Current weather conditions are more reminiscent of a typical January than March and are generating lots of questions at farm level as regards how to manage the first round of grazing. I’ll try to answer some of those questions here. Firstly, let’s look at the positives of the current dry, cold spell. Since May 2007 we’ve experienced three tough years of unusually high rainfall. So, on wet, heavy farms the current dry conditions are presenting one of those rare windows of opportunity to actually achieve desired grazing residuals. Inevitably when the weather does change we will get lots of rain sweeping in from the Atlantic and a return to the difficult grazing conditions to which we’ve become so familiar. Will it be possible then to hit target residuals? Yes, most of the time - for farms with appropriate infrastructure, cow type and management attitude to do so. No – for farms in development, with big heavy cows or management unaccustomed to challenging themselves or the cows in tough conditions. So, I repeat – do not miss this wonderful opportunity to get those residuals right down, removing all decaying material, letting light down to the bottom of the sward and ensuring excellent quality swards in the second and subsequent rotations.
Now, back to the questions! Having cows out and having cows fed are not necessarily the same thing. Many farmers are quite rightly pointing out that AFC is way behind target and growth rates are zero and as such “how can we keep grazing and not run out of grass?” The Spring Rotation Planner is perfect for a Spring such as this. In one example I came across this week, the farmer has readjusted his SRP to take account of zero regrowths on his February grazed paddocks. Originally he had planned to finish the first round on April 5th – this had now been reset to April 15th in order to ensure there is sufficient PGY on the February grazed paddocks when he starts the second round. His revised target for having 66% of the farm grazed is now March 27th as opposed to St Patrick’s Day. While the temptation to slow down (or even stop grazing, as one farmer suggested!) is strong given that there is no growth, remember what it is you are trying to do by having cows out grazing at this time of year. Sure, you are trying to replace silage and concentrates in the cow’s diet with cheap, high quality grass but equally you are trying to open up the farm and activate the swards after a long dormant period over the winter. Think of it as being like pressing a re-set button on a pump or motor.
The other positive of the current spell is that Grass DM% is so high – there is a lot more feed out there than meets the eye or the shears/quadrant and especially the Platemeter!
I’m being repeatedly asked about the High DM “Brown stuff” and its feed quality. Research is telling us that it is 70-79%DMD – far better than Silage. It is all available for grazing in these conditions IF YOU THE MANAGER CHOOSES TO MAKE THE COWS GRAZE IT. If you are leaving this stuff behind in paddocks, effectively your AFC is significantly lower than you measured and as it will be dead and gone by April, a potentially large feed deficit is looming. So the “brown stuff” must be eaten.
Can Dry cows be used to remove this material? Yes is the answer, but it depends on your Stocking Rate and Calving Date and Rate. In the Northern half of the country I have come across farms that are stocked at 2.5 cows/ha or less and only two or three weeks into calving. They are successfully using a mob of Dry cows to fully utilise the higher, browner covers. The milking cows are then offered lower covers and as such are hitting target residuals without having to work terribly hard. The added bonus of this strategy of course is that this week’s Dry Cows will be next week’s milkers and such will be accustomed to grazing to low residuals when they join the milking group.
What will I do if growth doesn’t start soon? Again, a question that I am being asked on a daily basis. It is important that every farmer has a contingency plan for the second half of March. At this stage it is inevitable that there will be higher levels of supplementation required in late-March and early April to stretch out the first round. In most cases, concentrates will be sufficient to do this, but on higher stocked farms with 80% plus of cows calved at this time, it is likely that silage will have to be offered for some of this period. As silage is getting very scare on most farms, what is available should be preserved until later in the month and dry cows or young stock still indoors should be put on straw and concentrates until they can get to grass. Lots of farmer s have already turned their maiden heifers out to grass on out farms. Remaining dry cows will do fine on Straw and something like Soya Hulls + minerals and some Protein. Do you even need all these dry and later calving cows? Consider selling some if feed is scarce.
Keep a close eye on weather forecasts and if a change is coming be sure to have fertiliser out in advance of this and be ready to react to growth when it comes. Remember April 2007? Growth rates in the 70’s and 80’s per day in the first half of April and paddocks being skipped and baled. We’re only three weeks away from April now. Things can change very quickly at this time or year even if it does still feel like January outside. You have been warned!
