While areas of heavier ground on beef farms is still growing grass with ease and rain has been forecast for some parts of the country, many areas are seeing grass growth rates slowing down significantly.
Due to the recent dry spell and soaring temperatures, grass quality and quantity has been severely affected in some areas.
Advice recently published by Northern Ireland‘s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has acknowledged that farmers are now having to think about how best to manage their limited grass supply.
Beef farm grass management
Until adequate rainfall arrives little can be done to grow more grass, so in this period of rain shortage, it is important to best utilise what grass is available on your farm.
In drier areas, where there is reduced grass growth and a diminishing grass supply, farmers should look at ways to better manage what they have available.
For beef farmers at this time, the main aim is to balance and match grass supply and demand.
Firstly, beef and suckler farmers should identify their grass demand, based on the number and type of livestock being grazed.
Secondly, grass supply needs to be identified and assessed. This can be done by walking the total grazing area at least once per week and measuring grass covers.
By having a clear picture of these two variables, the farmer can assess if the demand and supply matches their needs.
Graze beef cattle in paddocks
The best way of managing grass supply is to implement a paddock-grazing system.
This method relies on splitting fields into smaller paddocks and rotating stock between these.
Leaving part of the grazing block vacant allows time for recovery and for new grass covers to build.
If daily growth rate is low, then the length of time between rotations can be increased to replenish supply.
Buffer feed
If cover is slow to build and the farmer has surplus fodder, this could be used to buffer feed.
Where grass is becoming scarce, bales of silage or hay can be dispensed throughout a bare paddock.
This allows the farmer to lengthen the rotation and results in other paddocks gaining the prolonged rest period needed.
Rotation can also be lengthened by first grazing the edges of silage fields already harvested and then bringing this additional ground back into the grazing block after cutting.
Allocating grass
If grass supply or demand is under pressure, farmers can employ a number of different strategies to ensure efficient utilisation of what is available.
For instance, if there are autumn-calving cows on the farm still suckling calves, weaning these will reduce grazing demand.
Forward creep graze spring-born calves, or alternatively, introduce meal creep feeding.
In light of current beef prices, consideration could also be given to selling store cattle or unproductive cows identified for culling. This will also help reduce the demand on the farm’s available grass.
Shade
During periods of extreme heat, it is also necessary to be mindful of other needs the animals may have.
It is important to provide shade cover for livestock and ensure animals have a fresh, clean supply of water at all times.
While breeding is complete in many herds, suckler farmers should be vigilant of cows that are bulling in the extreme heat.
Consider removing these animals from the main herd during bulling – particularly where there are strong male calves that are following after the cow in heat.
In conclusion, for effective grass management, it is important to have a clear picture of your supply and demand, have a good plan in place to ensure it is utilised efficiently and have options to deal with variables that may reduce supply, such as dry weather.