Grass management is of the upmost importance during the current dry spell experienced in many parts of the country.
The continuing good weather has seen grass growth in many areas slow down considerably.
Many farms are now in a situation where grass growth is less than the demand and substantial rainfall is needed to correct soil moisture deficits.
So far in 2021 we have experienced a wet early-spring, then two months of exceptional growth and now many farms are beginning to burn-up.
Grass management
During the current reduced growth rates experienced on farms, it is vital that you conduct a grass walk on the farm every five to seven days.
It is impossible to make management decisions on the farm regarding grazing and grass growth without knowing what is happening.
At this time of the year the situation can change very quickly.
It is important to hold average farm cover/ livestock unit (LU) at 180kg dry matter (DM)/ha and maintain a rotation length at 22–24 days.
Options
There are a few options that can be used to maintain average farm covers and grazing rotation length.
These include the introduction of buffer feeding, such as left over bales from last year or increasing concentrate supplementation.
Increasing the amount of concentrates being fed is expensive, with a good quality ration costing between €280t and €300t.
For a ration costing €300t, increasing feeding rates from 2kg to 4kg will cost an extra 60c/day.
Meaning the total cost of meal will be €1.20/cow/day, rather than 60c/day – over a 100 cow herd this is total cost of €120/day.
For every kilo of meal added to the diet, there is an added cost of €30/day for a 100 cow herd.
If you have leftover silage bales that can be fed, this should be your first option, if buffer feeding is the route you are planning to go down.
Silage ground
Many farmers achieved exceptional yields from some late first-cut silage, so you could consider grazing paddocks closed for second-cut silage.
Avoid grazing all the paddocks closed for second-cut. Rather, put some of the closed paddocks back into the rotation to reduce the stocking rate on the milking platform.
This may only work for farmers that have access to their silage fields or have paddocks closed on the milking platform for silage.
The aim is to match demand with growth rates, the use of a strip wire to allocate grass should also be used to avoid unnecessary wasting of grass.
If you are still currently pre-mowing or topping paddocks you should stop, as this practice will only reduce growth rates further.