Rather unfavourable grazing conditions have made life on farms tricky in recent weeks and in cases, have forced some ewes into sheds.

The back end of this year saw rather favourable growing conditions. Some farms were in a good place and closed up ground for next spring, while the mild weather up to the cold snap had allowed for quite decent grazing conditions for the most part.

At this stage however, what grass is left on farms shouldn’t be grazed if ground conditions don’t suit and alternatives are available such as taking grass elsewhere or else housing if sufficient fodder is available.

With the cost of concentrates, ground that is closed off along with any extra grass that can be saved in the bank should be – rather than seeing poor utilisation of this grass – in order to cut costs post-lambing and have plentiful grass for ewes and their lambs.

Grazing plan

According to Teagasc, the aim for March-lambing flocks should have been to have 60% of the grazing area closed by December 1, and to have 80% of it closed by mid-December. 

Grazing management for the remaining 20% will depend on every individual system. Higher-stocked farms may be aiming to have 100% closed.

According to Teagasc, every week ground is grazed in December, it will reduce grass availability next April by 150kg dry matter (DM)/ha.

At that point of the year, grass is more valuable. With that in mind, if underfoot conditions are poor and grass supplies are tight at present, it may be best, as said already, moving ewes off farm if possible where grass can be taken or housing them.

Over the coming weeks, it’s important that farmers don’t undo preparations for the 2023 season by regrazing closed paddocks, especially considering the year incoming will have high input costs as it stands now.