Grass growth this spring hasn’t really been an issue – the issue has been getting cows to grass and getting paddocks grazed off.
A good start to the year quickly turned into a not-so-good middle part of the spring, with ground conditions deteriorating and cows having to be housed.
However, it appears that we have now turned a corner; ground conditions in most areas have improved, and cows are having an unbroken spell at grass.
But in many other areas, land remains tender, and there is a chance cows could cause damage if rain was to come in again.
Grass growth
Grass growth in general has been good. The latest figures from PastureBase Ireland are showing current growth rates of 37kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 36kg of DM/ha for Munster, 34kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 25kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
The weather looks reasonable for the coming days and a improvement in grass growth is predicted with 48kg of DM/ha forecast for Leinster, 43kg of DM/ha for Munster, 45kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 39kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
The weather this week has been good, with many farmers leaving cows out full time for the first time in 2023.
Rain is due in over the weekend and depending on how much falls, it may force some farmers to house cows again.
The advice is very much to keep an eye on the forecast and determine if cows need to be housed or what other management steps may be required.
Every farm is different and no one knows their land better than the person farming it.
Farmers should also look to keep the quantity of grass in the diet high as much as possible and keep cows at grass.