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This time last year, farmers were in a bit of a false dawn. Remember, June and July were scorching hot and the country was plunged into a terrible drought. Then it rained in late July and people thought we were over it, but for most of the country the drought continued well into the latter half of August.
Even though the dry spell this summer has been nothing like last year, a lot of farms are still dry, particularly in the midlands and southeast. Soil moisture deficits of greater than 45mm persist in the southeast.
Average grass growth rates in Munster and Leinster are between 50 and 60kg/day. This is more or less on or below demand on most farms. So while the dry weather is affecting growth, it hasn’t really hit the amount of feed being fed on most farms.
However, August is the month for building up grass covers. Rotation lengths should be gradually increasing from the end of next week on. Average farm cover per cow should be hitting 230 to 260kg/cow by the end of the month.
So, should farmers be worried? I’d say not. The forecast is giving widespread rain for this week. Most places got rain over the weekend. More solace can be taken from soil temperatures. They are currently between two and three degrees Celsius higher than normal at between 17 and 19 degrees.
This is more or less the same as they were last year and remember the superb autumn growth that we got as a result.
Soil is slow to heat up and slow to cool down, so I would expect higher than normal grass growth rates this September and October. Look at the figures for your own area to get a better idea of growth prospects in your locality.
As a result, I wouldn’t be too panicked about feeding supplement to build up grass covers just yet. I think the growth will come.
Last summer, people fed too much supplement for too long and as a result they ended up with a surplus of grass in September.
Aim to be around the 200kg AFC/cow at this stage, and build it up gradually over the month.
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