Wean autumn calves

At this stage autumn calves are more than capable of being weaned. In a lot of cases autumn calves are left on the cow to manage condition in the run up to calving. However, given the way the season has panned out, this is something you cannot afford to do. Maintaining a cow that is lactating takes a lot of energy, therefore she requires more grass. Drying off cows and putting them on rougher or tighter grazing will reduce grass demand on-farm.

Wean lambs

Similarly with ewes and lambs, weaning ewes will reduce the amount of energy required. At this stage lambs born on 1 April are 14 weeks old and should be weaned. Where grass is very tight even lambs 10 days to two weeks younger should be considered for weaning. Placing ewes on poorer, tighter pasture will relieve some of the pressure on grazing and allow the best grazing to be allocated to lambs, who must take priority at this stage of the year.

Wean cull cows and sell

Another way to reduce grass demand on-farm is to identify cull cows now, wean the calves early and get the cows out of the system as soon as possible. You will take a slight hit on calf growth rate, which can be minimised by creep-feeding both pre- and post-weaning. This allows you to get fleshed cull cows out of the system much earlier in the year, saving a large amount of feed.

Sell stores

Where store cattle are on-farm and are usually sold later in the year, it is possible to get them out of the system earlier. This will depend on the current liveweight of the animals – as you want to hit a specific weight band for the store ring. However, you need to consider the cost of putting on an extra few kilos over the coming weeks versus the benefit of reducing feed demand on-farm at the moment.

House finishing stock early

This may well have happened on a lot of farms already and is an option that clearly makes sense. Where cattle are usually grazed until later in the season prior to an indoor finishing period, bringing them indoors now will allow other stock to graze their allocated area in the coming weeks. While you may be starting the finishing period 50-60kg lighter than planned, some of this can be made up indoors. However, be prepared to slaughter stock at lighter weights as fat scores may become an issue.

Feed silage/concentrates at grass

The main objective here is to slow down the rate cattle are getting through grazing. While you may be reluctant to dig into winter stocks, especially after the winter we have just endured, on farms with silage left over from last year or decent first-cut crops feeding silage at grass may be an option. Remember that there is still sufficient time to secure another cut of silage if the weather was to change in the coming weeks.

Concentrates fed to growing cattle will see the best return on investment. Even 2-3kg/hd can significantly reduce the demand on grass. You will get close to a 1:1 substitution rate on a kilo of concentrate to a kilo of grass, ie for every kilo of concentrate you feed, cattle will eat a kilo less of grass on a DM basis.

Creep-feeding calves

While not always financially rewarding, creep-feeding calves this year should be considered. Not only will it boost daily liveweight gains in the growing calf, more crucially this year it will take the pressure off the cow. We must remember the pressure the cow is under at the moment. We are asking her to feed her calf as well as go back in calf once more. If she is under nutritional stress the first thing the hormones in her body will do is decide that it is not a good time to go back in calf. We cannot afford to have non-productive females on-farm and so creep-feeding may be a cheap exercise this year where grass is tight.

Graze second-cut silage

Where some of the above are not an option, grazing ground closed for second-cut is a short-term possibility. Again there is still time to get ground closed for a second cut after another grazing, but it depends on the weather playing ball.

Apply fertiliser where there is a dew

Where there is a cover of grass, such as in fields closed for second cut there is still a dew in some areas in the mornings. This provides the opportunity to spread fertiliser at low rates three to four days prior to grazing to allow time for it to be dissolved.

Plan to shorten the winter now

One thing is for sure is that the rain will come again. Once it does we need to be ready to grow as much grass as possible to either conserve as silage or use as grazing to carry us as far into the winter as possible. Silage and straw are going to be in short supply so every day longer we can stay outdoors is going to be critical this year.

Soil temperatures are high and will support high grass growth rates once moisture becomes available. Prepare to blanket spread the farm with fertiliser to make the most of the conditions once they come right.