Heavy rain and cooler temperatures will see a reduction in grass growth for the coming days, which is not too unexpected at this stage of the year.
Growth rates have held on for a little bit longer than normal in many areas, but now look to be moving in a downward direction.
What is likely posing the biggest challenge on many farms is the grazing conditions and ensuring the cows stay at grass for a few more weeks.
Keeping cows at grass during the autumn is important to ensure that the farm is set up correctly in the spring and to reduce the demand on fodder.
Grass growth
The latest figures from PastureBase Ireland show current growth rates of 50kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 51kg of DM/ha for Munster, 57kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 50kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
The outlook for the days ahead is mixed, with some areas seeing slight increases, and others seeing significant drops in growth rates.
The predicted growth rates for the coming days are 54kg of DM/ha for Leinster, 50kg of DM/ha for Munster, 43kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 46kg of DM/ha for Ulster.
Grazing
Heavy rainfall experienced in many parts of the country over the last week or so, has made grazing a bit more of challenge on many farms.
Damaged ground at this time of the year will be difficult to correct and may result in the paddock performance dropping.
If cows were to cause damage to a paddock and then it rained, it could result in the paddock becoming water logged and thus reduce soil temperatures.
This could cause grass growth to stall and potentially result in the paddock needing to be reseeded.
To avoid causing damage on farms it is important to utilise the grazing infrastructure that is in place on your farm.
Have cows enter and exit from different points in the paddock, e.g. have cows enter from the back of the paddock and exit from the front.
In a situation where access to a paddock is limited, spur roadways should be used.
This will allow the paddocks to be grazed without cows causing damage to other areas of the paddock.