Predicted grass growth remains positive despite the change in weather, according to the latest update from PastureBase Ireland.
There has been a significant change in weather during the week, with some parts of the country experiencing reasonable temperatures while others have been seeing snow.
For most, this has been the first week that the weather has had an impact on grazing conditions.
If you are still getting cows to grass it is important that you avoid damaging land. If cows are causing damage you can decrease the size of the area being grazed and/or pull them off sooner.
It remains sound advice to make best use of the grazing infrastructure on your farm as well as back fences and spur roadways.
Grass growth
PastureBase Ireland is showing current growth rates of 13kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 12kg of DM/ha for Munster, 12kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 7kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
Although temperatures have dropped, predicted grass growth rates are set to improve slightly, with growth rates expected to be 16kg of DM/ha for Leinster, 17kg of DM/ha for Munster, 14kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 11kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
This means that although there has been a significant change in weather this week, growth rates are moving in the right direction.
Grazing
The grazing conditions this year, up until now, have been exceptional in most parts of the country, with many farmers well ahead of their grazing targets. However, it is important not to get too far ahead.
The target is to have 60% of the farm grazed by March 20, and to achieve this target around 50% of the farm needs to be grazed by the end of the week.
If you are significantly ahead of this target there is a risk that grass will be in short supply for the second rotation.
Although it is important to get grass into cows it is also important that you aren’t forced to rehouse cows in April due to a lack of grass.
This could potentially have an impact on milk output, a cow’s ability to gain/maintain body condition score (BCS) and fertility performance.
You should be aiming to hold average farm cover (AFC) at 600kg of DM/ha until grass growth meets and surpasses demand.
The snow experienced in many areas may have helped a number of farmers to slow down grazing by forcing them to house their herd for a few days, which has slowed down the amount of area grazed.
Farmers should be checking how much area has been grazed and where they stand in relation to the targets.