The slowdown in grass growth rate is coming down the tracks. After a few weeks of sluggish growth rates in the mid-60s, it looks like it could drop below 50kg/ha/day by next week.

Of course, these are average figures and individual farms will be growing more or less, depending on soil moisture deficits, soil fertility, etc.

At what point should farmers introduce extra feed? This is the subject of much debate and advice on this can change based on the type of grass deficit being experienced.

In the current situation, grass is not disappearing because of high temperatures. It’s a slow down in grass growth driven by a lack of moisture.

There is moisture coming, but the quantity of rain is set to be low enough in most places over the coming days, but it is coming.

If we were facing into a drought, I would be more inclined to say that farmers should graze up what grass they have before going in with a lot of feed as extending the round, where grass is going to be lost due to withering away doesn’t make much sense.

However, in the current situation where growth rates are slowing but covers aren’t disappearing, maintaining as much grass on the farm as possible is probably sensible.

Keep the cover at 500kg

This effectively means keeping the average farm cover at or above 500kg/ha and putting in extra feed if there is a risk of it going below this.

This should help to ensure that when grass growth rates do improve, the feed can be removed and the farm cover should be at target levels.

For most farms, this will mean including 4kg or 5kg of meal for a week or 10 days over the coming week or so.

In some situations, this won’t be required at all, because growth rates will be good or demand will be low enough to sustain a low growth rate.

Walk the farm

The most important thing is to walk the farm regularly and make decisions based on the information available.

The three most important pieces of information is the average farm cover per cow and per hectare, the growth rate and the demand figure.

The demand can be manipulated by adjusting cow numbers and feed.

The interaction between demand and growth will determine whether the average farm cover is rising or falling. Aim to keep this above 500kg/ha.