Autumn grazing plan essential for spring reward

摘要

Poor grassland management could have severe consequences for dairy farmers at turn-out this spring. Weekly pasture measuring and a focus on grass covers is driving profitability on an Irish dairy farm. Philip Donohoe's target was to close his coversat 550kg/lsu DM at the end of November. On 1 January he started monitoring weekly to ensure he maximised milk production from grass. Over a year his farm at BaUyellen, Goresbridge, has been known to grow 13,500t of grass. "The new grass year starts in September, that's when I begin planning to get the right amount of grass at turn-out on 1 February. Weekly monitoring is essential for this and it means we are in a position to react straight away," he explains.