Extremely heavy rain over most of the country over the past few days has created lots of challenges on farms. At worst, cows have had to be housed. At best, milk yield has dropped.

Up to Sunday night, many places got upwards of 60mm of rain over the previous seven days, which is between two and three times the long-term average.

Widespread rain

More widespread and heavy rain on Monday is serving to make the situation worse. How bad it is depends on soil type, with those on very heavy soils in high rainfall areas having no choice but to house animals.

The challenge then is to feed the best-quality silage available in order to keep milk solids yield up.

Round bale silage cut from surplus paddocks last May and June would be the ideal type of silage to feed out in these conditions.

Try to get cows to graze down as tight as possible

For the majority of farmers, grazing can continue as normal, but a 12-hour wire is a necessity in these conditions. Only allocate enough grass that they need for that 12-hour period.

Try to get cows to graze down as tight as possible, while at the same time trying to avoid damage. Easier said than done.

Good news

The good news is that the weather should improve for a few days after today, so land will get a chance to dry out somewhat. However, more rain and a potential storm is due later in the week.

I would be inclined to feed a little bit of extra meal during these periods of high rainfall. It keeps cows settled and it ensures that dry matter intakes don’t drop too much.

According to the Irish Farmers Journal live weather feed, it has been raining at all weather stations on Monday, with the worst-affected places being Down, Antrim, Dublin and Kildare.

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