DairyCo

Forage for Knowledge Update - 2 June 2011

Published 2 June 11

Looking at the graphs which compare the results of Jono in Gloucestershire, who has set himself the challenge of improveing his grassland management, and experienced manager Michael Kyle in Dumfries, we can see that their ME and DM figures are similar.  This shows that Jono is meeting his challenge and that both are maximising their use of the plant and the conditions in terms of dryness and quality.  The challenge for all of our farmers is to continue to do this, as it is only through good management that they will reduce their level of exposure to risk and leave themselves with more options as the season continues.

In Cheshire, the dry weather has meant that farmer Phil Feeney has extended the grazing rotation length from a usual 20-21 days to 35 days to allow the grass time to recover.  

This is necessary with the dry conditions, but means that you must make sure you're controlling the time between grazings - the grass must have time to recover.  The most important thing is to be able to allocate grass at the three leaf stage to keep getting the maximum quality and quantity possible for the conditions.

Managing aftermaths is also important here, particularly when you're increasing the area in the grazing rotation to extend the round.  Avoid continuing to run cover down as this will seriously compromise re-growths as well as cow feeding.