The last early spring or dry March you rememember

Dickie10

Is it just me or does anyone think that growth seems later and later each year? i know in farmers journal they put a grass growth curve diagram each week and there is a black curve showing 10 year average, it seems it is always saying there a bih shoot up on growth around the first to second week off march and by ealry april we should be looking really good growth. it seems growth isnt really kicking in until about april 20th each year, if you were to go by experts cattle would be out around march 17th each year at least. has anyone noticed that black curve getting later if indeed it really is a 10 year average. just seems every march and early april is wet and cold.

orm0nd

autumn management has a lot to do with spring growth, we have good covers on fields closed october /early nov. these were skinned at time of closing

we had fields with grass late nov/early dec and the question whether to graze or leave , decided to graze as covers were heavy, and grazed with sheep , very little covers of them but got slurry in january and lovely re growth starting a few unit of n now and should take off

I haven't bought the journal in years so don't know about their "curves"

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121856010#Comment_121856010

Re growth curves in the IFJ: the accuracy of those graphs depends on what data they use. I'm assuming they don't map the country and get data from everyone, and it's more likely from PastureBase (which is mostly used by dairy farmers and the odd wannabe like myself!) or from research/demo farms (which are mostly on good soils and with plenty infrastructure/labour).

whelan2

April 10th was always the date to work towards cows being out at night here. Any day they are out before Patrick's day is a bonus. Bought 30 silage bales of silage this morning

Say my name

Anytime I do this, something goes wrong.

But personally for me it's been one of the best years for winter growth that has been here. I remember years where grass was still burnt out of it with the frost on 17th March. And there it is this year cows as they calve and grass available to graze. Cows are out three weeks at this stage by day and stay in on the wet days. Out yesterday, out today.

Every farm and district is different.

MfMan

Every year is different also. If you remember, February last year was almost totally dry, followed by a soaking March (and April to an extent). It put Spring grazing back a good bit. That's why I was not too sorry to see a bad month of February this year, get the bad weather out of the way to some extent hopefully. I usually have good covers of grass come Spring, and will need them this year, as silage is getting low and will have to let out some cattle at the weekend. It's usually 50/50 that I can get some out in early March.

Coolcormack1979

Haven’t had as much grass here in yrs on paddocks.got out with a half bag of urea on last Saturday in January as I’d let slip in past few yrs going early with urea.its paid off and am ready to go.cows out by day for past week or so and if it dries up I’ll let them off with the shed door open to come back in if they want.

often had cows out here by day in first week of feb and if weather allowed and grass available by nite.have to say after last ur here being the worst i had in 25 yrs at this crack I’m not stressing about it this time.i will take a wet February over last yrs March and April anyday.

lads need to stop stressing about some lula on the journal saying u need to have 30/40% grazed by some mysterious date or else your a bad farmer and haven’t a clue.

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121857313#Comment_121857313

In fairness cattle that do get out in February/early March do very well. Have a handful of yearling bulls out since mid January and they are flying it.

Coolcormack1979

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121857645#Comment_121857645

Agree.when possible I’ll go out early.about 10 yrs ago I let out a bunch of maiden heifers in mid February.lovely weather at the time and all going great till it bulled snow about 3 days later.they were in a very sheltered field so chanced them and they did grand.

Dickie10

are all of you just cattle of some description and cows? anyone have sheep ? also an annoying thing in farmers journal is they have sections on dairy ,beef,sheep and beef but they actually never have advice for the farmer with 70-100 cattle and maybe 100 ewes, im sure theres very few sheep farmers who have only sheep. sure a farm like that is totally different.

blue5000

Every year is different, but it feels like winter only starts on the 1st of February the last few years. Maybe it's because autumn/ early winter is getting milder and wetter.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121858597#Comment_121858597

Ya, id agree here dont know if its a long term trend or Im imagining it but i seem to get to late november/early mid december here over the past nimber of years with relatively good conditions and its only around mid jan/early feb the real miserable stuff starts

kk.man

i think 2012 was a very dry February to April. I had cattle out for almost the month of February, never happened before or since.

Austinbrick

March 2011 was very dry for 3 weeks at least.

The builder did the foundations of our house without any rain. Unusually fine.

cute geoge

But the problem is if you can not get cows out in the spring early,you wont make a brown cent so you have the journal boys on good ground with them out and Teagasc preaching to the rest of us to get them out on average ground that will poach if a shower of fog came in over Kerry head .So it a catch 22 save the ground and make shag all or try some bit of graing is the reality!!!

endainoz

March has been fairly forgiving so far, ground has dried fairly well with this drying easterly wind the last few days. It's a bit colder that average for the time of year though. Reasonable grass covers, will probably chance letting a few out into a sheltered field today. Decent amount of rains due later in the week so really hoping this won't horribly back fire. 🙈

dh1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865711#Comment_121865711

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867765#Comment_121867765

If I recall correctly 2011 and 2012 were two bad summers. Last January and Feb were great followed by a bad summer. Hopefully the poor early spring brings a good summer

Good loser

the crows started their nests on time this year anyway - March 1.

Dickie10

very little growth worth talking about before april as far as i can see the last few years

Jb1989

Frost on mayday this last few years. Spring is now winter