The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to farmersjournal.ie on this browser until 9pm next Wednesday. Thank you for buying the paper and using the code.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact us.
For assistance, call 01 4199525
or email subs@farmersjournal.ie
If would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525
Reset password
Please enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password
If would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address.
Please click on the link in this email to reset
your password. If you can't find it in your inbox,
please check your spam folder. If you can't
find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
Email address not recognised
There is no subscription associated with this email
address. To read our subscriber-only content.
please subscribe or use the reader loyalty code.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
Aim to get soil test samples sent away in November. Ideally, you need the results back before you make plans on reseeding and soil fertility for 2016.
Safety statements – a reminder that this time of the year is ideal to carry out an audit of your farm machinery to ensure safety. The fertiliser spinner and slurry tank are key parts of equipment on all farms.
Mark and list your farm map – depending on the size of your farm, mark out five-acre to 10-acre plots and soil sample accordingly. Aim to build a database on soil fertility and match in grass tonnages with this to highlight any weaknesses present.
Remember the basics of soil sampling as detailed in Dairy Know-How #2 soil sampling. Review the video in this article to remind yourself how to take a sample properly, because taking it wrong is a complete waste of time and money.
Most farmers this week are spreading slurry where they can, in an effort to empty tanks ahead of the closing date. Ideally, you need to wait a number of weeks before taking a soil sample. Otherwise take it before the slurry goes on. At this time of year, the problem with spreading slurry is that there is grass on most paddocks as rotations are long. Another two weeks would help.
Most farmers this week are spreading slurry where they can, in an effort to empty tanks ahead of the closing date. Ideally, you need to wait a number of weeks before taking a soil sample. Otherwise take it before the slurry goes on.
At this time of year, the problem with spreading slurry is that there is grass on most paddocks as rotations are long. Another two weeks would help.
If taking soil samples, wait for three or four weeks after spreading slurry or artificial straights, otherwise the soil test result will be distorted.
For me, the best practice is to take a soil sample from each and every paddock. That way you can track growth rates and soil fertility, and make management decisions safe in the knowledge that you are making the right choices. Every week you measure and manage grass on a per-paddock basis, so you should measure soil fertility the same way.
If you have your farm divided up into five-acre or 10-acre plots, then I think tracking soil fertility in each plot should be fundamental to good management. Building a database of soil fertility results showing the change in fertility and grass growth rate measured in tonnages, will be vital information when making decisions on stocking rates in the coming years – now that quotas are not limiting farmers.
Remember that the new limiting factor is land, not quota. If you don’t have a good handle on it, then you are missing a key piece of information.
Some farmers make the argument that their soil type is the same and all paddocks are managed the same way. Hence they wouldn’t expect any real differences in fertility. I’ll argue that this is not the case. Soil fertility management is now more crucial than ever, because it decides feed growth rates and future and present stocking rates.
There are offers available with co-ops to get a soil sample analysed for between €10 and €15 per sample – get it done.
Rearing dairy bred calves for beef requires skill and management. In this article we outline the key steps farmers should follow in order to make a profit.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: