Grass growth appears to be holding fairly strong for now, but without rain coming soon, many farms may start running short.
A little over two weeks ago the worry was that first cut would be harvested and we were in for a wet summer, now the worry is much different.
Now many farmers, particularly those based on the south and east, are praying for rain, as average farm cover on many farms begins to drop and some paddocks start to burn-up.
In some areas, grass in starting to become stressed and going to head, which means that grass quality is now dropping.
Soil moisture deficits in the south and east are between 55mm and 39mm, with this likely to increase further as the we move into the weekend.
Based on current forecasts there is no rain due and temperatures are set to increase for the bank holiday weekend.
Grass growth
The latest figures from PastureBase Ireland show current growth rates of 68kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 68kg of DM/ha for Munster, 70kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 68kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
Grass growth is predicted to decrease slightly over the coming days, with 65kg of DM/ha forecast for Leinster, 57kg of DM/ha for Munster, 56kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 60kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
This is likely not to be a surprise to most as most farms can now see the effects of the dry weather on farms.
Second cut
The dry weather has also resulted in some disruption to many farmers plans for second cut silage.
The dry weather means that farmers are concerned about spreading chemical fertiliser and slurry on land that is marked for harvesting of silage.
For now if you have low dry matter (DM) or watery slurry you should spread this on the fields you plan to use for second cut.
Chemical fertiliser should be put on hold for now until, some moisture is available to wash it in.
The slurry will contain a certain amount of nitrogen (N) which will can used by the crop and the remaining N required can be spread later.