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Big variations in grass growth between farms are beginning to emerge.
As can be seen in the map, the range in daily growth rates is from the mid-30s to the mid-70s, with the average at 56kg/day. As an average, this is very good considering we are almost in October.
The 10-year average for the same period is only 33kg/day, so most farms are growing well above average and this is a good thing.
The weather holding things back
What is not good though is the weather.
While the earlier part of the week was good, very heavy rain across the country on Wednesday put a stop to grazing on many farms.
If and when grazing resumes on these heavy farms will depend on weather over the next few weeks, but with more heavy rain forecast for the weekend it will be a while before these farms will be able to let cows back out again.
Ground conditions sticky
For the rest of farmers on drier and free-draining soils, the wet weather has made ground conditions sticky and clean-out has deteriorated rapidly.
To avoid damage and improve clean-out, cows should be on 12-hour breaks and previously grazed areas should be back-fenced to prevent cows walking back over them.
To do this, there needs to be good access to paddocks.
Where access is poor, cows can be walked one or two abreast along a hedge or a fence-line using a strip wire.
Other options include grazing drier paddocks and lighter covers.
Because the weather has been generally poor for a few weeks, a lot of these easy options have been used up so now many farmers have no option but to just graze what is ahead of the herd.
Average farm cover should be at peak now, at between 1,000 and 1,200kg/ha depending on stocking rates.
Rotation length should be at peak of around 40 days. This means you should be grazing no more than 1/40th of the farm per day. If the milking platform is 70ac, this means you should be grazing 1.5ac per day, or 0.75ac per milking.
Teagasc Curtins Farm
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.76
Growth rate (kg/day) 59
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 900
Yield (l/cow/day) 16
Fat % 5.41
Protein % 4.21
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.58
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 3
It’s been lashing rain here since early Wednesday morning but thankfully the ground is taking it fairly well. We are on 12-hour breaks and using a back fence when we have to. Pre-grazing yield is on the high end at 2,400kg/ha but clean-out is still good. We are taking post-grazing heights of 4cm which I’m happy enough with. Because we are behind target for average farm cover, we are feeding 3kg of meal. On dry days we are spreading soiled water after grazing. We body condition scored the herd on Wednesday and the average is 2.95.
Teagasc Ballyhaise
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 3.06
Growth rate (kg/day) 45
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,145
Yield (l/cow/day) 14.1
Fat % 5.09
Protein % 4.09
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.33
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 3
We’ve been hammered with rain here since Wednesday and it is really making grazing difficult but we are managing as best we can. If it gets too wet we will have no choice but to bring cows in for a period.
Growth rates have dipped a good bit but we are on target for average farm cover so I’m happy enough. Demand is more or less equal to growth so it should hold for another week or so. We are going to skip into some lighter covers when the weather is really wet and use on/off grazing.
Moydow, Co Longford
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 2.85
Growth rate (kg/day) 51
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 939
Yield (l/cow/day)
Fat %
Protein %
Milk solids (kg/cow)
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day)
The weather has been great for grass growth. I spread fertiliser just before the closing date and got a really good response from it. But grazing is a different story altogether. I’m grazing heavy covers and at best the cows are only eating between half and three quarters of it. I kept them in for a few hours the odd morning or evening when it was very wet but they have more or less been out full-time. There is not much poaching being done, just minor enough surface damage but cows are very unsettled and it is hard to manage them.
Murroe, Co Limerick
Stocking rate (cows/ha) 3.15
Growth rate (kg/day) 60
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,042
Yield (l/cow/day) 13.5
Fat % 5.78
Protein % 4.31
Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.4
Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 3
Grazing was super up to Wednesday but it’s hammering rain outside now. It was tough going last week when we were in really heavy covers of 2,500kg/ha and above but we are back now to grazing lighter covers of around 2,100kg, which is a lot easier to manage in wet weather.
We are slightly behind target average farm cover so have increased meal to 3kg and will probably go in with some silage in three weeks’ time. We scanned the cows at 7% empty after nine weeks and two days of breeding so I’m happy with that.
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