The story of the year for grass growth has been a country split in two, and this trend continues into the back-end of the year.

The north-west of the country was slow to get grazing back in the spring as it seemed the rain would never end, but many of these farms did not feel the harsh impact of this summers drought.

Meanwhile the south-east, although also experiencing well above average rainfall in the spring, got out a bit earlier, only to have cows in over the summer while grass burnt up.

Now with the evenings closing in and rain well and truly falling, is some light finally being shed on the grazing season that is 2026?

Grass growth

Average grass growth across the country was still as low as 34kg dry matter (DM)/ha/day, but this is not a fair reflection.

Grass growth in the west of the country typically ranged from 45kg DM/ha/day to 65kg DM/ha/day.

However the lows of the south and east, with the likes of Co. Carlow recording an inter-county average of 2kg DM/ha, brought the national average down.

According to Met Éireann, soil moisture deficits have dropped to between 20-45mm across Leinster and much of Munster, while areas of the north-west are still saturated with moisture deficits in or around -10mm.

With soil moisture deficits dropping rapidly in the south-east, fields are starting to green up rapidly, with strong growth expected over the coming weeks.

As it stands, the current average nationwide diet still sits at 10kg of grass, 5kg of meal, and 4kg of silage, according to PastureBase Ireland.

Meanwhile average farm covers have rose to 537kg DM/ha and pre-grazing yields are touching 1,200kg DM/ha.

The majority of farms should be looking for a 30-day rotation, aiming to allocate roughly one-fortieth of the available pasture.

However, if grass growth is below 30kg DM/ha/day, then allocating one-fiftieth of the platform should be the aim.

These farmers should also consider re-introducing the strip wire to accurately allocate grass.

Once the average 100-cow herd is back grazing pastures with pre-grazing covers of 1,200kg DM/ha, silage should be weaned out of the diet as it will only replace grass and eat into precious winter fodder.

If you are getting into 1,200kg DM/ha covers, then the herd will be eating approximately 12kg of DM grass each, and should be supplemented with 6-7kg of DM in both meal and silage.

Also, now that soil moisture deficits are dropping and grass is growing, fertiliser should be spread.