Targeting early grass on DairyBeef 500 farms

One of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on the DairyBeef 500 Campaign farms is the early turnout of livestock to grass in the spring, Fergal Maguire, DairyBeef 500 advisor, gives an update on why it is so important in this article.

In all grassland livestock systems, there is a strong correlation between long grazing seasons and increased profitability; this is no different on dairy calf to beef farms. Early spring grazing on dairy calf to beef farms will support higher animal performance, helping meet liveweight targets, as spring grass – when compared to grass silage - is of higher highly digestibility, protein and energy.  Grass costs approx. 7.5-10c/kg utilisable dry matter (DM), which compares favourably to grass silage at 18-20c/kg utilisable DM. On average, the cost of producing a kilogram of liveweight gain from grass is 80-85% less than from an intensive concentrate system.

In spring, the aim is to maximise the number of animals grazing pasture, while at the same time budgeting to ensure sufficient grass until the start of the second grazing rotation in early to mid-April. This is generally done by turning ‘priority’ groups of cattle out to pasture first, such as weanlings or cattle intended for slaughter in early summer. There are two major obstacles that prevent beef farmers from getting cattle out to grass early and these include fear of running out of grass and poaching.

On many of the DairyBeef 500 farms, the spring rotation is a tool used by the farmers to plan out their first grazing rotation. The planner divides the area of your farm into weekly portions. Once you know the date you are letting out stock and the targets, you then know how much land you have to graze per day, week and month. This plan will ensure that sufficient grass is grazed early to allow regrowth for the second rotation and grass does not run out before your second rotation begins. It is purely based on target areas and dates. On a dry farm, aim to have grazed 30% of the farm during February, 60% by mid-March and the final 40% stretched out to just before magic day, in early April. If the farm is on heavier soil, delay these targets by 7-10 days. Be adaptable, as reduced or increased grass growth might alter the date you turn out other stock in order to meet these key goals.

Table 1: A spring rotation planner used on one of the DairyBeef 500 Monitor farms

Many farmers are keen to avoid poaching damage because it may have consequences for subsequent grassland productivity, depending on the level of poaching that occurs. During the early part of the grazing season or during wet periods, make good use of the light weanlings as these will do less poaching damage than bigger cattle.

If there are good roadways and paddocks on the farm, make use of on-off grazing. This means letting animals out on grass with an appetite in the morning and rehousing them in the evening. In this situation, if an animal is out on grass for more than 6 hours, up to 80% of its diet will come from grass.  Back fencing is a good way of stopping cattle from grazing the regrowth and it has the advantage of protecting the bare ground from poaching in challenging conditions. However, bear in mind, that extensive trial work shows that paddocks suffering a level of damage will fully recover where good soil fertility and high levels of perennial ryegrass are present.

Click here for more information on the DairyBeef 500 Campaign.

Teagasc Beef Specialists issue an article on a topic of interest to suckler & cattle farmers every Wednesday here on Teagasc Daily