Growth still ahead of 10-year average

Average grass growth this week has fallen to 56kg/day but it is still well ahead of the 10 year average which is just under 40kg/day. However I would expect growth rates to fall again this week as nights are getting colder and more rain is forecast.

Farm cover at its peak

At this stage, average farm cover should be at its peak of between 1,000 and 1,200kg/ha. Cows should be grazing the highest covers now to slow down the rotation in order to hang on to as much of the growth as possible because in a few weeks’ time growth rates will be half of what they are now.

Look at cover per hectare more than cover per cow. The limit is 1,200kg/ha. Any higher than this and pre-grazing yield will be just too high (over 2,400kg/ha) and it will be too hard to graze it out and subsequent growth will be too slow.

Difficulty in grazing high cover

Grazing high covers is tough going. Cows should be on 12-hour breaks and as much of the green material as possible should be grazed off.

Residuals will rise when grazing high covers and recovery will be slower. If grazing in strips, make sure and use a back-fence to reduce any poaching but more importantly to protect re-growths from being nipped off again.

If re-growths are nipped off it will be really detrimental to subsequent growth rates.

It’s too early yet to be closing paddocks. Most farmers will be starting to close in early October. It is not too early to be planning your closing strategy.

The first closed paddocks may not be the first paddocks to be grazed next spring, but they will be the paddocks with the highest covers next spring so they should be on the drier parts of the farm.

Paddocks with a high clover content or a very vigorous winter growth patterns should be closed last.

Teagasc Curtins

Co. Cork

Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 3.13

Growth Rate (kg/day) 71

Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 875

Yield (l/cow/day) 15.3

Fat % 5.51

Protein % 4.21

Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.53

Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day) 3

Average farm cover improving, but still below target for this week. The target is average farm cover of 1,033kg so for this reason we have reduced demand and supplemented with 3kg of meal to slow things up. Pre grazing covers are 2,000kg DM/Ha. Grass utilisation is still very good and we are still allocating on a 24hr basis. Growth is good at 71kg. Rotation length is set at 34 days. We did a final herd pregnancy scan yesterday and there is 11% empty after 11.5 weeks of breeding.

Teagasc Ballyhaise

Co. Cavan

Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 3.06

Growth Rate (kg/day) 45

Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 1,081

Yield (l/cow/day) 14.1

Fat % 5.09

Protein % 4.09

Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.33

Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day) 3

Land has got very wet here again over the last few days with heavy rain on Wednesday making grazing conditions difficult but we are managing OK. Cows are on 12-hour breaks and clean out is reasonably good with post grazing heights being recorded at 4.3cm. We are currently grazing a cover of about 2,200kg but we will have to skip over the next few paddocks because they are wetter and have high covers so we won’t risk it. We are not feeding any silage but we are getting the sheds ready in case cows need to come in in a hurry.

Thurles

Co. Tipperary

Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 2.83

Growth Rate (kg/day) 72

Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 1,083

Yield (l/cow/day) 18.01

Fat % 4.41

Protein % 3.76

Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.52

Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day) 1.5

Things are going pretty well. I’m on target for grass at 383kg/cow. Because stocking rate isn’t that high this year I’m getting away with grazing covers of around 1,800kg. I’m on 12-hour breaks and clean out is pretty good. Growth is holding up very well. It was down at 42kg/day two weeks ago but I blanket spread the whole farm with fertiliser 10 days ago and it gave a good boost. The low K paddocks got 1.5 bags/acre 19:0:15 and the rest got a bag of sulCAN. I’m using this quite time to catch up on maintenance and resurface farm roadways.

Bandon

Co. Cork

Stocking Rate (cows/ha) 3.6

Growth Rate (kg/day) 66

Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 1,114

Yield (l/cow/day) 15

Fat % 4.85

Protein % 4.28

Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.41

Supplement Fed (kg/cow/day) 2.5

We are more or less on target for grass but with a high demand I need all I have, especially as I’m no longer in winter milk so have no dry cows now.

Grazing conditions are good and we are working our way through the high covers fairly well. Pre-grazing yield is 2,400kg and I’m using a 12-hour wire.

Cows are on 2.5kg of meal, I haven’t fed any silage yet but I will be considering it soon as grass growth drops. Solids are high as I have a lot of carry over cows in the herd as I’m moving from split calving to all spring calving.

Read more

Prices hold steady at Global Dairy Trade