The strong North winds of the past ten days or have driven the ash cloud our direction again. We can also blame it for the lower than budgeted Growth Rates that are being experienced right across the UK and Ireland at the moment. Most farms that I have been on in the past ten days are growing 45-55 Kg DM/day. Historical growth rates on these farms for the first half of May have been in the 65-80 kg DM/day bracket.
How to react?
If these lower growth rates are also your experience, how are you going to react? Every farm is different so there is no “silver bullet” advice that will fit all farms. If you are growing less than Herd Demand – true of most highly stocked farms at the moment – the traditional response is to introduce some supplement in the form of concentrates. Skipped paddocks that are not yet baled are the cheapest form of supplement available in this case. This will be the most profitable option. However if grass cover in these paddocks exceeds 1900kg available (3400 total cover) then utilisation may not be optimum and a cheap energy supplement such as citrus may represent your best short-term option. Personally, if the grass is under my nose and the citrus is at the end of the phone and a cheque is required to get it to the cow’s throat, I would always do my utmost to supplement with grass. If the paddock looks messy afterwards, it can always be earmarked for baling later in the season.
If no skipped paddocks can be brought back in to the grazing rotation, then concentrates, in some cases up to 4kg are being fed. In this case, for the week ahead, calculate for your own situation how much concentrate is required so that your new Herd Demand will match the expected, North Wind influenced, Growth Rate. What may be 4kg for your neighbour maybe only 1.5 kg for you depending on stocking rate and growth potential of the farm.
If breeding is underway for a couple of weeks already, perhaps served maiden heifers could be moved off to an out-farm to reduce Demand on the milking platform. This is not an option on most farms in the Northern half of the country as they have mostly only commenced breeding in the past 7-10 days.
As I said at the onset, every farm is different. In most cases a combination of 2 or 3 of the strategies outlined above will bridge the current gap between Herd Demand and Growth Rate (Supply). Decide what is best for your farm and act decisively. Keep focussed on your Target Pre-Grazing Yield and try to offer this to the cows at all times to ensure optimum intakes.
Grazing Conditions
It may be colder than we’d like but the dry conditions are certainly welcome. Farmers in the West of Ireland in particular had forgotten what a dry May was like having endured very difficult conditions at this time for the past few years. Grass utilisation is – or should be – excellent, on every farm. Despite this, I notice some farmers are taking their eye off the ball as regards post-grazing residuals. However, on the majority of farms, graze-outs continue to be excellent and cows are quite happy to take residuals down to Zero (or lower – 1450 total cover), with no adverse effects on cow performance or condition. Excellent grass quality is assured for the next grazing. Topping will not be on the “To Do” list on these farms, keeping their costs and workloads lower.
Grass DM%
The ongoing Dry weather is lifting Grass Dry Matter % higher than would normally be expected for May. Figures of up to 20% and higher have been mentioned on some days. Most farmers tell me that the cows are confirming this by staying longer than expected in paddocks. Listen to your cows! Bear this DM increase in mind when walking your farms and allocating grass to cows.
Weather Forecast
I am always loathe to look for rain. Recent summer experience suggests that once it starts it won’t stop! Most farmers though, are looking skyward in hopeful expectation. Many reseeds are struggling to germinate or tiller. Growth rates are well behind budget as discussed. Silage crops are looking very light. However it does appear that our more familiar South Westerly mild but wetter air flow will return next week. Expect growth rates to surge when it does.
