The grass cover this week is 977kg DM/ha, which has increased by 90kg DM/ha from last week’s grass cover.

The average growth rate per day has dropped to 49kg, with the average demand per day matching it at 49kg DM/ha/day.

Tullamore Farm manager Shaun Diver comments: "There is still a high grass cover on the farm, even with the decrease in grass growth this week.

"There is approximately 24ac of silage ground excluded from this week’s grass cover total. In addition to this, I have also dedicated another 56ac to be used for grazing."

One paddock on the farm has actually become too strong to be used for grazing with cattle or sheep.

This paddock has an overall grass cover this week of 2,500kg DM.

Shaun mentioned that he has been thinking off closing this paddock in the next few days, so it can be used for silage ground instead.

This week, the students on Tullamore Farm have been spot spraying weeds.

Over the last year, there has been a big push to introduce more clover swards across the farm, which has become more important with the recent increase in fertiliser prices.

Spot spraying works well on the farm, as it allows only the weeds to be targeted and has no effect on clover sward.

Breeding season

There have been 32 cows and 14 heifers bred this week.

A teaser bull with a chinball is currently being used for heat detection with the heifers.

The early-calving cows have also been placed with a teaser bull. This bull has been fitted with a heat detection collar to pick up heats as opposed to a chin ball harness.

Shaun comments: "Breeding has been going very well. The majority of the January and February calved cows have been cycling, with slower activity from the March and April calved cows."

There are only five cows left to calve on the farm.

More cows and calves have been turned out this week, with cows being vaccinated for BVD and Lepto at turnout. A number of calves have also been dehorned, tagged and tested for BVD this week.