Manage grass to extend grazing
From early September, there is still 20-25% of the total grass growing season remaining for 2024. Therefore, it’s important to meet your grazing objectives for the remainder of the year.
These include: to build grass supply in order to extend the grazing season into early November; and, to ensure the farm is closed with sufficient grass supply for spring 2025. These objectives will help reduce feed budget costs through savings in both concentrate and silage requirements, while ensuring good animal performance. Every extra day at grass in the autumn is worth approximately €3 per cow.
The autumn grazing targets are outlined in Table 1. Measuring grass weekly during September on PastureBase Ireland (PBI) is important to keep your farm in line with those grazing targets.
Table 1: Autumn grazing targets
| Date | Cover/cow (kg DM) | Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) | Rotation length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocking rate of 3.0LU/ha | |||
| September 1 | 330 | 990 | 30 days |
| Mid September | 350 | 1,050 | 35 days |
| October 1 | 370 | 1,100 | 40 days |
| November 1 | 65% of your grazing platform should be closed | ||
| December 1 | 650-800kg DM/ha AFC depending on spring demand | ||
On most farms, all of the milking platform should be available to the milking herd by now. Any remaining young stock should be moved to out farms, where possible, to maximise the amount of grass available to the milking herd. Higher stocked milking platforms (3.5 LU/ha +) and farms that do not achieve the autumn grazing targets can see increased supplement costs of €100/cow.
If average farm cover (AFC) is behind target in early September, use supplements such as silage, concentrate or zero-grazed grass to build AFC while grass growth and soil temperatures are still high. Delaying this to late September will increase the level of supplementation needed.
This article but Dr Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, first appeared in the Teagasc Dairy Advisory Newsletter for September. Access the full publication here, which also features top five tips for September and controlling thermoduric bacteria.