Grass growth rates have been improving over the last number of weeks, but actually getting cows out grazing still remains the issue for most.
As we move into April growth rates have picked up and for most, now is usually when farmers see growth surpassing demand on the farm.
However, for many right now, cows are still eating silage due to poor ground conditions.
Based on the latest figures from PastureBase Ireland, current growth rates of 27kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 25kg of DM/ha for Munster, 27kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 20kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
The weather looks set to improve over the weekend and with that there is an improvement in predicted growth rates.
For Leinster, a growth of 47kg of DM/ha is predicted, for Munster it is 38kg of DM/ha, for Connacht it is 39kg of DM/ha and for Ulster it is 35kg of DM/ha.
Most will be hoping that the expected improvement in weather will allow for the grazing season to really take off.
Grazing
Ground conditions remain tricky for many farmers, with a lot of herds still housed. With that said, some are getting their cows out for short periods.
By now, many would of been hoping to have cows out fulltime, but due to the weather for most this is not possible as of yet.
Instead you should be continuing to get as much grass into cows as possible, and continuing to use on/off grazing to protect ground conditions.
Many farms experienced significant amounts of rainfall in the last few days, which for some has likely forced them back indoors full-time.
For the next few days the weather looks reasonable so farmers should try and get cows back to grass where possible.
With growth rates improving grass could quickly get out of hand and quality could drop, and getting the back into the sward may be challenging at this time of the year if it was to happen.
With most farms now gearing up for the start of breeding, farmers will be hoping that cows will be getting out to grass fulltime in the very near future.
It is important to continually monitor cows in the shed, a large number of cows in herds are now bulling and an injury could easily occur on the slates.