Dairy
It has certainly been a slow start to the year in terms of grass growth with many farmers struggling with grass covers for a lot of the...
The improvement in grass growth across the country over the last number of days has given farmers a bit more of a positive grazing outlook...
Beef
The topic of turning cattle out to grass in the spring can often generate frustration amongst some farmers on heavier-type soils.
There has been some great weather experienced across the country over the weekend which may allow farmers to continue grazing.
The start of February has been cold, yet relatively dry, allowing many farmers to get cows out for grazing this spring.
Waterford farmer, Steven Fitzgerald proved at a Tirlán and Teagasc Future Farm focus event that an early spring grass diet can be the...
The first step to utilising more grass is of course to grow more grass which has proven to be very difficult in recent springs in Ireland...
Feeding a a diet with a high energy density this winter and next spring was highlighted as a way of meeting the herd's feed requirements...
As we enter into October, grass growth has slowed down even more and for many farmers, the final rotation of the grazing year should be...
Dairy Technical
The first day of March has arrived and for the vest majority of dairy farms getting cows grazing remains one of the biggest challenges.
Shortly after calving, most dairy farms will be hoping that they can start turning cows out to grass, but what should be the dry matter (DM)..
With good grazing condition continuing on farms it may be time to start turning out your yearling heifers to grass for 2023.
The grazing season on farms should be coming to an end in the coming days as farmers approach the final paddocks in the rotation.
Farmers who are aiming for a first cut of silage in late May, need to be getting fertiliser out on silage ground if it is not out already.
The weather in January and early February has been quite good, with many farmers able to get cows out to grass.
Grass tetany often occurs when cows are let out to graze lush and low fibre paddocks, it undetected it can be very costly.
The price of chemical fertiliser has many farmers wondering about measures they can take to reduce costs for 2022.
Although growth rates this backend have been quite good, it's time to start thinking about spring-grass and close paddocks this autumn.
Pay particular attention to the weather forecast, soil conditions and grass cover in the paddock, prior to applying N fertiliser.
Determination is the key component for farmers in getting the fertiliser out in these difficult spreading conditions.
Grass
Up to 60% of the grass grazed on Irish farms in spring will be grown by December 1. To achieve this level of production, heavily stocked farms (>3LU/ha) should have 70% of the farm grazed by November 1.
More and more farmers are now looking to feed their maize crop while at spring grass, as a buffer feed, according to Gordon Shine
Father and son team Mike and Michael Magan farm under a dairy partnership in the village of Killashee, Co. Longford.
