Up until now the weather has ‘played ball‘ – which has meant most parts of the country have experienced excellent grass growth and grazing conditions during September.
That may begin to change as the weather for the week ahead is expected to be unsettled, with wet and windy conditions forecasted.
Temperatures are also expected to fall this week, with temperatures between 5° and 15° forecast.
Grass growth
Tomorrow is October 1, and grass growth rates are still ahead of other years. The unsettled weather this week is set to impact growth rates in what has been an exceptionally good back end so far on most farms.
According to PastureBase Ireland, growth rates are currently 55kg dry matter [DM]/ha in Leinster, 59kg DM/ha in Munster, 57kg DM/ha in Connacht and 58kg DM/ha in Ulster.
The predicted growth rates see a slight fall, with 54kg DM/ha in Leinster, 50kg DM/ha in Munster, 50kg DM/ha in Connacht and 51kg DM/ha in Ulster predicted. For the time of the year these growth rates are still quite good.
Depending on your farms the soil type you should be starting the final rotation of the year between October 1 and 10.
The aim is to have 60-70% of the farm grazed by the end of the month and the remaining 30-40% grazed by mid-November.
You should continue to measure grass growth rates on your farm for the coming weeks.
Once you start the final rotation you should avoid re-grazing paddocks again this year. Continuing to walk the farm every five to seven days will help you monitor ground conditions.
Although getting paddocks grazed off is important, causing damage to do it is not advised at this time of year.
Poaching land at this time of the year will cause it to hold water over the winter, reducing soil temperatures further and reducing growth over the winter period.
BCS
Cows have entered the latter stages of their lactation and although many cows will continue to milk into early December, the importance of body condition score (BCS) should not be underestimated.
Ensuring cows are in the correct BCS at drying off is key for setting cows up for spring 2022.
Target body condition scores:
- Cows should be at a BCS of 3.0-3.25 at drying off;
- These animals should have a BCS score of 3.25 pre-calving; and
- Cows should also have a score of 3.0 at calving.