Grass growth levels have been significantly behind where many would like them to be for the time of year.
Many parts of the country had some level of rainfall in the last few days, which was very much welcomed.
Although the warm and dry weather was nice, it did have a negative impact on farms with growth rates greatly reduced.
It resulted in many drier farms turning brown.
This meant that many of these drier farms were forced to feed cows silage as they were waiting for growth rates to improve.
Heavier farms hadn’t really suffered, with the heavier soil holding onto the moisture for longer and thus helping grass growth.
Grass growth
Current growth rates, based on figures from PastureBase Ireland, are 32kg dry matter (DM)/ha in Leinster; 35kg DM/ha in Munster; 49kg DM/ha in Connacht; and 51kg DM/ha in Ulster.
Growth for the coming days can only be described as a mixed bag; the predicated growth rates, again from PastureBase Ireland, are 31kg DM/ha in Leinster; 45kg DM/ha in Munster; 50kg DM/ha in Connacht; and 52kg DM/ha in Ulster.
Three of the four provinces will see slight improvements in growth, while Leinster is expected to see a reduction in growth rates.
The rain that has fallen appears to have had little effect on soil moisture deficits, with deficits remaining quite significant in some areas.
Scanning cows
The time has come to determine the success of the breeding season on farms, which means it’s time to start scanning cows.
Scanning cows is important for a number of reasons, including for determining which cows are in-calf, when they are due and if they are carrying twins.
A pregnancy can be detected 30 days after service, so in theory you could scan your cows 30 days after ending the breeding season or pulling the bull.
So, if cows haven’t already been scanned it may a job to get organised over the next few weeks.