Grass 10 Newsletter July 5th
Get your weekly tips from the Grass10 team. Some information from PastureBase Ireland on grass growth. This weeks featured farmer is Sean O'Donnell, Ballina, Co Mayo. The Clover reported this week is Brian McCarthy, Clonakilty. Find out about a few upcoming events.
Main picture: Part of Beef 2022 was the Grass10 grazing demo which showed attendees the right grass to graze for easier grass management and best liveweight gain
PastureBase Ireland - Dairy Figures
- Average Farm Cover - 646 Kg DM/Ha
- Cover/LU - 190 Kg DM/Ha
- Growth - 52 Kg DM/Ha
- Demand 50 Kg DM/Ha - Stocking rate 3.4 LU/Ha
- Pregrazing yield - 1,393 Kg DM/Ha
- Diet - 13.5 Kg DM Grass - 3.5 Kg Meal - 0.6 Kg Silage
Predicted Grass Growth
Counties map showing predicted grass growth over the next 7 days from farms involved in Elodie Ruelle’s MoSt grass growth model (78 farms).
The growth range varies from a low of 44 - 49 in Carlow Kilkenny to 70 - 71 in Louth and Westmeath respectively.
Predicted rainfall
Counties map showing predicted rainfall (mm) for the next 7 days from farms involved in Elodie Ruelle’s MoSt grass growth model (78 farms).
This ranges from a high of 13 mm in Sligo to 2mm in anumber of counties in the south and south east
Grass 10 Weekly Checklist
Match Grass Growth and Demand this week
Most areas of the country have got sufficient rain over the last 2 weeks, which has eased the soil moisture deficits. However, due to cold & harsh conditions, growth is still behind normal on farms. Many farmers have increased supplementation to hold Average Farm Cover. The key message for this week is to match growth rate to demand on your farm i.e. if your demand is 3.5 LU/Ha eating 16 Kg grass and 2 kg meal, your demand per Ha is 56 Kg DM/Ha. If your growth is under this then supplementation needs to be increased. On drystock farms if your days ahead reduces under 10 days ahead and pre grazing yields are less than 1000 Kg DM/Ha, it is time to look at supplementation.
Vital to measure your farm again this weekend on PastureBase
The forecast for the next week is promising, with warmer weather to extend from the East of the country over the weekend. If you are tight for grass, it is essential to continue to walk your farm every 5 days as farms can turn around very quickly after a spell of damp weather.
Continue to follow grazed paddocks with 0.8 -1 unit of N per day, Protected Urea being the nitrogen product of choice.
Do not forget about sulphur, if low levels of S have been applied so far, it is important it is spread during July.
Grass Quality is an issue on many farms, correct if applicable
Many paddocks are gone stemmy as farmers have not had the opportunity to take out paddocks for bales as growth rates have been reduced over the last few weeks. Grass quality is poorer in these paddocks even at the ideal pregrazing yield (~1400 KgDM/ha). The first priority must be to remove paddocks with the poorest grass quality as high quality silage if there is surplus grass on the farm (i.e. cover/cow is >160-180 KgDM/LU, or more than 12-14 days ahead on drystock farms). Where there is no surplus in grass supply the option is to top 1-2 paddocks after grazing. It is important to try to correct as many paddocks as possible over the next month as autumn build-up of grass will begin in August. However, carrying out too much mowing/cutting together and a deficit may form in the grass wedge.
Attend our 1st GFOY farm walk this Friday 8th July on Sean O Donnell's, Co. Mayo
Our series of 2021 Grassland Farmer of the Year farm walks kick off in Sean O Donnell's, Ballina, Co. Mayo who was the "Mixed Soils " winner of the GFOY in 2021. See below for details and watch the promotional video for the event.
Launch of 2021 GFOY Winner Farm Walks
Sean O'Donnell and his family farm just outside Ballina, Co. Mayo milking 215 crossbred cows across two milking platforms. The O'Donnell’s were the “Mixed Soils” category winners of the 2021 Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition. Join us this Friday, 8th July at 11am for a farm walk on the O'Donnell’s home farm near Ballina, Co. Mayo, F26 WP86. The event will focus on farm overview and herd performance, grassland management, incorporating & managing grass-clover swards, and there will be drainage demonstration on the day!
PastureBase National Growth Curve
The most recent update for PastureBase Ireland informs us that 2022 is about 200 kg DM/Ha behind 2021 for grass growth, 5800 Kg DM/Ha grown to date for 2022 wheras in 2021 this figure was 6000 Kg DM/Ha.
Grass 10 Featured farmer
Sean O'Donnell, Ballina, Co. Mayo
Sean O Donnell & family milk over 200 cows on 2 platforms just outside Ballina in Co. Mayo. The O Donnells will be hosting our first GFOY event this Friday 8th July at 11am. Click below to read Seans update in advance of the event.
PastureBase Ireland - Drystock Figures
- Average Farm Cover - 704 Kg DM/Ha
- Pregrazing yield - 1,618 Kg DM/Ha
- Growth - 46 Kg DM/Ha
- Stocking rate - 3.06 LU/Ha
- Demand - 40Kg DM/Ha
- Days ahead - 17.5
The Clover Reporter
This week, Teagasc Researcher Brian McCarthy give us an update of how he is managing his grass-clover swards during July. Read Brian's report here
Ballyhaise Open Day - Future Proofing Irish Dairying - July 13th 2022.
We are delighted to invite all dairy farmers and dairy industry stakeholders to Ballyhaise’22, on Wednesday 13 July at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan.
The theme of this year’s event is, ‘Futureproofing Irish Dairying’. Irish Dairy farmers have expanded significantly since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015 and this has made a very significant addition to family farm income in rural communities throughout Ireland, and in particular, in the Border Midlands and Western region. Future development of the dairy industry will require a close alignment with EU and national policy objectives, with a particular focus on reduced carbon emissions and improved water and air quality and biodiversity.
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