Applying fertiliser

This week’s sheep feature reports on a Teagasc Grass10 early spring walk. One of the main messages delivered was the importance of getting fertiliser applied as soon as weather and ground conditions permit. At €380/t, urea represents a cost of 82c/kg N. Taking the average spring nitrogen response of 10kg grass dry matter growth per 1kg nitrogen applied on productive swards, this equates to a cost of 8.2c/kg grass DM.

This 10kg grass DM will feed a ewe for four days in early lactation, giving a daily feed cost of just over 20c/day. If the same volume of dry matter was provided via concentrates costing €330/t fresh weight or €370/t on a DM basis, it would cost 92.5c/day or over four times the cost. A response of 5kg grass DM growth per 1kg N applied would deliver a breakeven return on the cost of fertiliser but would still deliver major benefits over feeding concentrates.

Farmers were advised to tailor fertiliser rates to get the best response from their most productive swards, with current soil temperatures in the region of 8°C and capable of sustaining well above 10kg grass dry matter growth when adequate nutrients are applied.

Some farmers have seen heavy covers develop on the first paddocks closed last autumn, which led to discussion on whether it was better to spread nitrogen on these or wait until they are grazed. Philip Creighton advised against skipping these paddocks highlighting that such a move would greatly limit sward regrowth and potentially lead to inadequate grass supplies at a critical period.

Philip said that many such swards and especially reseeded and young swards are showing signs of coming under pressure with a lack of nitrogen available to drive growth and this is reflected in the tips of grass plants going yellow. He said that applying nitrogen will act as an antifreeze for the sward and help hold sward quality. These heavy covers should be prioritised for grazing first to help kick-start regrowth.

Caution when purchasing

With lambing activity increasing, so too is the trade for orphan/pet lambs and foster ewes. Farmers need to adopt greater caution when purchasing, especially around lambing, and consider the disease risk of such and at least investigate the background health status and reasons for animals being sold.

Sheep tag subsidy questions

Last week’s note reminding farmers about the Department of Agriculture’s sheep tag subsidy for purchasing electronic identification (EID) tags has raised a few questions. The first relates to how the subsidy is calculated. The subsidy will be calculated on the basis of €1 per single electronic tag or electronic tag set, meaning that for a producer to get the maximum subsidy of €100, they must purchase either 100 single EID tags/EID tag sets or a combination of the two tag types. If 60 tags are ordered, for example, the maximum subsidy payment will be €60. The minimum subsidy is €10 or a minimum of 10 tags.

The second question relates to payment. Farmers do not need to apply for their scheme – the first order of tags will be automatically picked up. Existing supplies of tags can be used as per NSIS regulations until full mandatory EID tagging comes into play on 1 June 2019.