Farmers urged to reduce daily grass demand in drought-affected areas

Soils in eastern and southern counties were forecast by Met Eireann to remain dry

Dairy farmer Mervyn Helen collects silage using a 1998 John Deere 6850 forage harvester. Mervyn milks a herd of 300 cows in Clonakilty. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Despite this week’s thundery downpours, many farms have a drought grass shortage, with average growth for this week as low as 28kg of dry matter per hectare per day in Co Carlow, but ranging as high as 59kg in Co Mayo.

In Munster, the grass growth averages predicted in the weekly Grass10 newsletter were 45kg in Co Clare, 43kg in Co Cork, 55kg in Co Kerry, 52 in Co Limerick, 30 on Co Tipperary, and 34 in Co Waterford.