Grazing 2021

Base price

whelan2 wrote: »

Was outside there now. It's very cold. Fire lit in mid May. Madness

We've had a few heavy downpours from 3ish, it got chilly and I lit the fire at 5.

Hershall

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Growth is absolutely brutal. There is a few silage fields closed since start of april and they are only at a strong grazing height. You would be hoping growth would take off any week but its not happening

Same here growth is brutal. Spread fertiliser again over the grazing ground this week never had to do that before in May and I have less cattle due to beam and price of stores only for that Id have some back in

Mooooo

Pissing rain here all evening. Growth of 65 in the last 6 days, it's improving alright but wet weather and lower DM of grass has stock unsettled, will have paddockor two to take out when weather clears to keep covers right, won't be able to wait for them to go in with first cut. Have been following cows with 20 units N, 2k gallons parlour washings/ watery slurry on some paddocks instead. Walk the farm every week, or few days, you'll be surprised how things will change

green daries

Mooooo wrote: »

Pissing rain here all evening. Growth of 65 in the last 6 days, it's improving alright but wet weather and lower DM of grass has stock unsettled, will have paddockor two to take out when weather clears to keep covers right, won't be able to wait for them to go in with first cut. Have been following cows with 20 units N, 2k gallons parlour washings/ watery slurry on some paddocks instead. Walk the farm every week, or few days, you'll be surprised how things will change

Are you still buffering and what with if you are just out of curiosity still buffering here straw and silage

Bass Reeves

green daries wrote: »

Are you still buffering and what with if you are just out of curiosity still buffering here straw and silage

I be surprised if any dairy farmers is not buffering. Had half my stick back inside for a week. Have started feeding ration to a finishing bunch and have left the one inside out to clean paddocks after them. Have eaten part of one sage paddock will have to use half another one as well

Alibaba

Will have to put in some of my stock tomorrow for probably at least a week to give the grass a chance to build up.
Some of the heavy ground getting cut up and whatever bit of grass being trampled.

Mooooo

green daries wrote: »

Are you still buffering and what with if you are just out of curiosity still buffering here straw and silage

Not buffering, getting 5kgs 14% in parlour, haven't gone in with silage since they went out fulltime once they could stay out weather wise.

The ice cold rain in May is a killer

Good loser

Put in 21 stores on Sunday and grazed 1 acre silage ground so far - with 14 large stock.

Alibaba

Good loser wrote: »

Put in 21 stores on Sunday and grazed 1 acre silage ground so far - with 14 large stock.

I'll be doing the same today. Putting in around 20 stores.
Even though there's a slight improvement this week in growth its still only March weather !

CloughCasey1

It's getting a bit hairy here. I've started the third graze on some paddocks this week. I haven't been forced into ground closed for hay or silage. Just about staying ahead of them with grass. 50 x 15 to 26mt olds out on 30 acres. I wont house. Ground like concrete here so will stick in a ring feeder and feed with grass to slow down if needed. Upping meal for the heaviest 20 to get them ready for slaughter thwt bit sooner to slow those on grass. Grass is very dry here almost crisp. They seem to be thriving away on it and cleaning out paddocks very well. I took a chance on sibclair magill grass seed while reseeding over the last few years that performs well in colder conditions into the spring/autumn. Better be lucky than good some times.

bogman_bass

Cordless grass trimmer in Aldi tomorrow week if anybody wants to do cut and weight

Timmaay

13mm today, heat, and loads of sunshine. Rocketfuel for grass, woohoo.

green daries

bogman_bass wrote: »

Cordless grass trimmer in Aldi tomorrow week if anybody wants to do cut and weight

We would need a hoover around these parts to collect the grass lol

Dunedin

Timmaay wrote: »

13mm today, heat, and loads of sunshine. Rocketfuel for grass, woohoo.

We had great growing humid day here in the midlands but heavy rain last night and very heavy showers again today so ground getting soft especially the re-seeds.

StevenToast

Im glad of the few spare bales of silage....ill never look to sell old silage again...priceless!

Robson99

Going to put in 20 stores. Ground absolutely saturated here after today's rain. They are only walking grass into the ground and bogging the place. Better off in for a few days

Good loser

Timmaay wrote: »

13mm today, heat, and loads of sunshine. Rocketfuel for grass, woohoo.

Very significant growth today.

lab man

StevenToast wrote: »

Im glad of the few spare bales of silage....ill never look to sell old silage again...priceless!

Old hay old gold

Hershall

Going to put in some tomorrow for a week or 10 days hopefully the place will dry out and grass will grow!!!!

StevenToast

Is there ne'ery abit of growth at all?!!

Danzy

StevenToast wrote: »

Is there ne'ery abit of growth at all?!!

Enough to make a field look better but that's about it.

Possible it is speeding up these days. Hope so.

Base price

I walked fields on Thursday that got slurry 3 weeks ago and you could still see it in places but it's a different picture this morning. The grass is jumping out of the ground.

minerleague

surprised how sticky the top surface got ( joys of farming in heavy yellow clay i suppose) considering how dry ground had been. Plenty silage bales left over so low growth suited me this year

Good loser

Hershall wrote: »

Going to put in some tomorrow for a week or 10 days hopefully the place will dry out and grass will grow!!!!

Ground is drying out quickly. And really fast growth. Don't feed too many bales.

Dunedin

Hershall wrote: »

Going to put in some tomorrow for a week or 10 days hopefully the place will dry out and grass will grow!!!!

I let 16 back into the bird cover again with a round bale. There’s a pick grass init too . Normally have it sown by now so glad I haven’t. Got a ton of sulpa can to shake on 16 acres of reseeded paddocks so a week in bird cover will give that a chance

MfMan

Robson99 wrote: »

Going to put in 20 stores. Ground absolutely saturated here after today's rain. They are only walking grass into the ground and bogging the place. Better off in for a few days

Where is that? Conditions where I am in N Galway not so bad, not too much rain, but no growth due to lack of heat.

Mooooo

Growth is taking off here, dry breaks in weather to manage the grass will be the issue now

Dozer1

great growth here last 2 days in Limerick lovely soft rain and temp well up, place is greening up nicely

mayota

Put them in this evening. Grass very tight.

whelan2

At least you have feed for them

mayota

whelan2 wrote: »

At least you have feed for them

My brother has plenty pit left over. A week should make a great difference.

Alibaba

Fine set up.
I had to do the same last Saturday.
Disaster... but at least I've plenty of bales.
Supposed to get warm last week in May.. here's hoping huge burst of growth.

Hershall

mayota wrote: »

Put them in this evening. Grass very tight.

Put in some bks on monday to give fields a chance to recover. Theyre settled grand now hoping to get them back out next week as fields are greening up.

memorystick

It’s getting messy now. How are calves doing this year? Very hard on them with cold rain and no growth.

Dunedin

Dunedin wrote: »

I let 16 back into the bird cover again with a round bale. There’s a pick grass init too . Normally have it sown by now so glad I haven’t. Got a ton of sulpa can to shake on 16 acres of reseeded paddocks so a week in bird cover will give that a chance

Field was swimming after last night rain with zero dry lying for them so into the shed this evening. Hated doing it but no choice.

cacs

Dunedin wrote: »

Field was swimming after last night rain with zero dry lying for them so into the shed this evening. Hated doing it but no choice.

How are you finding grass this week. My farm cover is dropping like a stone at 550kg today. The cold weather and rain over the last week sent me into a tail spin. I may have to rehouse again.

Alibaba

cacs wrote: »

How are you finding grass this week. My farm cover is dropping like a stone at 550kg today. The cold weather and rain over the last week sent me into a tail spin. I may have to rehouse again.

Growth seems very slow.
Also ground very wet

Jb1989

Alibaba wrote: »

Growth seems very slow.
Also ground very wet

Its moveing here in monaghan. Old Ground I slurried 7 days ago is booming.

Bass Reeves

Jb1989 wrote: »

Its moveing here in monaghan. Old Ground I slurried 7 days ago is booming.

Ground really needed extra p&k this spring.

Jb1989

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Ground really needed extra p&k this spring.

I'd say your 100 percent right.

Alibaba

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Ground really needed extra p&k this spring.

Looks like a very good point ..

Dunedin

cacs wrote: »

How are you finding grass this week. My farm cover is dropping like a stone at 550kg today. The cold weather and rain over the last week sent me into a tail spin. I may have to rehouse again.

Grass not too bad and cattle let back out this evening. They’re on reseeded ground which got 2.5k slurry in March followed by 2 bags/acre of pasture sward and then got 1.25 bags/acre of sulpha can two weeks ago so it’s doing very well again.

I was all set to give them another bale this evening which would have left them in til Thursday but walked through it going herding the others and couldn’t believe how it dried so let them out again.

memorystick

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Ground really needed extra p&k this spring.

I need to do soil samples. I’m tight for grass. Tis one of the negative aspects about having sheep for the winter.

cacs

Dunedin wrote: »

Grass not too bad and cattle let back out this evening. They’re on reseeded ground which got 2.5k slurry in March followed by 2 bags/acre of pasture sward and then got 1.25 bags/acre of sulpha can two weeks ago so it’s doing very well again.

I was all set to give them another bale this evening which would have left them in til Thursday but walked through it going herding the others and couldn’t believe how it dried so let them out again.

I only have a small farm.
I went out with store Cattle on the 24 of Feb. I had them in for 17 days since. The cows and calfs have be in and out more times than i know. I am well into my third rotation. But it has been a very tough few months. I am based in the west and not in good ground. The land got Slurry in Early Feb followed by 30 Units of Nitrogen to the acre in March followed by 2 bags of 18.6.12.3S in April and now i am going back in with Prtoected urea 27 Units / acre every 20-25 days. My grass is mainly old and this is my real problem its nots not weather. It does not have the power. On my reseeded paddocks i have grown 4500kg of DM/ ha and on my old pastures i have grown 1800-3000kg / dm/HA.

Dinzee Conlee

cacs wrote: »

I only have a small farm.
I went out with store Cattle on the 24 of Feb. I had them in for 17 days since. The cows and calfs have be in and out more times than i know. I am well into my third rotation. But it has been a very tough few months. I am based in the west and not in good ground. The land got Slurry in Early Feb followed by 30 Units of Nitrogen to the acre in March followed by 2 bags of 18.6.12.3S in April and now i am going back in with Prtoected urea 27 Units / acre every 20-25 days. My grass is mainly old and this is my real problem its nots not weather. It does not have the power. On my reseeded paddocks i have grown 4500kg of DM/ ha and on my old pastures i have grown 1800-3000kg / dm/HA.

Not having a go now, but does it pay to be going out that often with fertilser?

I'm in the same boat myself a small bit, and maybe the answer is to reduce stocking rate rather than spending more money on fertilser...

Kevhog1988

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Not having a go now, but does it pay to be going out that often with fertilser?

I'm in the same boat myself a small bit, and maybe the answer is to reduce stocking rate rather than spending more money on fertilser...

Found that worked for me. reduced ewe numbers and had a higher lambing percentage. Better sending one ewe to the ram in great order and getting twins than two ewes in poor order and getting 2 singles is my way of looking at it.

ABitofsense

Walked the land this evening, paddocks finally starting to take off. Cows in nearly 2 weeks now so plan on letting them back out this Friday. Hopefully it stays this way for awhile

Alibaba

cacs wrote: »

I only have a small farm.
I went out with store Cattle on the 24 of Feb. I had them in for 17 days since. The cows and calfs have be in and out more times than i know. I am well into my third rotation. But it has been a very tough few months. I am based in the west and not in good ground. The land got Slurry in Early Feb followed by 30 Units of Nitrogen to the acre in March followed by 2 bags of 18.6.12.3S in April and now i am going back in with Prtoected urea 27 Units / acre every 20-25 days. My grass is mainly old and this is my real problem its nots not weather. It does not have the power. On my reseeded paddocks i have grown 4500kg of DM/ ha and on my old pastures i have grown 1800-3000kg / dm/HA.

I'm in a similar position. Been a really tough few months.
Still have around 30 stores inside , land swimming , grass very slow to grow on my old pastures also.
I'd say I was spoiled the last 3/4 years as loads of grass everywhere and thinking every year would be the same.
How quickly we forget the bad Springs.
Too many cattle now , will have to cut back.
Not going through this again.

Kevhog1988

Guaranteed a hape of sun now for at least a week lads, I spread 2 bags of fert last night and it never rains for a week after i do it