Grazing targets on farms may need to be revised in line with weather changes, a Teagasc conference on adapting to climate change has heard.

Summarising the conference’s main themes, Dr Deirdre Hennessy, a lecturer in sustainable agriculture at University College Cork (UCC), said achieving targets is important for utilising grass, but with changing growth patterns these targets may need to be examined.

“If we have a wetter February and March, can we stick with the targets we have? If we have a lot of grass growing in April, are the current targets correct?

“If we’re going to grow a lot of grass in the November-December period, are the autumn closing targets correct?

“All of those probably need to be looked at. The other thing is, they may not be exactly the same for every part of the country and for every single farm,” she added.

Grass varieties

Dr Alan Stewart from New Zealand spoke about breeding grass varieties in response to climate change. He said in years to come perennial ryegrass could fail in the summer, which has already been experienced in the north of New Zealand.

Responding to a question from the floor, Stewart said “there is some evidence” that a re-ranking of varieties may be needed in response to a lower nitrogen system.

Grazing targets may need to be revised in line with weather

Dr Deirdre Hennessy of UCC said achieving targets is important for utilising grass, but with changing growth patterns these targets may need to be examined.