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Grazing 2023

memorystick

I went walking the fields at the weekend. Not for the faint-hearted! I was surprised to see good covers on some of the fields even though ground is saturated. They got slurry at the end of the season last year and it really shows. Plenty of flowers on the furze and buds starting to appear. There's a certain teaser spring in the air.

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Dunedin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725851#Comment_120725851

Shook two ton on grazing today. It’s the weather for it and it lets me build up a bank of grass as I’m heavily stocked.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120726658#Comment_120726658

As long as you ve enough feed for the winter drink away

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725851#Comment_120725851

They say spread the bulk of your fertiliser in April May June as they are the peak grass growing months. Horsing out large quantities from July on you may as well go to the pub and drink it instead.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725851#Comment_120725851

You are probably not too far wrong. However it all depends on the system. I did not spread any less last year than other years and this year will be the same. I had about 40 bakes left over after the winter and first cut was actually heavier than last year because the spring was better to me.

I expect to cut much the same for second cut as I did last year. My demand is 250 bales, for a fairly normal winter like the last one. I should have 260+ between first and second cut

K.G.

I ll probably cop alot of flak for saying this but horse on the fertiliser for the rest of the year.everybody got into a habit of sparing last year and it continues this year as people were trying to hold off for dropping prices but the time has come to drop the hammer.in most yards last year there was more feed eaten than made and stocks were eaten into.we had an early enough winter which was one of the worst I ve ever seen for winter growth.we followed on to at best a mediocore spring and a much delayed planting season. Now we are in the teeth of a drought and while there was alot of good silage made it wasn't heavy and growing conditions since cutting have been poor on cut ground.what I am saying is in the last 12 months we have had a run of weather which if which could leave us in a very sticky place if the coming winter goes wrong

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725679#Comment_120725679

I have been topping ( actually cleaning heaver cover 24-48 hours before the finishing cattle move on) for the last three weeks.

Ya regrowth has been slow but as the weather was very dry when I cut silage I did not take out 4-5 acres of heavy paddocks. Cattle are now catching up with the grass.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725438#Comment_120725438

I've been topping all along, heavy ground though

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725209#Comment_120725209

Average 19.5 last collection, down from 28 the start of May.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725417#Comment_120725417

A lot will depend on whether you get rain or not. I got a right thunder shower about 6-8 hours after getting it spread. That would really give the N a good chance to go into the ground. I would be hoping for 5-6 in that situation.

joe35

Thinking of going topping tomorrow, a lot of fields have gone very stemmy.

It's very sandy ground with hills in it gone all yellow.

Would it be good to top this now with the bit of rain forecast

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725258#Comment_120725258

Yep, around 70 units is more than enough for second cut.

Agree about the slurry too, the watery the better at this time of year and I’d be calculating at 3-5 units per 1000 gallons best case scenario.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725041#Comment_120725041

9 units per 1k gallons would be tops even with a dribble bar or trailing shoe in this weather it could be half that unless you got rain after spreading. Dilution would help N if anything

IMO 70-80 units of N is plenty for second cut. It will tend to head out anyway. I generally like to cut 20-25th of July if possible.

Went with 1.5 bags of protected urea and sulphur (38N+7S) and about 3K gallons of diluted slurry via dribble bar (25-30%added water). I be calculating 70-75 units of N.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120725001#Comment_120725001

Would they be even doing 18 litres at that carry-on, they'll go down another 2-3 liters with the dm of whatever grass they can get into them been lower with the break in the weather

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120724777#Comment_120724777

Yeah it’ll grow a second cut if it’s good ground and as long as a bit of rain and heat comes. It’ll be stemmy though and head out quick. Often meant to graze after first cuts and it’d end up getting too strong. We’d let it bulk up and cut it. Would be grand.

Saying all that I’d put a couple of bags on it though if intending to cut. Have spread 2.5 bags of cut sward on ground this week for second cuts.

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120724777#Comment_120724777

9 units of n in 1000 gallons of undiluted cattle slurry so that’s 27 Units of nitrogen, you’d want 80 to 100 units an acre for second cut.

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120669314#Comment_120669314

Still on the same ground with less grass each rotation, the cows have a pick of grass in the evening and on bare ground during the day, milk yields slipping sharply.

memorystick

I cut silage this week and spread slurry at 4K gallons per acre (almost). Will that grow a second cut on its own? Thanks

StevenToast

I was just wondering if anyone used in line toppers?

I was thinking of changing my 7ft maxi float topper to a 9ft in line topper?

Any issues with them?

Mooooo

Not as warm today, yday or the day before. With the dry weather we've had no still day, a breeze or wind everyday, it's doing more drying than the sun. Literally had a few drops yday but only noticed it cos I was sat in the car.

Edit to add had a growth of 40 the last week, from here on out if rain doesn't come things will stop up quick enough.

whelan2

Are ye still getting hot days? It's only get-up to 14 or 15 here during the day and cloudly

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120693168#Comment_120693168

We are goosed here unless 30-50 ml is got shortly enough looking at the rainfall data for my area 2018 and if we see out June without the above rainfall levels we are in alot worse position than 2018, the east wind here has destroyed the place the last 3 weeks sucking moisture up out of the ground, you know your in bother when a bull delivererd yesterday from a ai rep from Carlow commented how yellow and scorhced the place was looking

Screenshot_20230609_073811_Chrome.jpg

Silverdream

Doesn't look like there's a pile of rain on the way over the next week. Forecasts have trimmed the rain back to light showers in places for a day or two over the next 10 days. Upland around me is roasted at the moment, grass is turning brown in places now. If we got a good shot of rain you'd see an explosion in growth with all the heat that is in the soil

Dan Gibbons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120670893#Comment_120670893

Sure is good to get work done on land that is normally wet.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120671738#Comment_120671738

There's a big difference between being on holidays doing nothing in the heat and working in the heat

kk.man

It's very hard to work outside in the middle of the day with this heat. I love the sun and tan no problem but never witnessed intense heat so early and fast after a deluge.

Jb1989

Middling land here in monaghan loving every minute of this dry spell.

older by the day

All good here. The cousin brought back 200 b&h from holiday.

On middling land cattle uses the grass a lot better than wet weather, where they walk and **** on it. Surely if things are tight 6kgs of the cheapest meal would lengthen thing out.

kevthegaff

Ya I won't graze top tight, spread most of darm with can and 18 6 12 5 days ago. Would ye spread dairy washings? Would ye spray for docks?

Silverdream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120669314#Comment_120669314

Weather forecast models updated again at 1pm. They are now showing dry hotter weather until at least the 15th. Lads really need to be on top of there game now to manage the grass. Over grazing isn't the solution as paddocks grazed down too tight will suffer more than those with some cover left on them

Tonynewholland

Where I am if the temperature goes to the mid 20s for a few days what grass that is there now would start to melt away. Slowing down the rotation doesn't always work out.