weaned gradually. This can be achieved by switching to once-a-day milk feeding and/or by reducing the volume of milk fed over the last seven to 10 days prior to weaning. This approach will lead to an increase in concentrate intake and will avoid poor weight gains post-weaning. Abruptly weaning calves will cause increased stress and reduced calf performance during the post-weaning period.

The target weaning weight for dairy-bred calves is 85kg to 90kg. When selecting calves for weaning, farmers generally use calf weight or a combination of weight, age and concentrate intake. However, for ease of management post-weaning, calves should be weaned in uniform groups, ie calves should be of a similar weight or age. Therefore, smaller calves should remain on milk for a longer period, as growth rates tend to be higher during the milk feeding period than post-weaning.

Current conditions are ideal to wean calves at pasture; pre-grazing grass cover should be less than 1,000kg/ha or 6 to 7 cm height and of high quality.

Attention to detail is required during the calf milk feeding and weaning period in order to achieve high weight gains. The overall message is to ensure calves are eating at least 1kg/day of concentrate before weaning and weaned gradually over seven- to 10-day period.

Joe Patton, Teagasc dairy specialist, Teagasc Grange and Brendan Horan Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark

In the dairy farm calendar, the next six weeks represents the defining period in terms of achieving key performance objectives for the farm both in terms of 2020 and beyond. The six-week re-calving rate target of 75% is probably now the single most important measure on spring-calving farms due to its pervasive impact on animal performance, pasture utilisation and overall farm profitability. Nutrition management plays a vital role in achieving excellent herd fertility and compact rebreeding and the main nutritional guidelines are outlined below.

Rising plane of nutrition

With daily pasture growth rates exceeding 60kg DM/ha this week coinciding with peak milk production on spring-calving dairy farms, the availability of adequate pasture should allow dairy herds to return to positive energy balance and a rising plane of nutrition on a predominantly pasture diet over the next six weeks.

The main restriction on animal intake and performance during this period is pasture quality rather than pasture supply. As animals reach peak lactation, daily DM intakes of 3.25% of bodyweight (17-18kg DM for a 550kg cow) are achievable with high-quality pasture (organic matter digestibility (OMD) in excess of 0.78g/kg DM). To provide high-quality pasture over the next six weeks, grazing pastures with a medium pre-grazing herbage mass (1,200-1,500 kg DM/ha) on a 21-day rotation and realising post-grazing residuals of 4cm is required. This is possible where pasture growth and herd demand are maintained at approximately 60kg DM/ha and any additional surpluses are quickly removed.

Body condition score

Body condition score (BCS) should be 2.75+ at breeding to improve conception rates. What if some cows are still well below BCS target now? It will take a couple of months to remedy very thin milking cows by feeding 2-3kg extra meal. This is because cows are at peak milk potential and will likely partition the extra feed energy to milk rather than BCS. In addition, pasture utilisation and quality will be reduced and improvements in conception rate will be minimal. If there are some thin or non-cycling cows in the herd that are intended for breeding, milking once-a-day from now until four weeks post-insemination can kickstart ovarian cyclicity and boost fertility.

Nitrogen

High-quality pasture contains a high level of crude protein (nitrogen, N) which milking cows use in combination with feed energy to make milk protein. Short-term surplus N in the diet can change blood and milk urea levels and this sometimes gives rise to queries on fertility. Research studies indicate that under good pasture and feed management conditions, moderate fluctuations in bulk milk urea are unrelated to differences in fertility between herds. Control any risk by applying fertiliser N in small frequent quantities during the breeding season while grazing medium herbage masses to balance energy and protein in the diet (1,300-1,500 kg DM/ha). Where supplementation is needed due to lower pasture cover, use high-energy to moderate crude protein (14% CP) rations.

Trace minerals

Trace minerals (copper, cobalt, iodine, selenium, manganese and zinc) are needed in tiny quantities (mg) per day and herd fertility will suffer if these are lacking in the diet. At the same time, feeding supplement above standard requirements is both expensive and ineffective in increasing fertility where no deficiency exists. The silver bullet of extra minerals will not fix the problems of thin cows, poor heat detection or poor genetic merit.

Ciaran Collins, Teagasc tillage specialist

The recent warm weather has resulted in good growth and many crops are at the ideal timing to control weeds and BYDV.

Weeds

Best control of weeds will be achieved by applying a herbicide on small actively growing weeds. Thorough examination of the crop prior to herbicide application is important to establish what weeds are present, but it is also important to note their size and distribution as this will influence the type of herbicide to be used and the rate required.

A mix of actives is recommended that have activity on the key weeds. For most farmers this will involve a sulfonylurea with a tank mix partner. Listen to the Tillage Edge podcast https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/ where Eoin Lyons, Teagasc, for a discussion on weed control options in spring barley.

BYDV

An integrated pest management (IPM) approach should be taken in relation to an application of insecticide for the control of BYDV. Sowing date, location, history of BYDV and most importantly the presence of aphids in the crop are the key factors to consider if the application of an insecticide is warranted. Listen to more details on the topic at Teagasc Tillage Edge podcast - Episode 3 https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

If the risk is deemed to be high enough to justify an insecticide application,

Teagasc research indicates that the best control will come from a single pyrethroid (Karate, Sumi Alpha, Decis Protech etc) application at the 4 leaf stage of the crop.

Fertiliser

Apply remaining nitrogen for spring feed barley at mid tillering. The main split of nitrogen for spring wheat should be applied by early stem extension. A 50:50 split of nitrogen for spring oats is recommended but avoid high rates to increase KPH.

Michael Hennessy, Teagasc tillage specialist

There is a little variation between crops across the country with crops in the south growing strongly but further north, still growing, but stalled a little due to moisture stress. Forecast rain this week should help to alleviate this situation. With the exception of some mildew in crops in the south and yellow rust in some winter wheat varieties other crops are relatively clean. However development of foliar disease in cereals is dependent on the weather in May and early June.

Foliar disease control is well under way in all winter crops. The first main fungicides were applied to relatively clean crops, which is a great start, and will help to slow disease progression if the weather turns wet in the coming weeks. Growers’ attention will now turn to winter barley final fungicides. The ideal timing for this fungicide application is at awns peeping. Ciaran Collins, Tillage Specialist Teagasc, has produced a short video to guide growers to get this timing correct

The choice of fungicide will be based around Chlorothalonil (only up until May 20th) plus a mix of a triazole (generally prothioconazole) plus either a Strob or an SDHI. Where the application is after May 20th, choose a Folpet product instead of Chlorothalonil. Some fungicide mixes which are used at this timing include; Siltra, Ceriax, Proline + Priaxor, Elatus Era, etc.

There are more than 700 discussion groups facilitated by Teagasc countrywide. Be they beef, sheep, tillage or dairy discussion groups, all are faced with the ban on meeting on-farm. Virtual meetings have become the norm, with farmers increasingly comfortable using Lync, Zoom and other web-based communication tools on their smartphones or home computers.

Teagasc dairy advisor Seamus Nolan normally works from the Castlerea office and facilitates four discussion groups in Roscommon/Longford. He is now facilitating the groups from his home.

“In just a few weeks farmers have gotten very used to using these tools,” says Seamus. “We were able to iron out some technical teething problems with farmers and we’ve learned a lot about how to manage these meetings so that they work for everyone.”

Patrick O’Neil farms near Ballinalee and is a member of the North Longford discussion group, a Ballyhaise College Monitor farmer and a member of the college’s discussion group facilitated by Donal Patton. The college group is made up of five farmers and five Teagasc advisors including Seamus and has also held virtual meetings.

“Seamus obviously has plenty of experience chairing the North Longford group, and at the start of a virtual meeting he gets each person to give a brief overview of how things are going on their farm,” says Patrick. “During the meeting he will direct questions to individuals so that everyone is included and people are not all talking at the same time.

“He has always been very good at preparing for meetings by sending out documents via WhatsApp, monthly reports for milk composition for example, a day or two in advance. We are able to discuss them during the virtual meetings. It works very well.

“My wife has been using the Zoom platform in her work recently and I know from her that having a video of each person on the screen is a benefit and that’s an option which we’ll be using where possible too.”

According to Seamus Nolan a key advantage with video is that everyone in the meeting can see who is talking. “We are starting to use video in meetings. However, the video function can cause problems where broadband capacity is limited or during times of the day when demand is high.”

“We also maximise our chances of good quality by asking members to call from indoors and on a landline,” says Seamus Nolan. “That reduces background noise etc, and you can hear more easily.

“Obviously it’s a lot nicer to meet on a farm and see how it is set up,” says Patrick. “There are more opportunities to chat to people there, but the virtual group is certainly more time-efficient and weather is not an issue. They’ll have a role in the future.”

“Virtual meetings have been forced upon us by the coronavirus and while they have some disadvantages they also have key benefits,” concludes Tom Kellegher, Teagasc Regional Advisory Manager for Roscommon/Longford. “They will never replace on-farm meetings, but we are getting attendance levels almost as high as for on-farm meetings, and I’m certain they will continue to be used after this crisis has ended as part of the annual programme of discussion group meetings for all enterprises.”

– Mark Moore, Editor Today’s farm

John McNamara, Teagasc health and safety specialist

Farm Safety management is crucial at any time of the year but is particularly so as farming enters the busy summer season. The key to safety management is to plan work and giving safety first priority. For instance, Irish research shows that farmers who do not check their machinery before use have a 59% increased risk of injury.

Tragically, 18 people lost their lives due to farm accidents in 2019, while in 2020 so far, seven persons (provisional data) have lost their lives in farm workplace accidents. Additionally, about 2,500 serious injury-causing accidents occur each year. This information should motivate everyone in the farming sector to redouble their efforts to implement safety measures.

With children off school due to the COVID-19 emergency their safety needs particular attention at present. Providing safe play areas, instruction and supervision, limiting access to farmyards during hazardous work and removing hazards to children are measures to prevent childhood injuries.

For further information consult the Farm Safety Code of Practice Risk Assessment available at www.hsa.ie or www.teagasc.ie.

Applications are open until midnight on the 15 May and can be submitted online through your DAFM Agfood account, or by your advisor if they are given the authority to do so by you via a DAFM text service. Calves born in the herd of the applicant between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020 will be eligible for payment in the programme if the various actions are selected by the applicant. Contact your Teagasc advisor.

– Aidan Murray, Teagasc beef specialist