Time to turn priority stock out to grass

March is a crucial time to maximise grass in the diet and beef farmers are being encouraged to take advantage of improved weather and ground conditions to get priority stock out to grass.

This message came from Grass10 Programme Advisor, Niamh Doyle who joined Catherine Egan on a recent episode of the Beef Edge podcast, where she shared grazing tips for the month of March.

On which animals to turnout first, Niamh Doyle recommended weanlings or yearlings first, ideally targeting pre-grazing covers of 800-1,000kg DM/ha to help the animals adjust to grazing.

On suckler farms, where cow and calf pairs are being turned out, she recommended doing so on a dry day – allowing calves time to acclimatise to the outdoors – and to select sheltered paddocks close to the yard that will ease the workload if a return indoors is required.

Once grazing begins, farmers should target a post-grazing height of 3.5-4.0cm on the first rotation to set paddocks up for the year. It’s also important to graze one-third of the grazing ground before moving on to silage fields. This allows the first grazed paddocks enough time to recover before the start of the second rotation. However, lowly stocked farms will need to make a decision in the next week or two as to graze or not to graze silage ground. Provided this ground had been grazed late last year and the silage cutting date is pulled back to early/mid May, quality silage can still be produced.

Additionally, in order to ensure a sufficient supply of grass at the start of the second rotation, Niamh Doyle encouraged farmers to complete a Spring Rotation Planner. Tips on how to complete a Spring Rotation Planner are available here.

Also discussed as part of the Grass10 update on the Beef Edge was fertiliser and slurry. Niamh Doyle advised saving slurry for silage ground. In terms of chemical fertiliser choice, she urged farmers to check their allowances for phosphorus (P), through the completion of a nutrient management plan, and to consider applications of 75kg/ac (1.5 bags/ac) of products such as 18-6-12 to boost grass growth.

For more key tips and advice, listen into the Grass10 update on the Beef Edge podcast below: