Teagasc advice: grassland fertiliser, pigs and managing cashflow

David Wall & Mark Plunkett, Teagasc, Crops, Environment and Land-use Programme, Johnstown Castle, Wexford

As the main grazing season progresses, grassland farmers will make many decisions regarding fertilisers based on several factors – current stocking rate and area closed for silage, grassland management including cutting and baling surplus grass, building soil fertility levels, lime applications, reseeding etc. Good nutrient management practices and soil fertility are essential for maximising the return on fertiliser investment and improving the environmental sustainability of your farming business, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing nutrient losses to water. Management practices such as liming and delivering the correct supply of N nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulphur (S) for individual fields will pay dividends in terms of providing sufficient quality grass for the grazing livestock and for conservation as silage to sustain these livestock over the winter months.

Maximising the information in your farm fertiliser plan

A good place to start is with your farm fertiliser plan. The fertiliser plan for your farm may require updating for 2020 based on current soil fertility levels. Your advisor will generate the fertiliser plan, using the NMP Online software, based on any new soil samples taken this spring. This will provide a sound basis to planning fertiliser requirements over the growing season and will help identify fields that require lime and inform the best fields to target slurry and organic manures based on soil test information and silage crop offtakes in order to exploit their maximum value and to achieve chemical fertiliser savings where possible.

Maximising the value and nutrients in slurry

Cattle slurry is a valuable source of nutrients (N, P, K & S) to replace chemical fertilisers. The method of slurry application has a big effect on the slurry N fertiliser value. Cattle slurry applied by splash-plate has 30% lower N compared with low-emission slurry spreading (LESS) methods (see Table 2). Ideally cattle slurry nutrients should be recycled back to silage fields where possible as it well balanced in terms of its P & K content. An application of 33m3/ha (3,000 gals/ac) thick cattle slurry (~6% DM) will deliver up to 33kg/ha N when spread by LESS method and most of the P and K to replace offtake in first-cut silage or as P and K build-up on low-fertility soils. The application of cattle slurry early in the growing season (before May) increases the efficiency of slurry N compared to spreading this slurry later in the growing season (summer), when its more prone to large losses of N.

Replacing nutrient offtakes from silage and bailed surplus grass

Good soil fertility and adequate nutrient supply is essential to produce quality silage with high dry matter digestibility (> 75% DMD). An adequate supply of P and K in addition to the N and S is essential to drive silage crop growth in a relatively short six- to seven-week period to maintain a leafy sward up to the target cutting time (late May). As a rule of thumb, silage will utilise the applied fertiliser N at ~2.5 kg/ha/day and a crop receiving 125kg/ha N at closing time will need approximately 50 days growing time to utilise. Each 1t of grass dry matter (DM) silage removes considerable quantities of nutrients 4kg P, 30kg K and 2.5 kg S. Therefore, the typical nutrient offtake for a first-cut silage crop yielding 5t DM/ha (10t/ac fresh grass) is 20kg P/ha, 125kg K/ha and 13kg S/ha at harvest time. Similarly, where surplus grass from grazing paddocks is cut and baled, the nutrients removed will need to be replaced, so that soil fertility does not decline.

Depending on the fertiliser and slurry applied at silage closing time, additional P and K in particular may need to be applied to maintain soil fertility after harvest. Slurry is an excellent source of these nutrients as it has the correct P:K ratio 1:7 (similar to P and K offtake levels). Fertilisers such as N-P-K: 0-7-30 or 13-6-20 may be suitable depending on soil fertility levels.

New swards, established in the last three years which have a high percentage of ryegrass may require additional P & K as they are likely to produce higher silage yields.

Fertiliser recommendations for grazing systems

More rapid grass growth has commenced in recent weeks on all soils, leading to increased nutrient uptake. Consult your farm fertiliser plan see what fertiliser is required on each field. Applications of N fertiliser, ideally protected urea (46% or 38%+S) may be appropriate on many dairy farms where slurry or compound fertilisers have been applied to date (Table 3).

In fields that have received only straight N to date, consider an N-P-K+S compound fertiliser to maximise grass growth, now that soils have dried up and warmed up. By early May aim to apply 50% of recommended P as either fertiliser or manure P (cattle slurry) to meet grass nutrient demands in-order to drive rapid grass growth. N-P-K Compound fertilisers such as 18-6-12+S will supply sufficient N with a good balance of P, K and S for grazing swards. Table 1 shows the recommended rates of N for April and May at different stocking rates for both dairy and drystock grazing systems.

Laurence Shalloo, Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork; and Patrick Gowing, Teagasc, Dairy Expansion Specialists, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork

Up to recently, milk price and dairy markets had looked extremely positive for 2020, with global demand outstripping supply – COVID-19 has changed that. Currently there is uncertainty over future dairy markets and milk price as well as livestock sales for mixed enterprises. It is for this reason that every dairy farmer needs to now evaluate their business to ensure the effect of this interruption is minimised. The potential of a lower milk price will affect every farm differently due to the different cost structures and level of performance across dairy farms. This article outlines the five steps you should take to make sure your farming business is resilient throughout 2020.

1 Calculate the breakeven milk price

The breakeven base milk price (3.3% protein and 3.6% fat) is the milk price required for your business to be in a neutral cash position for the year, where the cash out and cash in for the farm business including family drawings, bank commitments and taxation are equal.

If your breakeven milk price is above what you expect milk price to be in 2020 (using a conservative estimate), there is a requirement to take action immediately within the business. If it is below the expected milk price, there is less urgent action needed.

2 Develop a cashflow budget

Using 2019 information (bank statements, farm accounts, own records etc) a cashflow budget can be created that reflects your income and costs for 2020. You will have to make adjustments in relation to milk supply and additional or reduced costs, etc. Obviously you will have to make some assumptions around milk price – we recommend that you take a conservative view (if milk price is better than planned, that will be a bonus).

3 Scrutinise costs

Now is a good time to evaluate all expenditure to determine how it is contributing to the bottom line on the farm. With current grass growth and grazing conditions, can supplement be reduced? Data from PastureBaseIreland suggests that the average farm cover is 213kgDM/LU with growth rates of 62kgDM/ha and demand of 55kgDM/ha with projected growth rates of 60 kgDM/ha up to the 3rd of May. Based on these numbers, there is scope to reduce feeding levels on farm (albeit ensuring calmag minerals are being offered). In every cost category, the same approach should be taken with a key focus of taking out costs. Overall the businesses that are most resilient at lower milk prices are the businesses that have lower cost structures.

4 Capital expenditure

If planning capital expenditure in 2020, this should only happen if the cashflow budget suggests that it can be facilitated. If there is scope within the budget to do only some of the planned investment, priority should be given to investment that will give a high return (eg soil fertility status, reseeding).

However, if the budget suggests that even investment in these core parts of the business is not possible, this investment should be put off until the budget permits.

5 Bank

As has been said many times before, banks do not like surprises. When talking with your bank, they will require cashflow projections showing any potential shortfall you may have. Options with banks include deferring capital repayments, increasing overdraft facilities or retrospectively financing capital investment that was completed from cashflow.

At farm level, there tends to be a reluctance to take on debt over longer-term time horizons. A key focus of any individual restructuring completed now should be ensuring that the debt repayment period is appropriate for the business and the investment.

If you require help in completing any of these exercises, you should talk with your accountant, farm financial adviser or Teagasc adviser.

David Kenny1, Michael Diskin2 and Aidan Murray3

1Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Grange, Dunsany, Co Meath

2Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Athenry, Co Galway

3 Teagasc Cattle Specialists, Ballybofey, Co Donegal.

In Ireland only 20% of calves in beef herds are bred through artificial insemination (AI), which is low usage of a tried and tested technology. Oestrous (heat) synchronisation for some farms may offer the potential to significantly increase AI usage.

Synchronisation will:

Oestrous synchronisation for beef cows

Synchronised breeding regimens have been commercially available and developed for more than 30 years.

At the start of the breeding season, typically up to 50% or more of beef cows will not have ovulated or resumed normal heat cycles. Thus, any oestrous synchronisation programme used must be effective in both cyclic and non-cyclic cows, alike.

Recent Teagasc trials on timed AI in beef cows

In order to reduce the labour requirement, Teagasc looked at the use of oestrous synchronisation protocols using timed AI (TAI), regardless of whether signs of heat were observed or not.

Pregnancy rates ranged from 50% to 70% in these trials, with a very acceptable overall average pregnancy rate of 55% achieved to a single timed insemination.

More importantly, synchronisation had the effect of tightening up the calving pattern and the subsequent breeding period the following season. For example, 78% of all synchronised cows were pregnant within 23 days of the start of the breeding season (55% to TAI plus a further 23% to the first cycle after TAI). The recommended protocol is outlined in Table 1.

Success with synchronisation treatments

For best results with oestrous synchronisation in beef cows, it is recommended that:

Synchronisation regimens for replacement heifers

Where replacement heifers are already undergoing normal oestrous cylces, you can use a simple prostaglandin (PG) based regimen. There are two options (see Figure 1).

Option 1: timed AI where all heifers receive an injection of PG on day 0 and again 11 days later; with this programme you can use timed AI at 72 and 96 hours or AI as normal to detected oestrus. This protocol results in most heifers being bred at mating start date.

Option 2: breed heifers after detected heat for the first six days. Any heifers not bred by day six receive an injection of PG, and most will show heat and be eligible for AI 48 to 72 hours later.

Heifers that did not show heat and were not bred receive a second injection of PG 11 days after the first. This protocol results in most heifers being bred by day 10 after mating start date. Having heifers well grown at the start of the breeding season will ensure that most have undergone puberty and are eligible for breeding.

Further information available here.

Amy Quinn, Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork

The use of digital and visual tools to enhance knowledge transfer is a focus area of the Teagasc Pig Development Department (PDD). The current global pandemic has for the time being changed the way in which we operate and communicate with farmers, only strengthening this approach.

The benefits of such methods are clear – easy access to a range of user-friendly information, viewable repeatedly, wherever and whenever suits producers, but the benefits are even more obvious for the pig sector. Some of the more popular knowledge transfer methods, like on-farm demonstrations, farms walks and open days, are not feasible due to the potential biosecurity risk, heightened in our minds by the on-going threat of African swine fever. Added benefits from an advisory standpoint include the speed of distribution to a large audience, consistency of information delivered and the potential to cater for multiple languages, learning abilities and topics.

A two-year Teagasc research project, DIGIPIG, revealed the most desired digital and visual tools by pig farmers and advisors were video, infographics and factsheets and the most requested topics were farrowing and lactation management, research results and husbandry skills. While many are familiar with videos and factsheets, infographics may be new to some. An infographic is a way of displaying condensed information with the use of limited text, images and careful design. They work well in farm settings and can be hung up as posters throughout the farm or office, easily interpreted by all. The PDD have been using infographics for several years as they have been well received by our farmer audience.

The PDD are currently expanding their range of digital and visual media. A pig skills series is being developed, which will be a combined approach of demonstration videos and accompanying factsheets that will be released in stages over the coming months, covering a wide range of pig husbandry skills.

This will be an excellent resource for farm staff. Research update factsheets and farm update videos are also being produced from the Teagasc Pig Research Facility and the range of infographics is being further expanded.

The PDD has also recently launched a fortnightly podcast called “The Pig Edge” for pig producers and those working in the sector, covering pig farming news, information, tips and advice. The podcast is presented by Amy Quinn, Teagasc Pig Specialised Advisor, and she is joined by a different guest each episode from Teagasc and the wider industry, both nationally and internationally. This series is available on the Teagasc webpage, Spotify and iTunes.

In the first episode, Teagasc Researcher Peadar Lawlor discusses recent research trials looking at optimising liquid feeding for increased growth and improved feed efficiency in grow-finisher pigs. In the second episode Teagasc Researcher Maria Costa discusses the results from a study examining the extent of respiratory disease on Irish pig farms, risk factors, and the relationship with performance, welfare and antimicrobial use. In the third episode, to be aired on May 8th, Teagasc Pig Specialised Advisor Gerard McCutcheon discusses the newly released Teagasc National Pig Herd Performance Report which outlines the key performance indicators and their trends for 2019.

All of this material is available on the Teagasc Pig website (https://teagasc.ie/animals/pigs) and through our Twitter page (@teagascpig).

By Michael Hennessy, Head of Teagasc Crops Knowledge Transfer Department

Drought conditions

The rain over the past week was a welcome relief to all tillage growers although not enough for most growers in the east. Met Éireann recorded a mere 7mm of rain at Dublin airport during the “wet” period last week. Hopefully your farm benefited from a heavier downpour, or two, around this time to increase your rainfall totals.

The drought situation is serious on many farms in the northeast, especially in spring cereals. Seedbeds were difficult to prepare but the seed generally went into sufficiently fine seedbeds. However, the dry conditions resulted in patchy emergence of the planted cereals. Some seed just didn’t germinate due to the dry conditions and remained in a hard, un-germinated state in the seedbed. These seeds will germinate, as there have been no reports of poor germination rates in seed this year, as soon as there is sufficient moisture. These crops will be more difficult to manage with this staggered emergence. This may affect timings of inputs, but the later-emerging plants will catch up and these plants will be indistinguishable by harvest. Where the majority of the crop is now established these plants will, depending on the density, out-compete the later-emerged plants therefore crop should be managed to these earlier-established plants’ growth stage.

Disease control in barley

Growers’ attention will turn from weed control to disease control in spring crops and winter barley. For winter barley the ideal time is awns emerging or “the paint brush stage”. This application timing gives maximum coverage to the awns/leaves against the ramularia in particular. Crops are clean at the moment but growers will also have their eye on brackling which is helped by the application of most fungicides. Ensure to include a mix of Chlorothalonil (use up date by May 20th) plus a triazole and an SDHI/Strob. A 50% rate of these mixes should be sufficient. Popular mixes include Ceriax, Elatus Era, Proline plus strob, etc.

The first fungicide for spring barley should be at late tillering stage to GS 30. At the time of writing, crops are very clean but watch for mildew as temperatures and soil moisture increases. The application of a half rate fungicide (mix of a triazole plus SDHI and strob) will be sufficient in most cases. Research indicated there is no yield advantage to adding chlorothalonil (Bravo) at this early stage.

Get the most from your sprayer

The costs of ag-chems applied through a sprayer on a 200 acre farm, with a mix of winter and spring crops, can be in excess of €17,000. Applying these accurately from an environmental, efficacy and cost point of view is hugely important. The team in Teagasc Oak Park have put together a video along with other material to help you get the most out of your sprayer. They emphasise the importance of nozzle selection and also make the point that the costs of replacing nozzles, which is relatively small compared to the spend on ag-chems annually, should be considered if there is any wear to existing nozzles. Remember you can keep up-to-date with the weekly Teagasc Tillage Edge podcast where we recently discussed weed control and disease control strategies in spring cereals. You can find these these here .

Join Teagasc Virtual Crop Walk

Teagasc is running a zoom Virtual Crop Walk from Oak Park, today, Thursday 7th May from 6:30-7:30pm. We will have film footage from the fields and we will discuss management strategies with experts on the evening. There will be plenty of time for viewers to ask questions and interact with the presenters during this virtual crop walk.

Mark Moore, Editor of Today’s farm, Teagasc

“Before ever the coronavirus emerged, as contract rearers we were using digital technology to communicate,” says John O’Connell who farms just outside Ballinamore in south Leitrim. “The dairy farmer I work with is 80 miles away and I send pictures and data on the heifers’ progress via WhatsApp. “We might not even talk, – he’ll just reply with a thumb’s up!”

John operates a mid-season lambing flock and rears 80 heifers under contract. He is a member of the Sligo Leitrim Contract Rearers’ Discussion Group which is facilitated by Tom Coll of Teagasc in Mohill, Co Leitrim. The group is also linked with Teagasc Ballyhaise College.

The group is highly focused on achieving the targets agreed in its rearing contract. “A key task for the contract rearer is to ensure the heifers go in-calf early in the season as the owner requires,” says John O’Connell. “That means both having them reach a minimum target weight, be in good body condition and of course the whole breeding management of the heifers.

“Ideally, the owners of the heifers want them getting in calf to first service and that they all calve down in a nice tight pattern so they can fit in to the herd. The heifers we are rearing are some of the genetically best in the country and some farmers nominate sexed semen for them. A heifer is a big investment. It’s all about percentages and everyone is motivated to achieve the best results.”

Each year the group will have a full meeting focusing on breeding management, including strategies available to ensure heifers are cyclic and ready for AI. Typically, this will involve viewing heifers on a member’s farm or at Ballyhaise College. This year livestock reproduction researcher Professor Michael Diskin of Teagasc Athenry was scheduled to meet the group.

“Obviously, we couldn’t meet up so we organised a conference call with Michael,” says Tom Coll. “We got a very high ‘turnout’ for this virtual meeting during which Michael described the different components of breeding including heat detection, insemination, use of sexed semen, prostaglandin, fixed-time AI, etc in a 15-minute presentation after which he took questions for 75 minutes.”

According to Michael Diskin, the technical subject matter was ideal for a virtual meeting. “Under normal circumstances we would have looked at heifers on a farm as well as going through the technical issues and heat synchronisation options available for breeding such heifers with an emphasis on efficacy and cost.

“This is a very focused group with an already very good understanding of breeding management as well as the different heat synchronisation options that can be used to breed dairy replacements. All are managing large numbers of heifers and have good records of what has worked for them in the past.

“Because Tom Coll facilitated the meeting very well we had a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of the various options; farmers felt comfortable; everyone was able to participate and the whole meeting went extremely smoothly.”

Group member Kieran Kielty who has an-off farm job and farms in southeast Sligo agrees. “Under the circumstances we had no choice but to hold this meeting virtually, and while it’s always worthwhile visiting a farm, an occasional conference call meeting can have advantages from my perspective.

“Travel to a meeting can easily take an hour each way for me, which means taking a half day from work. If you have some technical details, like a handout, in advance of the call you can be prepared and there’s the possibility that a meeting could be recorded so that you could go back over the discussion later.”

Tom Coll was not surprised that the group were at ease with a virtual discussion group meeting: “Being open to changing the way you do things; adopting new technologies and constantly learning from colleagues and science are key to success in contract rearing so I’m not surprised the group see potential advantages in the new communication tools.”

Key factors

Suggestions from group members on key factors and targets that should be agreed between dairy farmer and rearer before the first heifers arrive on farm.

With the COVID- 19 emergency continuing, social isolation is set to continue for some time, to save lives and prevent ill health. We are all social beings and social isolation can have adverse consequences on our mental wellbeing.

To assist farmers with the challenge of social isolation, Teagasc Advisor Cian Condon has made a short video ( 1.3 minutes) for farmers called ‘Social Distancing and Your Mental Health‘.

The key messages Include:

The DVD can be viewed here.