Grass growth has once again appeared to have stalled on many farms across the country, with demand now exceeding growth.
The somewhat steady growth did not last long and drier farms are now needing to fill the gap.
A number of farms have gone from taking out heavy covers that were too strong for grazing, to now looking at supplementing cows’ feed.
The warm weather expected over the coming days will do nothing to help the grass growth situation.
The incoming heatwave will see grass growth drop even further on farms, with the drier farms suffering the most.
This will most likely result in feeding continuing on farms for a number of weeks yet.
Grass growth
Current growth rates, based on figures from PastureBase Ireland, are 63kg dry matter (DM)/ha in Leinster; 61kg DM/ha in Munster; 62kg DM/ha in Connacht; and 67kg DM/ha in Ulster.
There is a slight reduction expected in growth rates over the coming days; the predicated growth rates, again from PastureBase Ireland, are 40kg DM/ha in Leinster; 47kg DM/ha in Munster; 39kg DM/ha in Connacht; and 41kg DM/ha in Ulster.
Water intake
The hot weather will result in higher water intake from cows, so ensuring they have access to water is critical.
A cow’s water intake can increase by 30-50% in periods of high temperatures.
A cow’s water consumption usually ranges from 60-80L/day. However, with the current temperatures, water consumption could be over 90L/cow/day.
It is extremely important that water troughs are thus checked before cows enter paddocks.
It might also be wise to check on troughs throughout the day.
With the warmer temperatures, cows might be fighting over access to water, which could result in damage to troughs and affect its ability to refill with water.
It is also important during the high-temperature days to give cows extra time to go from the parlour to the paddock and vice versa.