Grass growth is on the precipice. While grass growth rates have tended to be higher than normal all spring, they have been on or less than grass demand. But over the next few days, growth rates will increase significantly above demand. On some farms this has already happened. A combination of increased daylight hours, more sunshine and higher soil temperatures result in a burst of spring growth sometime in April, and all the indications are that this is happening at the moment.
Grass growth is on the precipice. While grass growth rates have tended to be higher than normal all spring, they have been on or less than grass demand. But over the next few days, growth rates will increase significantly above demand.
On some farms this has already happened. A combination of increased daylight hours, more sunshine and higher soil temperatures result in a burst of spring growth sometime in April, and all the indications are that this is happening at the moment.
While it’s great to see, if not managed correctly it turns into a problem. The biggest grassland issue on most Irish farms is not too little grass, rather too much grass.
The ideal pre-grazing yield for the second round is somewhere around 1,200 to 1,300kg/ha. Normally, I would say 1,400 to 1,600kg is ideal but considering growth rates can double overnight I think it is better to target lower covers now, even if this means a shorter rotation.
Make decisions based on demand
Every farmer needs to walk his or her farm to assess the grass situation. Not every farmer will put a figure on the amount of grass on each paddock but every farmer must walk every field to know what is happening.
If pre-grazing yields are gone strong, you must skip over paddocks by closing them for silage.
Make decisions based on demand. Remember, paddocks that you close today probably won’t be cut until May and won’t be back in the round until the end of May.
A grass demand of 70 to 80kg over this period is the most I would be willing to push it. This is a stocking rate of 4.2 to 4.7 cows/ha.
Focus on residuals
Supplement feeding should be reduced now. It makes no sense to be feeding high levels of meal and wasting grass in the process. Enough cal mag can be supplied in 2kg of meal per day.
The other big thing to keep the focus on is residuals. Target residuals should be 3.5 to 4cm from now on. This will ensure quality to the base in the next and subsequent rounds.
Good residuals and appropriate pre-grazing yields are all you need to focus on to ensure excellent grass quality.
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