Heavy rainfall in parts of the country last week have affected grazing progress, particularly on heavier land types.
Cows were housed full-time or by night on many farms as above average rainfall continues in the north and western half of the country.
Most of these farms were planning to start the second round over the next week but with ground conditions so wet and more rain forecast, farms are afraid to go in and do a second round of poaching on ground that’s tender.
On/off grazing will need to continue where grazing is difficult and damage is being done in order to get area grazed and keep farm cover from getting too high.
Growth rates are expected to hit the late-40s and early 50s this week and therefore it may be necessary to skip heavier covers left in the first round and take them out at a later date. This will prevent average cover getting too high. Demand for grass should also be high now on all farms.
Avoid silage feeding and limit meal feeding to a couple of kilos where average farm cover is above 700kg DM/ha.
On drier farms where the second round is progressing well, maintain average farm cover above 550kg to 600kg DM/ha for the remainder of the rotation.
For these farms, the focus is very much on quality grazing. Getting good clean outs can be challenging in the wet and cold weather. Targeting lower pre-grazing yields around 1,400kg DM/ha will help to improve utilisation.
Fertiliser
By now farms should have at least 60kg N/ha out and should be planning to get another round out prior to the beginning of May, aiming for a total of 100kg N/ha.
A compound fertiliser like 18-6-12 plus sulphur will be beneficial at this time of year, where there is a P allowance. Where there is limited P allowance, target paddocks with low P and K indexes.
As we cross the halfway point in April, silage ground should be closed up by now and the right nutrients applied.
Any ground planned for reseeding should also be sprayed off as soon as possible.
As growth rates start to cross the demand figure on farms, ensure supplement feeding is low where average farm cover is sufficient.On farms that are getting through the second round, maintain
farm cover above
600kg DM/ha.Closing up silage ground is a priority and should be done this weekFor spring reseeds, farms should be looking to burn off paddocks in the coming weeks. Aidan Lawless – Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford
It was very cold and wet here last weekend, so the cows were in by night for a couple of days and we’re back doing a bit of on/off grazing until things dry out a bit.
When they are getting out for two grazings a day, the winter milk diet is 16kg/DM grass and 5kg of meal. We started the second round on 7 April and we’ve over 30% of it completed at this stage.
Demand is high as we’re highly stocked with ground taken out now for silage.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 4.2
Growth (kg/ha) 60
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,250
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.68
Protein (%) 3.68
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.09
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Craig McCormack – Ballina, Co Mayo
We started the second round early this week with five grazings left in the first round. We wanted to get into some of the ground that was dry enough in the second round before rain came this week so we’re mixing the two.
Farm cover is quite low as growth has been slow, so we went back in with 5kg/cow of silage a week ago. There’s 57kg N/ha out so far and we’ll be looking to go with another round this week. We’ll probably look to go with a compound.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.29
Growth (kg/ha) 29
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 666
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.95
Protein (%) 3.6
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.2
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Bronwyn Fitzpatrick – Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
We have 68% of the first ground grazed now and the plan is to start the second round on 24 April. There’s at least 15% of that ground that won’t get grazed as covers are too heavy and ground conditions too wet.
In the first three months of this year, we’ve had twice the level of rainfall that we had in the same time last year. That gives an idea of how wet the farm actually is at the moment. We’re up to 90% of the cows calved now after eight weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.6
Growth (kg/ha) 24
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 692
Yield (l/cow) 26
Fat (%) 4.9
Protein (%) 3.6
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.29
Concentrates (kg/cow) 2.5
Heavy rainfall in parts of the country last week have affected grazing progress, particularly on heavier land types.
Cows were housed full-time or by night on many farms as above average rainfall continues in the north and western half of the country.
Most of these farms were planning to start the second round over the next week but with ground conditions so wet and more rain forecast, farms are afraid to go in and do a second round of poaching on ground that’s tender.
On/off grazing will need to continue where grazing is difficult and damage is being done in order to get area grazed and keep farm cover from getting too high.
Growth rates are expected to hit the late-40s and early 50s this week and therefore it may be necessary to skip heavier covers left in the first round and take them out at a later date. This will prevent average cover getting too high. Demand for grass should also be high now on all farms.
Avoid silage feeding and limit meal feeding to a couple of kilos where average farm cover is above 700kg DM/ha.
On drier farms where the second round is progressing well, maintain average farm cover above 550kg to 600kg DM/ha for the remainder of the rotation.
For these farms, the focus is very much on quality grazing. Getting good clean outs can be challenging in the wet and cold weather. Targeting lower pre-grazing yields around 1,400kg DM/ha will help to improve utilisation.
Fertiliser
By now farms should have at least 60kg N/ha out and should be planning to get another round out prior to the beginning of May, aiming for a total of 100kg N/ha.
A compound fertiliser like 18-6-12 plus sulphur will be beneficial at this time of year, where there is a P allowance. Where there is limited P allowance, target paddocks with low P and K indexes.
As we cross the halfway point in April, silage ground should be closed up by now and the right nutrients applied.
Any ground planned for reseeding should also be sprayed off as soon as possible.
As growth rates start to cross the demand figure on farms, ensure supplement feeding is low where average farm cover is sufficient.On farms that are getting through the second round, maintain
farm cover above
600kg DM/ha.Closing up silage ground is a priority and should be done this weekFor spring reseeds, farms should be looking to burn off paddocks in the coming weeks. Aidan Lawless – Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford
It was very cold and wet here last weekend, so the cows were in by night for a couple of days and we’re back doing a bit of on/off grazing until things dry out a bit.
When they are getting out for two grazings a day, the winter milk diet is 16kg/DM grass and 5kg of meal. We started the second round on 7 April and we’ve over 30% of it completed at this stage.
Demand is high as we’re highly stocked with ground taken out now for silage.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 4.2
Growth (kg/ha) 60
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,250
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.68
Protein (%) 3.68
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.09
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Craig McCormack – Ballina, Co Mayo
We started the second round early this week with five grazings left in the first round. We wanted to get into some of the ground that was dry enough in the second round before rain came this week so we’re mixing the two.
Farm cover is quite low as growth has been slow, so we went back in with 5kg/cow of silage a week ago. There’s 57kg N/ha out so far and we’ll be looking to go with another round this week. We’ll probably look to go with a compound.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.29
Growth (kg/ha) 29
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 666
Yield (l/cow) 25
Fat (%) 4.95
Protein (%) 3.6
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.2
Concentrates (kg/cow) 5
Bronwyn Fitzpatrick – Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
We have 68% of the first ground grazed now and the plan is to start the second round on 24 April. There’s at least 15% of that ground that won’t get grazed as covers are too heavy and ground conditions too wet.
In the first three months of this year, we’ve had twice the level of rainfall that we had in the same time last year. That gives an idea of how wet the farm actually is at the moment. We’re up to 90% of the cows calved now after eight weeks.
Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.6
Growth (kg/ha) 24
Average farm cover (kg/ha) 692
Yield (l/cow) 26
Fat (%) 4.9
Protein (%) 3.6
Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.29
Concentrates (kg/cow) 2.5
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