Grass growth of 100kg/day is being recorded in fields with good grass covers. The average growth for the week may have been 72kg/day but in the last few days grass growth has increased on most farms. There are a few showers forecast for the weekend but this should only help growth. Walking the farm every four to five days now is essential to managing grass. Paddocks will go from 900kg DM/ha to 1,500kg DM/ha in less than a week.

Farmers who find themselves running short of grass in early June every year when grass growth slows need to be brave and take out any surplus grass early. Fields cut for bales now will have a cover of 1,200-1,400kg DM/ha in the first week of June.

Waiting another week to cut these fields will leave you with covers closer to 600 in early June when you may need the grass back the most.

With high growth rates and a build-up of grass, farmers can tend to be slow to apply the next round of fertiliser. But with grass growth at its highest during May, it is more important than ever to keep fertiliser out. You are getting the best value from fertiliser. You also need the nitrogen in the ground to keep the regrowths coming back fast to maintain the high growth.