The Grass Week: drier week changes grazing game

The weather has really turned on its head regarding rainfall, where we have gone from incessant heavy showers to a much drier week gone by.

I talked about Cork Airport seeing 400% of the normal rainfall a number of weeks ago, whereas this week (27 February to 5 March), 0mm was recorded - literally no rainfall.

Some areas are faring better than others, with the three weather stations in Mayo recording the highest rainfall.

Topping this off is a colder breeze that isn’t doing much for drying and indications show that temperatures aren’t set to rise much over the next week either. The plus side is that the dry conditions are set to persist.

Growth figures

Looking at the Pasturebase Ireland predicted growth figures for the week ahead, I can’t see many farms hitting it.

Soil temperatures are still at or just slightly higher than 7C and until we get a bit more sunshine and heat, they will struggle to rise.

For dairy farmers, the main aim now should be to be nicely in the second-third of grass, with the first third having been grazed in February and the final third to run from St Patrick’s Day to 1 April.

Farmers operating on heavy soils can push these dates back by seven days to be more realistic.

Ground trafficability is good in free-draining ground, so some bagged fertiliser, slurry or parlour washings should ideally be following cows now at this stage.

For management purposes, where bagged fertiliser is used, a blanket spread of half or more of the farm can take place.

Suitability

For drystock farmers, it’s probably a case now of walking paddocks to assess suitability for turnout. I’ve talked to a few farmers who have let out the first of the cattle this week and have heard no major damage to land.

Early-calved cows and calves should be the priority where there is grass close to the yard. To avoid cattle tearing down the middle of the field like its race week in Galway, have cows slightly hungry before turn-out, so they will be more concerned with filling their bellies with grass than stretching their legs.

Letting the cattle into a large enclosed yard for half an hour beforehand to burn off excess excitement might also work.

To-do list

For farmers yet to get any fertiliser out on grass, it’s time to start thinking about doing so. Applying 20 to 22 units of nitrogen per acre should suffice between now and early April. Where paddocks have been grazed off with stock, a light application of slurry using low emissions slurry spreading methods can also work well.

Walk the farm this week and see how you are looking regarding grass supplies and ground conditions.

Any silage fields close to the yard that can be grazed by livestock should be targeted in the coming weeks to allow for an early first cut.

Some farmers might be tempted to leave what grass is on them, but this is old growth and nipping off this cover will kick grass into gear and lead to much higher-quality forage in the pit or bale next winter.