advice on grass management this winter/spring

farmers101

hi was just wondering what is the best way to manage the grass this winter to make sure i have a nice amount of grass early in the year for sheep and calves?

eg spread fertiliser, muck,slurry etc?
How much of it? And when to do it? graze until?

Thanks

Greengrass1

farmers101 wrote: »

hi was just wondering what is the best way to manage the grass this winter to make sure i have a nice amount of grass early in the year for sheep and calves?

eg spread fertiliser, muck,slurry etc?
How much of it? And when to do it? graze until?

Thanks

Start measuring. Onlyvway. I started this yr with help from the lads on here. Well worth it. Im 120 bales of silage better off because of it. Not to mention more milk in tank

just do it

farmers101 wrote: »

hi was just wondering what is the best way to manage the grass this winter to make sure i have a nice amount of grass early in the year for sheep and calves?

eg spread fertiliser, muck,slurry etc?
How much of it? And when to do it? graze until?

Thanks

Download the teagasc grazing notebook from a Moorepark open day in 2009. (Hopefully it's attached).

It all comes down to your autumn rotation and closing fields.

just do it

Try again

restive

For farmers who followed the teagasc guidelines, from what date in spring were you able to start grazing from?

Buford T. Justice XIX

restive wrote: »

For farmers who followed the teagasc guidelines, from what date in spring were you able to start grazing from?

You can start whenever you want, Jan 1st to March 1st, but Feb 1st(first cows calved) is their target.

The earlier you start, the lower your daily allocation of grass to the cattle will be if you want grass in their diet every day. You need enough ground grazed at the start to have enough grown by the time you start the second rotation.

And almost all the grass eaten next spring will have been grown this Autumn/Winter so you will have to close early enough again to have the grass there to graze next spring. October 3rd I would count as the start of the last rotation here but it will vary according to stocking rate and rate of growth over the Winter.

I would be closing in the first week of October to have enough grass there for the cows to be out full time from Feb 1st but that suits my farm and stocking/growth rates. But it suits as a general rule and will get you started next spring, hopefully.

Hard Knocks

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

You can start whenever you want, Jan 1st to March 1st, but Feb 1st(first cows calved) is their target.

The earlier you start, the lower your daily allocation of grass to the cattle will be if you want grass in their diet every day. You need enough ground grazed at the start to have enough grown by the time you start the second rotation.

And almost all the grass eaten next spring will have been grown this Autumn/Winter so you will have to close early enough again to have the grass there to graze next spring. October 3rd I would count as the start of the last rotation here but it will vary according to stocking rate and rate of growth over the Winter.

I would be closing in the first week of October to have enough grass there for the cows to be out full time from Feb 1st but that suits my farm and stocking/growth rates. But it suits as a general rule and will get you started next spring, hopefully.

Do you let them overgraze the first & last rotation?
When would you spread the first & last Fertilizer/slurry etc

Buford T. Justice XIX

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Do you let them overgraze the first & last rotation?
When would you spread the first & last Fertilizer/slurry etc

No. Once it's closed, it's closed. If they eat the grass needed for Febuary in December, there won't be grass there for grazing in February.

Over two thirds of the grass grazed in February is grown the end of the previous year after closing up.

Last fert goes out start September and first towards end of Jan depending on the weather and soil conditions.

Last slurry out just before the closing date on the closed ground in the last rotation. First slurry again depends on weather and soil but mostly always in Jan.

Muckit

Are u stretching the grass now with bales at night?