New ‘Grazing Notebook’ Launched at Teagasc Open Day

A new grassland management manual called the ‘Grazing Notebook for Dairy Farmers’ was launched, today, Thursday 18 June at the Teagasc Dairy Open Day at Moorepark, Fermoy, County Cork. The grazing notebook was published by Teagasc Moorepark in association with the Irish Farmers’ Journal.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Pat Dillon, head of Teagasc, Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre said: “The objective of this manual is to simplify grazing management practice to allow more dairy farmers to capture the potential of grazed grass. If the best technology is applied at farm level, it has the potential to increase profitability by €250 to €350/ha.”

Irish and international data shows that the best indicator of farm profitability per hectare is the quantity of grazed grass eaten by the dairy herd each year. Ireland’s competitive advantage in milk production is based on the efficient production and utilisation of grazed pasture. A recent Teagasc survey shows that only 10 per cent of dairy farmers apply grassland measurement technologies.

Teagasc researcher and principal author of the ‘Grazing Notebook’, Dr Emer Kennedy said: “Milk production during the main grazing season from May to August, can often be very disappointing due to poor grazing management. Using the ‘Grazing Notebook’ to create a ‘Grass Wedge’, can substantially improve grazing management during this period.”

The ‘Grass Wedge’ is a simple visual illustration of the grass covers on the individual paddocks on a dairy farm. From this a dairy farmer can easily determine if the farm is in surplus, deficit or has an adequate grass supply. Emer Kennedy added that for the remainder of 2009 this should allow dairy farmers achieve higher milk production from grazed grass and at the same time harvest a greater quantity of grass silage for the winter.

The manual outlines how pastures should be managed in both spring and autumn. The manual’s Spring Rotation Planner will allow dairy farmers to make greater use of grass in spring by turning cows out earlier and then establishing high quality pastures for the remainder of the year. Autumn grazing management is optimised by adhering to a number of key budgeting guidelines. 2009 is putting enormous pressure on dairy farmers to maintain incomes due to a large reduction in milk price. The Grazing Notebook is designed to help dairy farmers develop more profitable systems of milk production especially in a year of low milk price.