Grass Growth Rates

Grass is hammering on. Measured last night in Galway and we have had an average of 50 per day over the last 7. Approximately 35 in leitrim, but we have a lot of grass built up and the bigger problem that we face after this is deteriorating ground conditions.
 
Cover 717, and rising thank fook. C/Lu 275, Demand 26 (feeding 6kg in the parlour, and all youngstock on plenty meal also). Some very good regrowths over the last few days with more rain, if we can get 2weeks growing 40/50 that would take the AFC back up towards 900. Nothing closed off yet but will have to pull the pin soon and graze paddocks beside the parlour.
 
jay gatsby said:
Teagasc will be at your door to string you up for comments like that!
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Lol where teagasc are actually right! I'm gonna close up at an AFC of around 600, with the hope that this will have risen to 1000 by feb. If you skin the place in nov then everywhere will be skin still in feb. We can always get something grazed during feb I find, even if its only days here and there with cows out for 2hrs at a time, that itself then encourages growth and should be something back by early April for round 2. Otherwise its go out and buy 2 months of silage to be fed during feb/march, and that simple isn't available to buy here in the East coast.
 
Growth has come to a crashing halt this week. We are eating off the wettest ground as bare as possible (it is quite dry) because it will be may before they go near it again. Not going so hard on dryer ground because it will be first grazed in spring. They are going through grass quite fast. By mid week next week we will be starting to house and we will wean calves. We will let the calves go again if the ground stays dry into November.
 
Blackwater boy said:
Who told you there was frost!!!!!!
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He heard it on the radio :laugh:

Down to the last two weeks or so here now. All wet paddocks grazed off and just on the few dry fields now plus a middling paddock.

Never had such pleasure with stock at this time of the year and thrive is much better than other years too.

I'm hearing dairy lads saying cows are milking way better at the moment than usual.
 
Our milk lorry driver has seen a big drop in milk collections in the last week. We must be the only ones doing things backwards, we start our last rotation on the driest paddocks to have grass on them first for the Spring, it's worth a lot more then.
 
AFC 678 (dropped slightly from 720 10days ago), SR 2.5, but keeping demand matching growth around 25 by feeding the milkers 6kg. Barely hanging in here, the rain came too little and far too late. Started closing off last week, bit later than usual but beggers cant be choosy, I don't want to open the pits here yet. Cows very happy tho (lazy as fook to come in, go out, do anything at all ha), and grazing conditions a dream for this time of the year.
 
Cows off the meadows in galway since October 26th. They got lime. They have been growing mad up to this. Stores were moved off some of the wetter pasture on the same day and again, growth has been exceptional.
It will hopefully make for an early spring once ground conditions aren't too bad.
 
muckymanor said:
Cows off the meadows in galway since October 26th. They got lime. They have been growing mad up to this. Stores were moved off some of the wetter pasture on the same day and again, growth has been exceptional.
It will hopefully make for an early spring once ground conditions aren't too bad.
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I only have the heavy cattle in here. The stores are out and happy as anything to be out. Ground is holding up remarkably and I went for a walkabout this morning and one thing I can't get over is land is still soaking water. Shores are for the most part dry and most drains here only have a trickle in them. God only knows what sort of a winter we're in for yet?.
 
diesel power said:
I only have the heavy cattle in here. The stores are out and happy as anything to be out. Ground is holding up remarkably and I went for a walkabout this morning and one thing I can't get over is land is still soaking water. Shores are for the most part dry and most drains here only have a trickle in them. God only knows what sort of a winter we're in for yet?.
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Don’t worry we are taking all the rainfall for the rest of the country with the last 20 days, it makes no difference as this is the season for it but by Jaysus we are after a seriously wet Month of November, I’ve no gague but must have had at least an inch today and still at it, seems to be the wettest November we had in years. @CORK have you any data from this month?
 
Blackwater boy said:
Don’t worry we are taking all the rainfall for the rest of the country with the last 20 days, it makes no difference as this is the season for it but by Jaysus we are after a seriously wet Month of November, I’ve no gague but must have had at least an inch today and still at it, seems to be the wettest November we had in years. @CORK have you any data from this month?
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Not a drop fell here although it was a horrible miserable looking one all day. It lashed down here Tuesday evening, all that night and most of Wednesday as well and I was amazed on closer inspection this morning to see the land is holding it all so far. No doubt I'll regret saying that and in a weeks time I'll be highlighting this post saying "never mind" the mud and skutter has returned in Biblical volumes :rolleyes2:.
 
Blackwater boy said:
Don’t worry we are taking all the rainfall for the rest of the country with the last 20 days, it makes no difference as this is the season for it but by Jaysus we are after a seriously wet Month of November, I’ve no gague but must have had at least an inch today and still at it, seems to be the wettest November we had in years. @CORK have you any data from this month?
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7 inches up to last weekend according to my neighbour and another 2 this week i,d say, heard a woman from sligo on the radio today saying it weas beautiful up there today while its been a wet day down here
 
diesel power said:
I only have the heavy cattle in here. The stores are out and happy as anything to be out. Ground is holding up remarkably and I went for a walkabout this morning and one thing I can't get over is land is still soaking water. Shores are for the most part dry and most drains here only have a trickle in them. God only knows what sort of a winter we're in for yet?.
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Nothing in here yet, will be putting in some by the middle of next week and it looks like a colder wetter week ahead, the rest will be going in a week later, as you say land is taking it well so far and a few weeks shaved off this end of the housing period, all depends on what sort of a spring we get but for the last few years it seems to be later than what was the norm.
 
Am I just imagining it or has there been some serious growth in the last week? Meadows that got lime in October have a serious coat of grass even though they were ate off at the end of October. I was out for a walk last night with the flashlight and noticed along the verges of the lane where we had ran the hedgecutter that a lot of green shoots have started to come up. We'll pay for it all yet I expect!
 
Would agree.we closed at 480 so need a nice bit of growth over the winter .walked the farm yesterday and grass is moving away nicely
 
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