Grass10 Newsletter - 22nd February 2022
In this week's newsletter the Grass10 team introduce another farmer in The Clover Reporter section as well as this week's Grass10 feature farmer. View some Grass10 weekly tips for rainy day grazing, a research update from Grange, grass growth figures and watch a video on spring rotation planning
184th Edition - 22nd February 2022
Grass10 Weekly Tips
3 storms and heavy rainfall across the country made grazing challenging on many farms over the weekend, however it is not all negative as a strong drying wind in many areas on Monday resulted in animals returning to grass. The forecast is for better weather this week with in the region of 15 -20 mm of rain expected in the next 7 days in most parts. Soil temperatures continue to stay in the range of between 6 & 8 degrees according the MoSt Grass Growth Prediction model.
The key message in this weeks newsletter is to get out and walk your "go to paddocks" on your farm and assess if they are fit for grazing. Many farmers have got a surprise with how fast ground conditions have dried up.
Try get animals out for a 2-3 hour allocation & if conditions are favourable, aim for 2 x 3 hour allocations!
Every 3 Kg DM of grass that a cow eats produces 1 extra litre of milk per day & increases weight gain for cattle and sheep in the correct conditions on drystock farms.
The image below is a sample guide for a dairy farmer during unsettled weather to get grass in the diet twice per day.
Note: The PM paddock must be closer to the yard & simple to get to in order to streamline the return of animals to the yard in the evening.
Identify the drier areas of your farm to graze during the coming week. Select paddocks with grass covers of between 800-1100 Kg DM/Ha, with good grazing infrastructure and good access.
Click below to view Paudie O'Brien (heavy soils, Co. Kerry) on how he maximises grass in the diet at the shoulders of the year using the "On-Off Grazing" technique in tandem with excellent grazing infrastructure. Remember every day grazing earns a dairy farmer €2.70 per cow and earns a drystock farmer €2 per LU.
Grass10 Featured Farmer
The Clover Reporter
