Grass growth still below 10-year average

Average grass growth this week is 57kg/day, which is a lot better than it was three weeks ago but not the record highs that farmers need. The long-term average for this week is 61kg/day. A lack of rainfall is affecting growth rates on some farms.

Looking at the growth rate map and talking to farmers, there appears to be a band of the country stretching from Limerick in the southwest to Dublin in the northeast that is getting very little rain and farms in these areas are back in a green drought. Farms on either side are getting regular rain and seem to be growing well.

Despite lower-than-desired growth rates in this region, average farm cover is up on most farms and is close to target of 500 to 700kg/ha. It’s important to maintain farm cover in this zone. I would be slow to let average farm cover run low again, even if growth rates are low.

Demand

We’re in a different space now – grass is still green and while growth is low on some farms, it is not dying back like it was in July. So match demand with growth rate. If this means continuing to feed silage and meal then do so. There is more rain around now, so sooner or later it will fall on farms that have escaped most of the rain up to now.

You can’t afford to waste grass so this means post-grazing heights must be low. Grass quality is generally very good, so production shouldn’t suffer by grazing tight.

Grazing tight now will ensure that a high cover in the next round will still be good quality without the usual high proportion of dead material that we see with high covers in autumn.

Average farm cover should be around 250 to 280kg/cow. If covers are higher and growth is greater than demand then surpluses should be taken out.

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Lots to consider as growth rates climb