Grassland management crucial for rest of the year
That means providing as much high quality grass as possible for mid-season grazing, when most of the milk is produced.
Even in normal years, co-op deliveries indicate there is very often deterioration in grass quality from late May onwards, with milk yields per cow and milk protein percentage usually taking a hit in mid-summer.
While early spring and late autumn grass is important, the most crucial and difficult time for grassland management is in mid-season. Mid-season grassland management is of extreme importance this year, following such a bad spring and early summer.
Most farmers will have to juggle between providing sufficient good grass for grazing and providing winter feed. Some compromises will have to be made, but one area where compromises should not be made is in grass quality.
Farmers on dry land have had the opportunity to graze out pastures well without too much damage. As a result, those pastures generally contained good quality grass in May. Never was there such a difference between dry and heavy land as there has been in the last 14 months.
Despite their best efforts, farmers in heavy land areas have damaged pastures in April and early May, with resultant suppression of growth.
In some areas, there was little or no grazing, resulting in the well-recognised feed crisis which is still severe in parts of the country.
Some farmers are under a lot of pressure and the priority in these situations is to mind their health. Everything else will sort itself out in time.
Where grazing in poor conditions has taken place, it was almost impossible to graze tightly down under two inches, resulting in high, fibrous stubble remaining.
This stubble has to be grazed or topped to under two inches as soon as possible, in order to provide high quality grass for the rest of the year.
The most important task for every farmer now is to get grassland back into good shape after a very difficult and costly period. A lot of top seeding and reseeding is required.
Adequate fertiliser has to be applied.
High-N compounds containing N, P, K, and sulphur will be required, where these nutrients may be low.
Extra nitrogen (within nitrate regulation limits) will be required sooner rather than later, to avail of good growing conditions.
The period for application of chemical fertilisers has been extended for an extra two weeks, up to and including Sept 30.
Phosphorous is essential for grass growth, but many farmers had been left with a significantly reduced phosphorus allowance in the nitrates regulations which require that chemical fertiliser phosphorus is reduced in line with concentrate feeding.
Normally, for every tonne of concentrate fed, the maximum amount for application of available fertiliser in the form of phosphorus is reduced by 5kg.
This has been amended, resulting in the first half-tonne of concentrate fed per dairy cow or livestock equivalent equalling 85kg of nitrogen excretion is being discounted when calculating fertiliser phosphorous allowances.
