Sheep - Grass and Management

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Beef
The Grass Week: wintry conditions spell end of grazing
Martin Merrick
Even farmers in the northwest had been getting by with some light grazing up until now, but this week has finally called a halt to grazing for 2024.
The Grass Week: wintry conditions spell end of grazing
The Grass Week: ground firm but grass running out
2 November 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: ground firm but grass running out
While ground conditions are excellent for the most part, it will be a lack of grass that will force any stock indoors.
The Grass Week: graze hard while the going is good
12 October 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: graze hard while the going is good
Conditions for the most part are favourable, so farmers should use this opportunity to get wetter paddocks grazed off.
What you need to know about finishing plans for your lambs
From exploring the merits of shearing lambs to ration formulation and offering roughage with ad-lib concentrates, Darren Carty shares reader queries addressing topics cropping up at present.
9 October 2024 Grass & feeding
Trying to keep autumn grazing on track
Some farms are faced with a lower grass supply and possibly more mouths to feed with corrective options reducing the longer the year progresses.
2 October 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: last-chance saloon for slurry
There is just a week left to get slurry spread, otherwise it will have to be held over until January or February 2025.
21 September 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: last chance saloon for fertiliser application
Chemical fertiliser application is closed from Sunday onwards, but there is still time to spread some organic fertilisers.
14 September 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: farm covers slowly building ahead of autumn
There has been a steady build-up of growth over the last while, with farm covers now sitting at 714kg DM/ha on average.
17 August 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: moderate growth leads to little surplus
While soil temperatures have increased marginally, grass growth is still below average for the time of year.
20 July 2024 Grass & feeding
The Grass Week: growth creeps up but fodder stock low
While still behind the norm for the time of the year, growth has improved over the past two weeks and looks set to improve further.
13 July 2024 Grass & feeding
Coming out the right side of a challenging year
Roscommon farmer Shane Moore told farmers at a recent farm walk that despite being one of the most challenging years experienced lamb performance is surprisingly positive.
19 June 2024 Grass & feeding
What you need to know about grassland pesticide use
The use of pesticides is now governed by conditionality, meaning that if breaches occur it may pose a risk to CAP payments, writes Darren Carty.
16 June 2024 Nitrates