Will the second half of the season see higher growth?

Whether you a got a little, a lot or just enough, any and all rainfall over the past two weeks has been welcomed with open arms.

Surprisingly, air temperatures didn’t cool as dramatically as expected, meaning that the combination of the rainfall and heat seemed like the equivalent of a bag of CAN going out on to swards from a growth point of view.

What this would signify is that we are in line for a higher growth from here on out, going by the law of averages.

Behind and beyond norms

We usually see a dip in growth in the month of June, from a combination of soils drying out and first cut silage being completed (meaning less leaf matter in swards leading to lower growth), but this year’s dip was well beyond the norm.

Add in a miserably wet March and April that hammered growth due to water-logged and cold soils, and it’s easy to see why growth for the first half of the year is behind the norm.

Will this result in a growthy second half? Annual tonnage rarely goes above or beyond 10% of the norm, so in a worst-case scenario we should see growth at a normal rate; and in a best case, we should see it well above normal.

Grazeability

Growth does not necessarily mean grazeability, and a very growthy August and September could give way to a wet October where we see heavy covers sitting in water-logged fields.

In the meantime, we can only focus on the next few weeks.

Recovery on grazed swards is good, meaning the worst paddocks from a quality point of view can be corrected. The trusty mower can come out of it’s month-long holiday once you are confident that growth is nicely on track.