In most parts of the country, current growth rates are still exceeding normal September levels, and many farms have hit peak grass supply earlier than expected. Average farm covers of 1,000-1,250kg DM/ha are common, and pre-grazing yields are now close to 2,000kg DM/ha on many farms.

With demand on most farms close to 40kg/day this week, growth is likely to continue to exceed demand for the next 10 days, as soil temperatures remain high and regrowth has been good after grazing. If average farm cover is exceeding 1,200kg DM/ha this week, it is likely to increase even further over the next week.

Given that, in many cases the grass wedge is flat, with a lot of paddocks now coming to 2,000kg DM/ha togethe., With that in mind, skipping some of these high-cover paddocks is a good option to avoid wasting grass or depressing growth over the next month.

ADVERTISEMENT

As we enter the last rotation in the next week, ideally farms should be closing off a minimum of 2% of the farm each day during October to ensure that there is adequate area closed early to generate enough cover for next spring.

With the rapid growth over the last two weeks, some farmers have been reporting poor cleanouts and unsettled cows in what appear to be very high-quality grass paddocks.

Often after a dry summer, very rich and lush grass can be unpalatable for cows due to luxury uptake of nitrogen and potassium in rapid growth periods after drought.

The lush regrowth, particularly in the first and second leaf stage (up to 1,600-1,700kg DM/ha or 25 days) of regrowth has low dry matter contents (13%) and very low levels of effective fibre to regulate intake. Consequently, there is an increased risk of nitrate bloat, grass tetany and even milk fever from these lush swards.

Higher clover content in newer swards increases this risk. Try to avoid allowing cows to gorge themselves on these swards by using strip wires and mixing lush grass with more normal swards. Allowing pre-grazing yield to increase to 1,800kg DM/ha and maintaining a 30-day rotation length will also increase the fibre content and reduce excess nitrogen in these swards.

As we enter the final grazing rotation in the next week, paddocks with high clover content should ideally be grazed now so that they can be grazed again at the end of the final rotation to maintain a lower cover during the winter to protect clover content.

Swardwatch

  • Measure farm cover every five days to monitor growth closely.
  • If average farm cover is greater than 1,200kg DM/ha and pre-grazing yields are exceeding 2,000kg DM/ha, skip and bale some heavier covers to re-establish a normal grass wedge.
  • Graze paddocks out to 4cm using strip wires in higher covers to achieve good cleanouts and boost regrowth.

    • Dairy farmers

    Donal Patton – Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan

    Our growth is ahead of what I had expected for the last two weeks and we are still building grass.

    We will probably hit a peak farm cover of 1,150kg DM/ha over the next 10 days, but the farm is dry and I still think we will be able to graze it all.

    Pre-grazing yield is 2,000kg DM/ha and grass quality and residuals are good. We are using strip wires to make sure we get good cleanouts. Cows were unsettled by the lush grass last week, but seem to be fine again now.

    We spread the last of the slurry last week following the cows and will be starting the last round of grazing next week.

    Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.7

    Growth (kg/ha) 77

    Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,032

    Yield (l/cow) 19.9

    Fat (%) 5.56

    Protein (%) 4.25

    Milk solids (kg/cow) 2.0

    Concentrates (kg/cow) 4

    Donald Bateman – Cahir, Co Tipperary

    I never worry about having too much grass in autumn. The herd is performing well, but is unsettled when regrowth is less than 30 days.

    We are block-grazing with 24- to 36-hour allocations and keeping a small amount of fresh grass for the last grazing. Pre-grazing yields are 1,800kg DM/ha.

    I’m planning to graze everything, but I might end up skipping one paddock to speed up and graze it later in the last round.

    I will have a peak cover of 1,400kg DM/ha next week. I’m going to graze my high clover content paddocks next week so that I can graze them again and keep a low cover on them over the winter.

    Stocking rate (LU/ha) 2.4

    Growth (kg/ha) 80

    Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,180

    Yield (l/cow) 17.0

    Fat (%) 5.50

    Protein (%) 4.20

    Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.7

    Concentrates (kg/cow) 2

    Aidan Lawless – Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford

    We are into the peak of calving with the autumn herd, so milk yields are for freshly calved cows. Growth is good, with a lot of paddocks jumping from 1,100 to 1,900kg DM/ha.

    The wedge is flat and our pre-grazing yield is 2,000k DM/ha – higher than I would like for autumn. Our demand is also low (30kg/day) because we are putting the dry cows on silage with pre-calver minerals at night. We are skipping a few high covers and will cut them next week.

    We would like to keep the peak farm cover at 1,000kg DM/ha for our autumn system and stay out on grass full time to get 70% of the farm closed before the end of October.

    Stocking rate (LU/ha) 3.2

    Growth (kg/ha) 110

    Average farm cover (kg/ha) 1,180

    Yield (l/cow) 18.0

    Fat (%) 5.20

    Protein (%) 4.15

    Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.7

    Concentrates (kg/cow) 4