Grass Growth

In recent weeks, slow growth has been the common factor noted across the regions, with much of the focus devoted to balancing grass availability and maintaining quality. Where grass growth is slow, wasting grass must be avoided. Residuals of 3.5-4cm must be achieved in order to create high-quality covers for the next rotation when growth rates will hopefully rectify themselves. Grass walks should be undertaken at least once weekly but ideally twice weekly where grass is tight.

Milk Output 

Milk output must also be monitored; average milk yield decline should be no greater than 2.5% per week at this point in the lactation. Where volume or solids are falling quicker than this, quality and quantity of grass needs to be revised. Where quality is low, or silage is reintroduced into the diet, ensure the cows’ energy requirements are being met accordingly. Increased supplementation may be required. Reduced energy density in the diet will result in decreased milk protein % and reduced milk output. Once growth has increased and quality has been rectified (with breeding also concluding), feeding rates can be reduced.

Forage Stocks

Looking ahead to the winter, now is a good time to assess how much fodder is on farm with first cuts completed, while some early 2nd cuts and surplus bales have been taken. With forage stocks depleted due to the late spring, it’s important to plan for the forthcoming winter while noting how much subsequent forage remains unharvested.

2024 Spring-Born Calves

At this point, 2024 Spring-born calves should have smoothly transitioned to grazing. Weighing scales remain one of the most underutilised management tools on farm and should be used to gauge where we are at regarding target weights ~ 200kg by mid-September (33% of mature cow weight) or 0.7-0.8kg/hd/day. Parasite burdens can also have a huge impact on youngstock performance over the 1st grazing season and should be discussed on a herd-by-herd basis with your veterinary practitioner.

For more information, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor

Another target weight to keep in mind with February and early born March calves is to weigh 180 – 190 kgs by the 1st of September, equating to an average daily gain of 0.7-0.8kg/head/day.

In an ideal world calves would be weighed regularly over their first season at grass to track average daily gains. This will allow for informed decision making regarding decreasing concentrate feeding rates at grass. 2kg of a low protein (<16%), high fibre concentrate should be offered while grazing for the first 3-4 weeks of grazing and only considered to be reduced thereafter, to approx. 1 kg. Where early born (Late Jan/Feb born) calves are on target and adjusted to grazing well, supplementation can be reduced further or removed – but this should not happen until late June; supplementation will need to be reintroduced when grass quality declines (late summer) and/or if targets are not being met.

Within groups, there will always be outliers that should be prioritized, calves failing to achieve the above outlined weights (especially younger born March calves). This lighter group needs to be offered a higher rate of supplementation, supplemented for later into the summer and prioritised for grass availability.

Replacement heifers struggling to achieve target weights in the first season at grass, typically results in a heifer too light at housing, and if not fed appropriately and returned to grass early, results in a heifer too light at the point of bulling – negatively effecting her longevity within the herd as a mature cow. With calf-to-beef situations a poor first season at grass will result in prolonged days to slaughter at a significant cost.

Parasite control

Stomach worms and lungworms (hoose) are the most common parasites of calves at grass – with burdens typically building during May-July (weather dependant). Although burdens may be building, clinical signs/symptoms are not experienced or seen typically until mid-summer onwards and this is when action will be required.

Warm humid conditions followed by heavy rainfall can result in rapid multiplication and a close eye will need to be kept on youngstock at grass over the next number of weeks. A dosing protocol should be discussed on a herd-by-herd basis with your veterinary practitioner, as conditions/grazing management & resistance in herds will vary hugely. Dung sampling is also advised to pinpoint issues. Stomach worms will typically present as scouring, and poor thrive while lungworm will need to be dealt with where husky coughing occurs (especially when being moved). Where poor thrive and loose dung is an issue, dung sampling to rule out coccidiosis is also required. It is important that poor thrive caused by parasites is not to be wrongly self- diagnosed as summer scour syndrome.

For further information, contact your local sales advisor

For many this spring, milk protein percentages have proven a struggle, with average quality silage making up a large proportion of the diet. Youngstock turnout was delayed and we are now trying to make up ground to ensure breeding target weights are met. Counteracting these issues led to an increased meal bill where silage quality was poor.

Remember, grass silage makes up approximately one quarter of the annual feed budget on the average Irish dairy farm and is even greater in beef situations.

At one point, every farm will have 80% DMD grass available to them in the field. However, the decision is often made too late regarding the cutting date.

Flexibility in feed plans

Where silage stocks are depleted, the temptation to chase bulk may creep in. However, it is well proven that high quality silage allows for flexibility in feed plans. Earlier cutting also allows for quicker and earlier regrowths for subsequent cuts, leading to increased annual yield per hectare.

Once seed heads appear typically by late May, DMD will be around 70% at most and will drop by 1% DMD every two to three days after that.

With the renewed value now placed on our main home grown forage, achieving a good fermentation to preserve it is critical. The use of a silage additive has long been proven to improve fermentation, lending to less waste/losses.

Agritech’s GrasZyme Sugarboost is proven to: Increase ADG by 110g/head/day in beef situations, Increase Dry Matter intakes by 0.4 kg/head/day and milk protein percentages by 0.09% – while also reducing fermentation losses by 6.1% (equating to 30t on a 500t pit).

For more information, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor. 

Grass is still the easiest crop to grow in Ireland and gives substantial benefits year after year in Irish conditions, with yields of 20 tonne DM/ha possible. Knowing how this crop is performing on your farm is very important, as once performance starts to reduce, it is unlikely to recover without new seed being sown.

After the start of August, most farms have paddocks that grow less than 2 tonne DM/ha. If you want to drive production, these fields need to be improved, and reseeding is a big part of this process.

Reseeding in autumn will mean that fields will be in full production next spring, producing both quantity and quality grass. This is in contrast to old swards producing poor spring growth and poor quality feed.

At this stage, the key is to figure out which fields need attention most urgently and decide on the method that best fits your requirements. Plans need to be put in place and acted upon now as the quicker you start, the quicker you will have grass ready to graze.

Soil Fertility

Prior to reseeding, it is crucial to carry out soil tests for Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) and pH, testing to a minimum of 10cm soil depth. Where soil fertility is at an optimum, it will require two to three bags of 10-10-20, plus 1 tonne of lime minimum, to provide enough P to feed the sward, kick start early growth, and allow the sward to reach its full potential.

Grass Seed Mixture

A grass sward containing 100% perennial ryegrass will grow up to 3 tonne DM/ha more than a sward containing 15% perennial ryegrass and it also produces a higher feed quality, thereby increasing animal performance, i.e. milk output and daily live-weight gain

Our Tipperary Grass Seed range has a mixture to suit every requirement. Every mixture is treated with a unique biological seed stimulant called, GroQuik®, which accelerates germination and especially root growth in both grasses and clover. This will help to produce more grass on the farm, thereby reducing the requirement on concentrate feed. 

Post Management

All the benefits of reseeding can be lost after sowing if attention is not paid to weed and pest control. It is essential that post-emergence control of weeds such as docks and chickweed are carried out 4-6 weeks after emergence, when the grass is at the 2-3 leaf stage. High populations of weeds such as fat hen and redshank can be problematic also.

It is also essential to watch out for the three most significant pests of reseeds, Frit Fly, Leatherjackets and Slugs, and treat accordingly.

WATCH OUR TOP TIPS FOR ACHIEVING A SUCCESSFUL RESEED BELOW:

For further advice on autumn reseeding or to choose a suitable grass mixture from the Tipperary Grass Seed range, contact your local Agritech distributor or click here

Key Areas to Monitor:

1. Body Condition Scores (BCS): Are your cows holding their pre-calving BCS? If your cows are losing condition in the weeks post calving, it must be addressed promptly by seeking professional advice.
2. Dung Consistency: Dung that appears firm indicates that the cow’s diet may be too low in protein and too high in fibre. A loose and thin consistency suggests excess protein/carbohydrates or low fibre, which may possibly lead to acidosis.
3. Milk Fat to Protein Ratio: The ratio of fat:protein is an excellent indicator of cow health and feed efficiency. The ideal butterfat:protein ratio is circa 1.27:1. Where the ratio goes above 1.5:1, strict attention should be paid to cow health as there is a strong possibility of Ketosis in the affected animals. Where the ratio drops below 1.2:1, a possible link to Rumen Acidosis exists.

Key Tips:

1. Maximise dry matter intake (DMI) through a well-balanced diet formulation and continuous assessment of rations fed to cows.
2. Ensure that there is a minimum of 600-800 mm feed space per cow, along with ample drinking points.
3. Introduce concentrates slowly over a five to ten day period post calving. Adding concentrates too quickly in an attempt to provide energy is a recipe for Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis. Introducing a high quality rumen buffer such as Rumicare from Agritech will help counteract rumen and intestinal acidity and has the added benefit of providing much needed calcium, magnesium and sodium for the early lactating dairy cow.
4. Continue to analyse you cow’s BCS on a regular basis. It is vitally important to maintain adequate BCS to ensure that the cow quickly returns to cyclicity in advance of the breeding season.
5. Supplementation of post calving minerals is a much neglected area as many dairy farmers assume there are enough minerals in the purchased concentrate. However, unless there are very high levels being fed, this is rarely the case. The post calving diet needs to be carefully monitored to ensure that the cow receives adequate levels of macro and trace minerals at this important time.Take a look at our new 2019 Welmin Mineral Range brochure here, which features a number of products suitable to help you get the most from your freshly calved cow.
6. Introduce grazed grass in to the diet. It is important to align the indoor ration to match up with the grazed grass level being fed in order to optimise cow performance and health.

For further advice, contact your local Agritech distributor.