The current average growth rate is at 64kg DM/ha/day. That means there has been almost no change to the national average figure from last week. That said, as has been the case for much of the summer, there are still massive variations in grass growth between farms throughout the country.

By and large, farms in the south and south east are struggling more than their counterparts further north, but at the same time, there are still differences of up to 40kg DM/ha/day in growth rates between farms in the same region.

As was outlined on this page last week, there are number of factors affecting this. The obvious one is lack of rainfall but nutrient availability (fertiliser) and the strength of grass covers on the farm are also playing big roles.

Rain

Rain would be welcome in many parts of the country as Met Eireann charts now show widespread soil moisture deficits up to 50mm with areas in the midlands at over 60mm. This comes as no surprise given that most parts of the country only received 25% to 40% of normal rainfall levels since the start of July.

This issue looks set to be somewhat relieved over the coming days as forecasts are giving a good deal of rain before and during the weekend. This has triggered many people to order fertiliser with the view to push growth rates. Remember that CAN is more reliable than urea in dry weather. Urea is best spread in damp, cooler conditions. But as we have been frequently hearing this year, protected urea is a happy medium and can be safely spread in all weather conditions. With grass becoming stressed on some farms in the south and going to seed early as a result, there will be cases where topping is needed to maintain quality in the sward.