Despite promises of a change in weather last week, this week has been relatively settled with just a scatter of rain seen across the country. Most farms have been able to take this rain, as ground conditions have been exceptional for the time of year. Speaking to some farmers during the week, many report that these grazing conditions are some of the best they’ve ever seen for February.

Unfortunately, the likelihood of these conditions remaining and all being rosy into April is unlikely. Farmers seem to know this already, so are getting through grass now while the conditions prevail. It seems almost contradictory, but not getting through covers now will mean that a pinch in grass could come in the second rotation.

While it’s recommended to have 30% of the farm grazed by 1 March, I would not be too concerned if farmers went over this figure, as cows will likely be back on concrete at some point with little or no grass being grazed.

If weather conditions do continue to get wetter, which isn’t promised for the week ahead, or you are grazing some wetter paddocks, try to get as best of a graze out while limiting damage.

Allocate grass in 12-hour breaks, back fence what’s already been grazed off, use spur roads to access the back of paddocks and use different entry and exit gaps to prevent them becoming over muddied.

Fertiliser

Regarding fertiliser, a lot of farmers have some amount of slurry spread on the milking platform. This has generally been spread on the lower covers or after cows graze them off. It might be worth considering spreading some urea or protected urea on paddocks with low covers that have not received slurry. Soil temperatures are on the rise and the overcast weather with drizzle are ideal weather conditions for it.