After a broken start to the week and intermittent showers, grazing can be still managed for committed grazing farmers. On/ off grazing is still the most favourable method, as cows only begin to walk around after two or three hours.
Every farmer knows their driest fields to graze. The whole farm doesn’t need to be walked, but farms struggling to get grazing should be assessing their best two or three paddocks after milking.
Every 1% less than 30% grazed by 1 March results in 14kg DM/ha less grass in April.
Cutting meal to 1-2kg per cow will help get back on track, but mineral feeding rates need to be adjusted to prevent grass tetany. If grass allocations are above 8kg DM per cow, cows should be grazing twice a day.
Grazing bulling heifers on the milking platform will help increase demand on some farms, especially where there is a low silage reserve.
For the drier farms with 40-50% grazed, farmers must focus on the spring rotation planner. While there is grass in front of cows now, demand is increasing, and growth rates are still low.
February grazed paddocks need 50-60 days recovery, while March grazed paddocks need 30-35 days.
Getting chemical nitrogen on fields is still high priority this week. Highly stocked farms should have 65-70 units N/acre spread in chemical and slurry by the end of March.
It’s not about growing grass now, but rather, not running out of grass in April.
On/off grazing to continue for the next week to avoid soil compaction.Increase demand to catch up on lost time grazing.Farms with high % grazed need to focus on spring rotation planner.Get out with chemical nitrogen to ensure grass in April.TAD grazing needed for grass allocations >8kg DM/cow/day.John Payne – Moydow, Co Longford
We have just over 30% of the farm grazed, getting out twice a day to grass despite challenging weather. We have altered milking times to allow for grazing after the evening milking.
We go for the cows now at 2pm and bring them in at 6-7pm so everyone can leave the yard.
Cows are finishing the last of the 1,000kg DM/ha covers now and will move onto 1,500kg DM/ha. The diet consists of 3kg of concentrates, 3kg of silage at night and about 10kg of grass.
At the end of January, we spread 50% of the farm with 3,000g/ac of watery slurry. In February, we covered the other 50% of the farm with 23 units of protected urea.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 1.98
Growth Rate (kg/day) 16
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 839
Yield (l/cow) 21
Fat% 5.50
Protein% 3.47
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.94
Concentrates 3kg
Jack Keenan – Aughrim, Co Wicklow
We have 91% of the herd calved, and the last due date is 26 March. We began calving on 24 January. Spring has gone well so far, with the exception of an outbreak of Rotavirus in calves despite vaccinating.
We have 50% of the farm grazed. It’s a dry farm, so we’ve been able to get grazing but not without its challenges. We are grazing covers of 1,500kgDM/ha, and we only let cows out between 10am-3pm, and they haven’t gone out by night yet.
Red clover silage ground has got 3kg/acre of slurry and silage ground on the home block got 2.5kg/acre. I plan to spread 30 units N/acre on grazed paddocks and lower covers.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 2.8
Growth Rate (kg/day) 13
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 845
Yield (l/cow) 29
Fat% 4.83
Protein% 3.49
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.41
Concentrates 4.5
Jack Kearney – Rathcormac, Co Cork
Over 40% of the farm is grazed now. Cows are grazing covers of 1,800kg DM/ha at the moment. Graze outs have been average since we have gone to higher covers.
Cows are getting 3kg on concentrates, 11kg of grass and about 2kg of silage is there at night. Cows are out twice a day to get through the ground. We’ll be starting to run out of dry ground now, so hopefully the weather settles so we can keep them out.
So far, we have got 2.5kg/acre of slurry out on ground we can travel and 20 units N/acre of fertiliser, but no ground has got both. We plan to blanket spread the farm with a bag of urea/acre in the coming days.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.14
Growth Rate (kg/day) 18
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 950
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat% 5.00
Protein% 3.28
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.98
Concentrates 3kg
After a broken start to the week and intermittent showers, grazing can be still managed for committed grazing farmers. On/ off grazing is still the most favourable method, as cows only begin to walk around after two or three hours.
Every farmer knows their driest fields to graze. The whole farm doesn’t need to be walked, but farms struggling to get grazing should be assessing their best two or three paddocks after milking.
Every 1% less than 30% grazed by 1 March results in 14kg DM/ha less grass in April.
Cutting meal to 1-2kg per cow will help get back on track, but mineral feeding rates need to be adjusted to prevent grass tetany. If grass allocations are above 8kg DM per cow, cows should be grazing twice a day.
Grazing bulling heifers on the milking platform will help increase demand on some farms, especially where there is a low silage reserve.
For the drier farms with 40-50% grazed, farmers must focus on the spring rotation planner. While there is grass in front of cows now, demand is increasing, and growth rates are still low.
February grazed paddocks need 50-60 days recovery, while March grazed paddocks need 30-35 days.
Getting chemical nitrogen on fields is still high priority this week. Highly stocked farms should have 65-70 units N/acre spread in chemical and slurry by the end of March.
It’s not about growing grass now, but rather, not running out of grass in April.
On/off grazing to continue for the next week to avoid soil compaction.Increase demand to catch up on lost time grazing.Farms with high % grazed need to focus on spring rotation planner.Get out with chemical nitrogen to ensure grass in April.TAD grazing needed for grass allocations >8kg DM/cow/day.John Payne – Moydow, Co Longford
We have just over 30% of the farm grazed, getting out twice a day to grass despite challenging weather. We have altered milking times to allow for grazing after the evening milking.
We go for the cows now at 2pm and bring them in at 6-7pm so everyone can leave the yard.
Cows are finishing the last of the 1,000kg DM/ha covers now and will move onto 1,500kg DM/ha. The diet consists of 3kg of concentrates, 3kg of silage at night and about 10kg of grass.
At the end of January, we spread 50% of the farm with 3,000g/ac of watery slurry. In February, we covered the other 50% of the farm with 23 units of protected urea.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 1.98
Growth Rate (kg/day) 16
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 839
Yield (l/cow) 21
Fat% 5.50
Protein% 3.47
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.94
Concentrates 3kg
Jack Keenan – Aughrim, Co Wicklow
We have 91% of the herd calved, and the last due date is 26 March. We began calving on 24 January. Spring has gone well so far, with the exception of an outbreak of Rotavirus in calves despite vaccinating.
We have 50% of the farm grazed. It’s a dry farm, so we’ve been able to get grazing but not without its challenges. We are grazing covers of 1,500kgDM/ha, and we only let cows out between 10am-3pm, and they haven’t gone out by night yet.
Red clover silage ground has got 3kg/acre of slurry and silage ground on the home block got 2.5kg/acre. I plan to spread 30 units N/acre on grazed paddocks and lower covers.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 2.8
Growth Rate (kg/day) 13
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 845
Yield (l/cow) 29
Fat% 4.83
Protein% 3.49
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 2.41
Concentrates 4.5
Jack Kearney – Rathcormac, Co Cork
Over 40% of the farm is grazed now. Cows are grazing covers of 1,800kg DM/ha at the moment. Graze outs have been average since we have gone to higher covers.
Cows are getting 3kg on concentrates, 11kg of grass and about 2kg of silage is there at night. Cows are out twice a day to get through the ground. We’ll be starting to run out of dry ground now, so hopefully the weather settles so we can keep them out.
So far, we have got 2.5kg/acre of slurry out on ground we can travel and 20 units N/acre of fertiliser, but no ground has got both. We plan to blanket spread the farm with a bag of urea/acre in the coming days.
Stocking Rate (cow/ha) 3.14
Growth Rate (kg/day) 18
Average Farm Cover (kg/ha) 950
Yield (l/cow) 24
Fat% 5.00
Protein% 3.28
Milk Solids (kg/cow) 1.98
Concentrates 3kg
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