The focus of the farm walk centred around four key messages; the importance of lime, the benefits of reseeding, good grassland management and managing cash flow in low milk prices.The farm walk was held in conjunction with Kerry Group on the farm of Sean Bugler, who is milking 170 spring calving cows outside the town of Scarriff and near the shores of Lough Derg in Co Clare.
The focus of the farm walk centred around four key messages; the importance of lime, the benefits of reseeding, good grassland management and managing cash flow in low milk prices.
The farm walk was held in conjunction with Kerry Group on the farm of Sean Bugler, who is milking 170 spring calving cows outside the town of Scarriff and near the shores of Lough Derg in Co Clare.
Mark Plunkett from Johnstown Castle said that only about 20% of the soils in Clare are at optimum pH and this is preventing the uptake of vital nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. He said the return from correcting soil pH is huge and should not be ignored.
“When you get soil samples back the first thing to look at is the soil pH as this will determine how much lime needs to be applied. Improving the pH will improve more nutrient availability and more grass will be grown.”
Improving the pH
Mark said that for every €1 spent on lime improving the pH from 5.5 to 6.3 the return will be €3 over the first three years, but presuming the pH is maintained at 6.3 the return from spending €1 over a nine year period will be €6.
On reseeding, Mary McEvoy from Germinal encouraged farmers to select grass varieties from the Pasture Profit Index and only use recommended varieties. She said the best time to reseed is in the spring, but there will be opportunities to reseed right up to September. She urged caution if direct drilling in prolonged dry weather as germinated seeds will need moisture to grow.
Farm cover
Sean’s herd is currently milking 25.77 litres per day at 4.08% fat and 3.52% protein (2.02kg milk solids/day). Average farm cover is 662kg/ha and growth rate over the past week was 101kg. Last year, Sean produced 494kg of milk solids per cow from 1,120kg of meal. Stocking rate on the milking platform is 3.45 cows/ha
Managing Through 2016 farm walk dates:
Wednesday 22 June - Sean Bugler, Moynoe, Scariff, Co ClareThursday 23 June - Mitchell Hayes, Dawstown House, Dawstown, Blarney, Co CorkThursday 23 June - Eugene Fitzpatrick, Lisryan, Granard, Co LongfordWednesday 29 June - Liam and William Cleary, Kilrea, Ardcroney, Nenagh, Co TipperaryWednesday 29 June - Niall O’Loughlin, Harristown Lodge, Nurney, Co KildareWednesday 29 June - David Murphy, KIlmore Cottage, Tallow, Co WaterfordThursday 30 June - Chris and TJ Tuffy, Doonally, Sligo, Co SligoThursday 30 June - John and Edwin Thompson, Kilmore, Golden, Co TipperaryThursday 30 June - Pat and Patsy O’Keeffe, Killowen, Newmarket, Co CorkFriday 1 July - Shay Ryan, Rochestown, New Ross, Co WexfordWednesday 6 July - Michael Gowen, Downing, Kilworth, Co Cork Read more
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