The more grass in your cattle, the more profit you get out

The more grass you get into your cattle, the better your profit margin will be.

Of course, this is also determined by the quality of grass.

Sucklers have better quality milk on high-energy grass, and young stock have a far better daily gain. It all about energy in and energy out.

It has so far been a terrific year for grass growth. But grazed grass is difficult to manage, there is either too much or too little.

Any under-fertilised swards are currently quite stressed and heading out very quickly.

Grass growth has improved significantly on most farms with surpluses emerging for many. Heavier ground in particular is growing huge volumes of grass.

However, not everybody is happy, some experienced a mini-drought, resulting in stressed swards heading out early. Ground in general is very hard and although air and soil temperatures are excellent, there is in some regions a slight moisture deficit.

For those experiencing drought, it is essential that grass is managed very carefully. Try to slow the rotation, if growth has slowed. This requires feeding extra ration to those already being fed, and introducing ration to other stock, if needs be. It may also require feeding round bales, if available, to slow the rotation.

Stretching grass with

strategic feeding

Creep feeding suckler calves will help to reduce grass demand. Forward creep feeding of grass will also help; you can afford to let cows graze paddocks tighter while keeping calf growth rate up.

Feeding meal to forward stores on grass will slow the rotation, while getting animals used to meal before being pushed for finish. Some will also need to consider bringing in cattle intended for slaughter later in the year.

Commencing the finishing period a little earlier will take pressure of the grazing platform. Meal being fed on grass should not be too high in protein, as there is plenty of protein in grass at present.

Surplus grass

For those with a grass surplus, it is essential that it is taken out immediately. Lift the mower a little higher than normal in the paddocks, so that it is not too bare, to allow for quicker regrowth. Green fields grow faster than yellow ones, especially when it is dry.

Fly control

During any very warm spell, insects will be more common, and more irritating for cattle. If animals become affected by this, you may need to treat them for external parasites. Intakes will suffer in affected animals. Keep flies off autumn calvers, to help prevent mastitis issues.

Water

Keep a close eye on water supplies. Ensure cattle have sufficient water, they can become very stressed if dehydrated. Thirsty cattle eat less, resulting in reduced milk production, growth, weight gain.

Weight recording

Weighing suckler calves is the only way to get an indication of their mothers’ milk supply and quality.

Suckler calf performance must be used to make breeding and management decisions. I recently weighed autumn and spring born calves. One thing that stood out was the correlation between cow star rating and calf average daily gain. Milk is key to keeping costs under control in suckler herds.

Autumn calving

Autumn calvers will all be weaned in the coming weeks, if not already, and are not far off calving again. If you usually give them a mineral bolus, now is the time to do it.

Get calving boxes cleaned out in case you need to bring a cow with a difficult calving indoors for assistance.

Start looking at any repairs that need to be done to winter accommodation.

Grain storage

Clean out grain stores thoroughly before the harvest. It is critical that any meal storage facilities are spotless before the new grain is stored. This means power washing sheds and using an insecticide to kill any mites etc that might carry over from last season.