How much grass have you?

blue5000

Just wondering what sort of grass covers ppl on here have?

We are on the last paddock in the first round with cover of 1800kg and the so called 'magic day' seems to be delayed for a while. Cows may have to graze another silage paddock that was grazed in january before I close it up. I'd rather do this than re-open silage.

The last of the dry cows went out this week, they are topping behind the main bunch of calved cows.

Things will be very complicated here in about a month as calved cows will be divided up and running with 3 different stock bulls so I'm trying to get the farm set up for that too.

Muckit

Great growth here up until 2 weeks ago. Grass hasn't grown much since. Not alot of regrowth on paddocks that have already been grazed. Still grazing out silage ground until prob Thurs or Fri.

The weather is very funny. Was off a few days fencing this week and I got sunburnt and pelted with hailstones on the same day! Need a bit of heat, and not just the unnatural magnified type from the sun shining through the clouds

PMU

about 170kgs per cow,too low for mid april, so they are getting 6kgs ration.still waiting for magic day

bob charles

so how is this wedge, ball, corner whatever its called working. Have adequate grass but supplementing heavy on grass to keep things constant. Lots of lads with too many animals let off with no grass. If you wondering why grass isnt growing get your spade out and turn over a sod and feel the ground 2" down. Its only bloody the 14th of April, grass dont grow properly till the 1st of May

stanflt

farm cover of 801- 3.68/ha stocking rate- demand is 1428/day or 58/ha-cover per lu=218

growth rate of 52per day should be up to 70next week- will prob start taking out for short term silage in 10-12days

cows doing 33.12litres in the tank at 3.78fat and 3.48protein- 2.48kg/milk solids per day-

1/2 way through second round - d day was 31march
todays cover is 1500 and was grazed 44days ago

grange mac

Lads,

Dont know ye work out growth rates, all I know is small farmer, with loads of grass, stock rate 0.3 lu ph...have over 60 acres grass, so at moment not even planning to put out fert this year. My problem liiks like water, all wells & springs going well down and its only april

blue5000

I reckon there is a huge variation between SW and rest of the country, also heavier stocked farms vs lighter stocked farms.

Lighter stocked farms don't have as many decisions to make, only problem is maintaining quality, whereas ppl stocked at >3 LU/ ha have a lot more thinking to do!

1chippy

Not too bad here. started rotational grazing this year and cleaning off paddocks. its making a huge difference. only problem is getting the sucklers used to electric fences. main problems is diseases and messing with the calves. everything from cocicdousis, pneumonia, joint ail, premature birth, a ceasarian and just general hardship keeping the animals alive to eat the grass. have the vet doing up a herd health plan so, it might leave it easier next year

johngalway

Lots of grass here for the moment thank God.

kevthegaff

i have feck all!

redzerologhlen

A bit of picking said the auld lad......slim pickings says I

case 5150

160kg/lu, paddocks grazed off is burned yellow, nothing coming after the cows, 102/110 calved and feeding 5kgs meal and 4kgs silage, in dire straights if things dont improve this wk cows be forced back in at night, please god send wet MILD weather quick

dar31

case 5150 wrote: »

160kg/lu, paddocks grazed off is burned yellow, nothing coming after the cows, 102/110 calved and feeding 5kgs meal and 4kgs silage, in dire straights if things dont improve this wk cows be forced back in at night, please god send wet MILD weather quick

very similar situation, 170 kg/lu, no regrowth, farm at 580 kg and stocked at 3.5lu.
spring calvers are getting 3kg and autumn calvers are on grass only, will have to introduce maize again later in the week if things don't get better, no sign of milder weather for the next week.
have been lucky enough to have been able to de stock the farm for 5 days, which has eased the pressure a bit.
dont fancy starting the feeder again.

keep going

it is really tight, the only stuff there is grass on is stuff that was grazed early.only luck i have is im turning the cows to an outside block that was meant for dry cows/heifers which i have kept in and i am buying bales for(cheap anyway-cheaper than i can make silage off rented ground)i keep looking at the date on the phone saying it ll take off soon:(

GERMAN ROCKS

i am getting tight for grass now too. i have my silage ground closed off since paddys day but will have to eat into one of those fields during the week i think. so my plan is that hopefully in 3 weeks when grass will start growing mad (hopefully) i will take out this paddock for reseeding with another one which i had already planned and i will keep extra paddocks for second cut and these paddocks newly reseeded paddocks should be growing nicely by end of june. but thats just my plan for now anyway.

Birdnuts

johngalway wrote: »

Lots of grass here for the moment thank God.

Same on the place in North Mayo - alot of cold rain in the forecast for the rest of the month so stock won't be long gettin through it!!

johngalway

Birdnuts wrote: »

Same on the place in North Mayo - alot of cold rain in the forecast for the rest of the month so stock won't be long gettin through it!!

Must be Summer again :pac:

cjpm

Farm is quickly turning into a golf course.... Feic :eek:

Upped the meals a bit yesterday...

Thinking of spreading slurry on ground that was grazed tight, about 1000 gals/acre to speed things up. Will it go any good? It wouldn't make the grass sour would it? Cows will be back to the field in about 4 weeks...

snowman707

re growth is very slow especially after the sheep, only the early flock and the dairy cows on the home farm,

have about 10 days before we will have to take any changes if growth does not take off

feeding about 3 kgs in the parlour and cows have access to silage after morning milking

on a + note cows are milking very well , with good solids

and lambs are thriving, & killing out very well,

will be drafting lambs every 7/8 days instead of the usual 10 to 14 days

whelan1

walked farm this morning, plenty of grass but recently grazed fields are struggling, cows on reseeded ground, with covers of 1600 , this was grazed by sheep earlier on, then have a few 1200, 1100 paddocks , that they wont get to til next week... have alot of ground under them though sr of 2.7/ha

bob charles

forum members always seem to have grass in Leinster. maybe there is good reason so why the land values up there are so high

johngalway

bob charles wrote: »

forum members always seem to have grass in Leinster. maybe there is good reason so why the land values up there are so high

What part of the world are you in Bob?

eorna

think the problem is more dry than cold, altough cold is not helping..tried to sink a few posts this morning and it was like sinking them in concrete!!!:mad::mad:

theroad

Grass covers here (E. Limerick) are back for this time of year. Our "magic day" should have been about 7 to 10 days ago, but the regrowths are still very slow. The cows are well into the second round already and there's no great sign of an improvement on the way this week. They're milking well though, and grazing out the paddocks well, so when the growth comes it'll be good quality.

I have an idea that the grass plant grows roughly the same amount of DM each year, even if the timing of it varies. That may be bo*****ks, but if it's right then there'll be a huge flush of grass when growth does take off.

whelan1

ye guy that was doing the walk with me today, showed me how the grass on the recently grazed paddocks is turning purple, still great to get out for a walk to clear the head with kids back at school - bliss:)

Username John

whelan1 wrote: »

ye guy that was doing the walk with me today, showed me how the grass on the recently grazed paddocks is turning purple, still great to get out for a walk to clear the head with kids back at school - bliss:)

Why is it turning purple, whats the cause?

whelan1

between the frost and the dryness... i have put fertiliser on these fields, hopefully the rain will sort them out, also hope the 10 drops of rain we are after getting is not our lot, need a good bit of rain

PatQfarmer

1chippy wrote: »

Not too bad here. started rotational grazing this year and cleaning off paddocks. its making a huge difference. only problem is getting the sucklers used to electric fences. main problems is diseases and messing with the calves. everything from cocicdousis, pneumonia, joint ail, premature birth, a ceasarian and just general hardship keeping the animals alive to eat the grass. have the vet doing up a herd health plan so, it might leave it easier next year

With a Herd Health profile like that, have you tested for BVD?
Had it on mine. Amazing difference once they are taken out.

Username John

Well - we are getting a good drop of rain today in Cork. Started a few hours ago, and is fairly constant...

PatQfarmer

Grass very tight with us. Started 2nd rotation end March, ahead of schedule and very little growth since. Did a good bit of buffer feeding in fields to slow it down. Dry and cold. Stopped a bit for reseed as well, so tightened again. Hope it will be in rotation in 6-8 weeks, so pressure may be off then...I hope:eek:

cjpm

cjpm wrote: »

Thinking of spreading slurry on ground that was grazed tight, about 1000 gals/acre to speed things up. Will it go any good? It wouldn't make the grass sour would it? Cows will be back to the field in about 4 weeks...

Any opinions folks?? Ye are a clever bunch!

Tipp Man

cjpm wrote: »

Any opinions folks?? Ye are a clever bunch!

should be grand as long as slurry is not too thick

Add plenty of water and you will see a great response

If slurry is watery then a small drop of rain will stop grass taint

bob charles

what happens on this Magic Day? does grass just appear from no-where. do you have to be a member of a group or what to be so lucky

PatQfarmer

bob charles wrote: »

what happens on this Magic Day? does grass just appear from no-where. do you have to be a member of a group or what to be so lucky

:D:D Hope my Magic Day comes soon! What about the Lotto?

Pharaoh1

cjpm wrote: »

Any opinions folks?? Ye are a clever bunch!

Should be ok - I spread about 1100 gals/ac of pig slurry on a few grazed out paddocks on Friday and Saturday. I have the option of wrapping them if they are not ok for grazing in the rotation.
Biggest problem here in the midlands is lack of moisture and rock hard ground. No rain worth talking about all last week and none today despite forecasts although it looks like we'll get plenty this week.
I could do with a drop to wash in the slurry and freshen up the other paddocks.
Strange the way things turn around - mid March grass was growing well but slowed down a fair bit now.
Upside is we can graze tight enough although March burst has left a couple of my paddocks strongish for proper cleanout.

bob charles

Pharaoh1 wrote: »

Should be ok - I spread about 1100 gals/ac of pig slurry on a few grazed out paddocks on Friday and Saturday. I have the option of wrapping them if they are not ok for grazing in the rotation.
Biggest problem here in the midlands is lack of moisture and rock hard ground. No rain worth talking about all last week and none today despite forecasts although it looks like we'll get plenty this week.
I could do with a drop to wash in the slurry and freshen up the other paddocks.
Strange the way things turn around - mid March grass was growing well but slowed down a fair bit now.
Upside is we can graze tight enough although March burst has left a couple of my paddocks strongish for proper cleanout.

you can graze pig slurry after a week or so, cattle take no notice of it

Pharaoh1

bob charles wrote: »

you can graze pig slurry after a week or so, cattle take no notice of it

Some of it is very watery and you would hardly notice it but sometimes it can be fairly mucky.
If you spread 2-3000 gals and got very dry weather the ground would stay pretty smelly for a while.
Normally though any sort of a shower at all and you could graze it in a week.

1chippy

PatQfarmer wrote: »

With a Herd Health profile like that, have you tested for BVD?
Had it on mine. Amazing difference once they are taken out.

meeting with the vet at the weekend to sort out everything.

PMU

bob charles wrote: »

what happens on this Magic Day? does grass just appear from no-where. do you have to be a member of a group or what to be so lucky

magic day is the day you grow more grass than you can use,in other words,grass takes off!

bob charles

PMU wrote: »

magic day is the day you grow more grass than you can use,in other words,grass takes off!

ah thats a pity so, as I cant remember in the last few years when we had a magic day. I will just whack on another 50units of N and hope for grass:mad:

topgeas

going, going , ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gone.

time for bales. outlook poor. am i the only 1.

refusetolose

about 4 grams

topgeas

refusetolose wrote: »

about 4 grams

Farmer Pudsey

At present the outlook is not great might have to re house some grass is slow however if weather changes it will take off. We need some warm muggy weather loads of N will not solve problem, I have grass my problem is that rotation is getting too close will consider housing the lighter cattle about 1/3 of the total number and try to keep the heavier forward cattle out.
Magic day is just a name for a day that growth takes off if you have too much grass at magic day you will have a problem with quality all year long if your rotation is too close you will be chaseing grass all summer long a few bale's now will solve the problem if the weather changes

Tipp Man

good grass ahead of the cows on their farm - some of it got too strong to graze so gave it an extra bag and stopped it. Will suit later on as it will be cut early and back in rotation before rest of silage which is also stopped 10 days now

Plenty grass ahead on cattle farm also - finding it hard to keep them on top of it

Growth slackened a lot last week - got too cold - but has picked up a bit this week - although growth still isn't as good as it should be

Must be lucky with weather judging by some on here

PatQfarmer

Tipp Man wrote: »

good grass ahead of the cows on their farm - some of it got too strong to graze so gave it an extra bag and stopped it. Will suit later on as it will be cut early and back in rotation before rest of silage which is also stopped 10 days now

Plenty grass ahead on cattle farm also - finding it hard to keep them on top of it

Growth slackened a lot last week - got too cold - but has picked up a bit this week - although growth still isn't as good as it should be

Must be lucky with weather judging by some on here

I'll put mine in the trailer now and drop them over.
Can't be having grass get ahead of your stock.
My Hfrs will skin it out well for you...they've eaten everything on my farm at this stage:D
Glad I have plenty haylage and silage...for now.

GERMAN ROCKS

the weather is something else. its after getting softish now in cork and they are making gaps a bit mucky. im going to bring them in the evenings before milking and they can have a bit of silage and then milk and let them out for the night again. i thought in january i would have loads of silage but im glad i have it now. calfs and yearlings still to be let out even though theres enough grass for them i just want to spare it incase milkers run short. milkers are milking excellent though

whelan1

yup no shortage of milk, last protein test here was 3.47:eek: had to read it twice

Muckit

bob charles wrote: »

what happens on this Magic Day? does grass just appear from no-where. do you have to be a member of a group or what to be so lucky

:D:D:D:D Who makes up all this lingo?

Imagine farmers on 'heavy land' are only on their first rotation (as reported in the IFJ)..... oh the shame!

am....... what about the lads that haven't or can't even let them out of the shed yet????

johngalway

Tipp Man wrote: »

good grass ahead of the cows on their farm - some of it got too strong to graze so gave it an extra bag and stopped it. Will suit later on as it will be cut early and back in rotation before rest of silage which is also stopped 10 days now

Plenty grass ahead on cattle farm also - finding it hard to keep them on top of it

Growth slackened a lot last week - got too cold - but has picked up a bit this week - although growth still isn't as good as it should be

Must be lucky with weather judging by some on here

And if you need any sheep to follow on from the cattle, I've none available cos I'm swamped in grass for the time being

But I'll let the neighbours know

HillFarmer

Had loads of grass back a month ago.
Now with all sheep and lambs in the low fields, I'm looking at regrowth in the first fields I grazed.

There is none!

No growth down here in a while South West , need some heat badly.