Grass is jumping out of the ground these days. Farmers are recording growth rates well in excess of 100kg/ha/day.

In Moorepark in Cork, a growth rate of 140kg/day was recorded on one farm.

The background to such high growth rates is lower than normal growth up to now, exceptionally high air temperatures last week and widespread rain over the weekend.

All the conditions are present for growth. Soil temperatures are running between 2.5°C and 4.5°C higher than normal for this week.

Heavy rain

Heavy rain across the country on Saturday added between 10mm and 40mm of rain. The east coast seems to have received the least amount of rain, but growth is good in all areas.

Managing such high growth rates can be difficult. Pre-grazing yields can rise very fast and covers could get out of hand very quickly.

In such conditions, the mower is your only friend. You need to skip over paddocks and close them for silage in order to maintain grass quality for the cows.

This might mean grazing fields that were last grazed only 14 or 15 days ago, but so be it. The thing to remember is that this period of rapid growth won’t last too long, maybe for a few weeks.

This means that the paddocks skipped over for silage should be cut soon to ensure there is enough area back and growing to sustain the herd for when growth does slow down.

The weather forecast for the week is mixed, so it’s hard to say how much silage will be cut this week.

This won’t present too much of a problem because growth is going to remain good for another while. The point is not to become too complacent about timing of cutting.

Row back on supplements

With growth rates good, now is the time to row back on supplements, both meal and fertiliser.

Grass quality is generally good and there is plenty of it, so there is no point in wasting grass by substituting it with other more expensive feeds.

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