Beef grazing 2024

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122310790#Comment_122310790

The urea I spread this day last week is working well. I left a few patches (for demonstration purposes 🤣) without any and there is a noticeable difference already. I’m sorry I didn’t go out with more at the time or more yesterday. I will be buying protected urea from now on though.
We had a nice drop of rain today and a few days ago. Grass is finally starting to grow.
Second cut will be well ready in 2-3 weeks.

Bass Reeves

Still out getting to the end of it now but still 12-20 days to go depending on if it rains. Good growth still there. Moved heifers yesterday gone into half a 3.5 acre paddock it's split by a fence.18 of them they will get 6-8 days out of it. 4-5 bales of silage saved. They have another paddock tge same size to graze. It's not as heavy looking at housing them towards the end of November. I could start a small dairy herd in 2026 with some of what I have

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I says

Had the heaviest out the last week. Let the bull weanlings out Friday on silage paddocks. They can skin the place now the month of November and as far into December as I can get away with.

mr.stonewall

I let back out a bunch of weanlings on Friday. They came in the week of Halloween, think is was the Monday or the Tuesday that was wet

80 head of stock in and over a hundred out still. Plan is to keep them out as long as ground and grass allows. Growth has been excellent over the last week. Spring demand is not huge here as peak demand comes in late April. Priority will be get out yearlings in the spring followed by 30 2yrs olds and cows as they calve in April.

This weather is a small bit of kindest that we needed following the spell from July 23 to May 24 with wet. We can only farm the conditions in front of us and it's vital to make use of this spell as best we can as it will be kinder on our pockets, with savings on fodder, slurry storage and even diesel and power foddering indoors

Bass Reeves

skinning the place now will mean n grass until late March. IMO last spring was an anomoly. I have places closed since early October there will not be grazed again. If you have paddocks stick with your system. Even if you are tight with silage it important to remember you neeed grass next spring. those light covers that have greened up will be the places youcan graze early next year. I graze the silage ground first in the spring. Its all closed now for a couple of weeks. There is one paddock I am iffy about it has not got a huge cover but has not been grazed since late September. I must soil test it in february to see what is wrong with it.

Cavanjack

Am letting weanlings out as I buy them and hope to have them out till around Christmas time.
There are 50 or so there at the minute eating nice covers and I don’t mind grazing late as it’s never before mid March when we get cattle out here.
Have 40 heavy cattle out yet and these will come in this week or next. A mixture of 600kg bullocks and strong bulls. Any paddock closed up in the last fortnight won’t be grazed again even though they are growing away.

WoozieWu

Had a very poor response from protected urea this summer compared to can when spread at the same time

I am very reluctant to spread it again

Not recording but grass is still growing

Might be an issue with contamination when going with slurry in January or February here unless we get a very cold snap to stop growth dead

Mushy06

Weanlings all out here as well as '23 autumn calves. Heaviest all inside as coming fit for factory, i was going to off load weakest of heavy animals to Mart but TB test had other ideas this week.

incredible clean outs at the moment but the regrowth is phenomenal last in 2 weeks. Frost will probably put a halt to that this week

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122822798#Comment_122822798

Big difference between skinning a place and managing grass this back end. Growth rates have been above normal for the past month allowing for closing closing cover to build higher than you would like. Using some stock to pull them back a bit has to be done. Farming heavy ground and some of this ground could be lucky to see cattle late April, early May in a bad year. Throw heavy covers carried over the winter on this type of ground is a disaster.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122824633#Comment_122824633

I agree on heavy ground you should be cleaning out as you are unlikly to get out before early April. You definately need silage ground cleaned out in that situation. However on better ground its important if you want to get out early to leave covers develop. I never mind them being a bit strong. These will really allow you to get numbers out in February. These are also the paddocks that will respond best to early N being applied especially urea. Some lads on better ground cannot leave ablade of grass behind and will graze regrowths which never recover. About 8 acres closed by me is ground that will not be grazed until April. I could go back in but it would only add 3-5 days to the rotation for 20 cattle. However these covers in April will probably carry20 cattle for 3-4 weeks and its getting to the stage where a bite in the spring is better than two in the backend

Cavanjack

I’ve heard a lot of complaints about weight gain this year but considering the lack of grass this year I’ve found weight gain over the grazing season quite good. Especially the last 2 months.
I don’t weight everything going out and back in again but many of the bulls have done 1.2kg per day since mid March till housing at the start of November.
Other weanlings that were bought last November have done 1kg a day over the year which included a 4 month winter last year.
I’d take that performance any year.

limo_100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122828204#Comment_122828204

I found it poor this year but it accelerated in the back end I had one bb bullock out in the mart First week of sept was unsold and weighted 485kg same lad 4weeks exactly later was 540kg so gained almost 2kg a day and there's was lots of bidding for him was sorry I sold some of his commrades as I only took them out as the ground was getting wet

kk.man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122828892#Comment_122828892

Extremely hard to put flesh on cattle till mid September.

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122828892#Comment_122828892

I saw the same here between the start of sept and mid October. It was a strange year.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122829234#Comment_122829234

Why is that and was that just this year or every year you find ?

StevenToast

Blessed in this country with weather....cattle out on dry ground cudding away every day- the odd bale in a round feeder keeping them unbelievably content for this time of year.....

Im hoping to keep them out until New year ..

893bet

Housing cows at the weekend. Will keep out the few that is calves an extra week.

Weanlings and yearlings out for another 2 weeks. Not a bad autumn. Plenty of silage.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122836518#Comment_122836518

This year, first last winter was extremely long.most cattle were inside 150+ days compared to about 120 normally. Even at turnout there was poor thrive during April's and into May, thenfro mid May it was OK untl end of June after which we had a drought until late September

Dunedin

first cattle houses here this evening. More at the weekend.

kk.man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122836518#Comment_122836518

Not every year but this years grass growth was diabolical. I know it difficult to get a perfect year but flesh covers and dead weight was back.

I says

weanlings back in tomorrow and the heaviest can stay out for another week at least.

Kral101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122828204#Comment_122828204

That's very good going, as someone who's nowhere near that level how did you achieve that? Reseeded ground, meal at grass, dosing etc? Or all of the above

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122837931#Comment_122837931

The weanlings that were wintered last year were on very good silage and 2kg of meal up until the end of January. They grew well over the winter and had good frames and hit the ground running I suppose. Let them out the end of March even though the ground was wet. It didn’t do them any harm.
None of the ground is reseeded but they moved around paddocks at least every 5 days.
They were dosed going into the shed last winter and once during the summer.
Fed no meal to these at grass.

morphy87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840369#Comment_122840369

How long do you have them housed before you dose them?

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840412#Comment_122840412

Usually wait around a month.

morphy87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840429#Comment_122840429

I’d be the same but I’m just wondering with them been out a month longer should I do them sooner?

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840447#Comment_122840447

I wouldn’t think so as long as they are not scouring or coughing.
Plan on not housing this years weanlings until Christmas and will give them a month before dosing too.

morphy87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840510#Comment_122840510

18 months old cattle, would you dose quickly when housed if they were a little scoury?

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840634#Comment_122840634

Id probably do them a bit quicker alright if they were scouring but maybe could be just fresh grass? I’d do them for fluke round Christmas time or the new year though if worming now.

limo_100

have roughly 10days of grass left where the cows and calves are. But have another field in a different platform. Would it be worth my while weaning the calves in 10days and then letting the calves back out for say 3weeks or would the just be better off in the shed? I would leave the creep feeder with them if they where out.