Although spring 2022 seems a distance away, it is important to focus on setting up your farm to enable early grazing next spring.

There will be plenty of discussion in the coming weeks and months on building grass covers on-farm. The aim over the coming weeks is to ensure there is grass available in the autumn when growth rates decline. Every extra day at grass in the autumn is worth €1.80/cow. However, this is a balancing act as it’s also important to close off paddocks to have sufficient grass to achieve early turnout next spring.

Taking action

• Aim to extend the rotation to 30 days by September 1st.
• Aim to have all land on the grazing platform available for grazing to extend rotation.
• Remove surplus stock from main grazing platform and/or reduce their demand by supplementation.
• If average farm cover drops below the target at any stage, a quick reaction is vital to get it back on track.
• Aim for residuals of 3.5 – 4cm to stimulate growth throughout the winter and to avoid carryover of dead material into the following spring.
• Depending on growth, surplus paddocks should be removed in August. Removing paddocks after the first week of September should be avoided if possible.

For further information on setting the farm up for spring 2022, please contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor.