The Grass Week: growth kicks into gear for second round

Growth had been lacklustre for much of spring, with many farmers eating into covers as more cattle got out to grass.

Thankfully, the bit of heat over the last week or so, combined with the longer days, has turned the corner with regard growth.

While 25% of farmers measuring on Pasturebase are still on the tight side with farm covers below 600kg DM/ha, the majority of farmers are in a good position grass-wise as the second round begins.

While the majority of farms are in a good position, extremely dry farms need to be cautious over the next two weeks, as a lack of moisture could actually see growth slide due to moisture stress.

Monitor farm cover and growth rate closely and act in time to keep grass in the diet.

Allocation

For dairy herds, allocation should ideally switch from 12-hour strips to 24- to 36-hour blocks from here on out.

Most early-calving cows are approaching peak milk yield, so getting as much high-quality feed into them to see them peak well and milk on well afterwards is essential.

Allocating a 24-hour block means that cows are getting fully filled at least once (the first 12 hours) and when using 36-hour blocks, it means they are getting filled at least twice (the first 24 hours).

With 12-hour allocations, there is a risk that cow intake is getting pinched with every allocation.

Fertiliser

With two rounds of fertiliser out on a lot of farms at this stage, many farmers will be switching from blanket spreading to following stock after grazing.

Urea and protected urea are the go-to for the first few rounds, but now, where P and K levels are low on certain paddocks and there isn’t sufficient slurry or FYM to correct them, compound fertilisers should be used from now on, provided you have the allowance to purchase them.

Reseeding

If not already done, any paddocks you had in your mind for reseeding should be sprayed off now in these ideal conditions and before contractors get too busy with silage in another month’s time.

Whatever your reseeding method, ensure that P, K and lime levels are met where required and use a high-quality seed mix, using the pasture profit index from Teagasc as a guide.

Slurry

Be cautious with spreading slurry from now on, especially in ground that will/may be cut for silage.

The sunshine and breeze can lead to caking of slurry, especially where a dribble bar is used, resulting in contamination of silage. Watering down slurry well, or injecting, will help eliminate this issue.