There has been significant investment in drainage, soil fertility and reseeding across all Dairylink Ireland farms over the past three years, with the aim being to grow more grass.
Soil analysis has been carried out annually on programme farms and results show that more ground is now sitting at optimal levels for pH, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).
For example, on Bill Brown’s farm, 87% of the milking platform was sub-optimal for pH, P or K in early 2016, compared with just 28% in the latest soil analysis results from early 2018.
More importantly, the money put into the land on programme farms is beginning to generate a return in the form of increased grass growth.
Average annual growth across programme farms has increased by over 25% in the past three years. In 2015, average growth stood at 9.35t DM/ha, compared with 11.73t DM/ha last year.
However, these figures for soil fertility and grass growth are for milking platforms, which shows only part of the picture of what is going on across the farms. Outfarms or paddocks further from the yard, where silage cutting and heifer rearing generally take place, have room for improvement in many cases.
This is the focus for several programme farmers in the next phase of the development of their farm businesses.
Although this was always going to follow initial invest in improving milking platforms, tight fodder supplies this spring have prompted farmers to ensure they get the most out of all available ground for grazing and silage from now on.
Rotational grazing
Growing more grass does not always come down to drainage and targeted use of lime and fertilisers to address soil fertility.
For most farmers, better grazing management on outfarms could have a significant role to play in growing more grass. It is often the case that heifers are on set stocking grazing systems on outfarms with minimal labour input.
Investing in fencing and drinkers to allow rotational grazing on outfarms will improve grass growth and utilisation. A significant benefit is the ability to cut more grass for silage, by either taking out surplus grass in paddocks or by having more ground in the silage area if heifers are stocked tighter in the rotational system.
Land at optimal levels of soil fertility still require some compound fertilisers or slurry to be applied each year to maintain levels of P and K in soils.
The amount required depends on soil type and whether the land is being used for grazing or silage, and then the stocking rate or number of cuts.
Lack of security hinders farmer investment
Outlying blocks of land on a lot of dairy farms are rented and a lack of guarantee in the form of a long-term lease can make significant investment in land improvement off-putting for farmers.
On Charles Clarke’s farm, 85% of the milking platform is now optimal for soil pH, P and K. At a walk on his farm near Bailieborough last month, Charles said the initial priority was to focus on improving the soil fertility of the grazing block so that he could grow more grass and keep more cows.
The next phase of the development of his business is focusing on several outlying rented blocks of land. Charles has several different types of agreements with different landowners and he said that the most secure leases that are taken over a longer period will be the focus for building soil fertility.
His thinking is the same as almost all farmers who rent ground and it highlights the major problem with the conacre system and short-term leases.
The issue is worse in Northern Ireland, where around 30% of land is leased out in conacre and there are no tax incentives in place for landowners to use long-term leasing arrangements.
Cost of improvement
Reluctance to invest in land that is rented in an unsecure lease is understandable when the costs of land improvement are considered.
Dairylink Ireland farmers spent from €208/ha to €280/ha on lime and chemical fertilisers last year and it can take €450 to €500/ha/year to build soil fertility and correct issues on some farms.
With drainage, even a few deep drains put in a wet spot can cost from €5/m to €10/m and mean a significant bill adds up.
Gravel mole ploughing has been used on some programme farms for shallow drainage and costs around €3,700/ha. After that, a conventional reseed can cost up to €700/ha, including fertiliser and contractor charges.
Although significant, these costs can provide financial returns. Dairylink Ireland programme farmer Robin Clements has put substantial investment into drainage, soil fertility, reseeding and fencing on a 64ha block of land purchased in 2015.
The farm business already had to borrow money for the purchase of the land. However, Robin saw the benefit of investing further in land improvement within a business plan as he had ownership of the land.
The many causes of fertility problems in cows