Make grazing by day a priority
As each day a cow spends at spring grass is worth ~€4 to a dairy farmer and with March fast approaching, Advisor on the Teagasc Aurivo Joint Programme, John McCabe has urged dairy farmers to make grazing a priority – even if only by day.
Noting the variances in grazed area and average farm covers nationally when joining Stuart Childs on a recent episode of the Dairy Edge podcast, John McCabe highlighted the importance of spring grazing – not only from meeting a cow’s nutritional needs but also for setting the farm up for the second rotation.
“Grazing needs to become a higher priority for those who have a good number of cows calved and those who have been calving since the end of January or early February.
“Cows are coming on in milk and their negative energy balance is growing due to the quality of silage being offered. The solution to this is getting cows out to grass,” he explained.
As with all years, PastureBase Ireland data confirms variances in terms of average farm cover, with John McCabe suggesting that some farms are operating with a cover of 1,100-1,200kg DM/ha, whereas others are back down at 600-700kg DM/ha.
For these farms, he explained, the advice is going to be slightly different, but the priority remains the same – getting spring grass into cows and ensuring there is an adequate supply of grass at the start of the second rotation. Where farm covers are lower, he recommended supplementing with silage earlier in the lactation rather than later as research from Moorepark has confirmed this to be a more beneficial strategy for setting the cow up for the remainder of the lactation.
The grass production angle
The importance of spring grazing was also covered from a grass production point of view, with John McCabe highlighting its role in kick starting the grass plant to grow. To maximise this response, he encouraged farmers to graze off three or four light covers first and then move into heavier covers, of course when weather conditions allow.
For farmers who have yet to commence grazing, he recommended: “Don’t use all your trump cards at once. Some of the drier paddocks on farm with good access can be saved for wetter times. Start by grazing three or four paddocks with lighter covers first; this well help regrowths and to have grass available for the start of the next rotation.
“Next, if weather conditions allow, aim to graze off some of the heavier covers that may be deteriorating in quality. This serves two purposes, it allows the paddocks to regrow and it utilises grass before the quality begins to drop off in March.”
Fertiliser nitrogen
On his travels, John McCabe has observed that some paddocks now require nitrogen fertiliser applications and he encouraged farmers, who have not already done so, to apply 18-20 units of nitrogen per acre, provided ground conditions are suitable and no heavy rainfall event is forecast. The purpose of a low rate of nitrogen applied in February is to increase growth rates of the farm in March and April, which is very important to ensure the farm has sufficient supplies of grass to carry to the start of the next rotation. Additionally, when applied to the heavier cover paddocks on farm, it will serve to hold quality and boost regrowths.
For further tips and advice, listen to the Dairy Edge podcast below:
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