Both daylight and weather conditions have slipped over the last week, and with that, grass growth has also started to decline.

The west and north-west of Ireland saw up to and even over two time the average rainfall this week, according to Met Éireann.

However, soil temperatures are still 2-4℃ above average, at 11.8° to 14.4°, meaning grass is still growing well.

Currently, grass growth is averaging 49kg dry matter (DM)/ha, with DM coming in at just above 12%.

In comparison, this week last year, average grass growth was sitting at 42kg DM/ha while dry matter was in or around the 14% mark.

With such strong grass growth over the last month, many farmers may feel there is a mountain of grass in front of them.

But in reality, growth is slowing rapidly and whatever grass is left in the rotation is all that is left in front of the herd, so we must be careful not to overgraze.

Grass situation

The national average farm cover (AFC) is currently sitting at 941kg DM/ha, according to PastureBase Ireland.

With this, the average diet is being recorded at 14.5kg of grass, 4kg of meal, and 0.5kg of silage.

Farmers recording in PastureBase are currently entering paddocks with a 2,229kg DM/ha pre-grazing cover.

However, the situation still varies vastly, as only 41% of recording farms are on target for mid-October.

Ideally, the farm cover should be sitting between 900-1,100kg DM/ha at the moment.

However, 38% of farms only have an AFC of 731kg DM/ha, while 21% have an AFC of 21%.

Ideally, farms carrying too much grass need to get heavier paddocks grazed off now while ground conditions allow, maximising grass in the diet.

However, keep an eye on milk and adjust rations carefully as grass will have very little nutritional content at this time of the year.

Farms which are under target need to try and keep demand below growth rates, and increase the meal intake in the parlour if possible.

Finishing the season off target will do you no favours, as spring grass is the most valuable to the herd.

That is why farms need to implement best practices, using strip wires to graze the farm out as efficiently as possible and continue hitting those 4cm residuals, consider using on/off grazings and implementing strip fencing.