Grass Growth Rates

Heading back to ground that should be going for silage for the second time tomorrow,
Growth of 60 last week and looking like it’ll be lower for this week.
Finding it almost impossible to put grass in front of cows this year.
Grass quality gone to shite as well.
 
PRG needs to be fed to keep it in the sward and the feed needs to be there waiting for it rather than the PRG having to wait or go looking for it, I'd say.

Growth of 93 today, up from 71 5 days ago. I was taking out one scraggy paddock today but it looks like I'll have another 5 acres joining it now. Trying to cut off of paddocks with high P&Ks or rushes on it. I'll follow the cows with 2 bags of 8:8:15+S and do the same on the cut paddocks with 3,000gals of slurry/acre
I remember hearing a neighbour saying, that say you skip the nitrogen this round, based on your expecting a burst of growth and you think that there's enough in the ground already.
There will come up a crop of grass (assuming the weather stays favourable) but there's no feeding in it.
 
Heading back to ground that should be going for silage for the second time tomorrow,
Growth of 60 last week and looking like it’ll be lower for this week.
Finding it almost impossible to put grass in front of cows this year.
Grass quality gone to shite as well.
Unreal how every year is different. Instead of making bales farmers are feeding bales
 
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74 growth here .
We had a good bit of heat the last few days, first few days this year, which helped get the growth up a bit. I'm pulling back a bit on N this year but thinking I should be waiting a bit longer before doing it, maybe into the next round.
I kinda like a good surplus this round, a few baled paddocks is a big help in keeping quality good, I think?
 
Started rolling here, one block
Demand is 65, growth outstripping it by a nice bit, will up the demand to 80 tomorrow. 2k gls of slurry so far this year. Just on the 3rd round (hardly 4th?) so tipping on nicely. Will push the N now, when we have grow and hopefully high NUE.
 
Things have gone a bit crazy with growth around here. Nothing grew in April and the first half of may. Then things got really wet and cattle had to be rehoused. Growth is gone stone mad this last 2 weeks. If I wasn't in glass permanent pasture with some fields, I'd be taking them out for bales. Instead I'm going to strip graze some of it and try to make the suckler cows utilise as much of it as possible. Ground has dried really well this last 10 days as well. I'm grazing my wettest ground currently and doing no damage.

Very different story in galway. I got my rotation going very well after getting good growth from fertilizer spread in the first few days of march. It has tipped along nicely and fattening cattle are getting fresh grass regularly and thriving as a result. Ground conditions there have barely been threatened and it has been almost a perfect season albeit they were 2 weeks later getting to grass than normal. Have changed stocking pattern this year there too by adding an extra group of cattle meaning that numbers in each is smaller than other years and it appears to be working very well for us saving ground from poaching in wet weather and just giving the right amount of grass for a good rotation. Only by living do we learn.

I wouldn't say no to a few weeks of hot weather though.
 
Growth 99, demand 61. I have a few paddocks to take out again.

The warmth has really boosted the growth here too, Mucky. Once we get a bit of heat and a drop of rain, we grow a lot of grass here.
 
I was at the discussion group meeting today and we had a chat about my grass wedge. 2 more paddocks out this evening, another one going in with the main silage cut and another one I'll think about when I walk next Tuesday. Taking the first 3 out will bring my cover per cow down to 178 so it looks likely another one to come out with the growth rates so far above demand.

And I'm only following the cows with 16 units but the rain after a drought always releases a burst of N into the grass, so a small wait for silage as well.
 
I was at the discussion group meeting today and we had a chat about my grass wedge. 2 more paddocks out this evening, another one going in with the main silage cut and another one I'll think about when I walk next Tuesday. Taking the first 3 out will bring my cover per cow down to 178 so it looks likely another one to come out with the growth rates so far above demand.

And I'm only following the cows with 16 units but the rain after a drought always releases a burst of N into the grass, so a small wait for silage as well.
Would you be brave and pull a few extra paddocks out and “back” the growth? Seriously good forecast for next week. You’ll have your baler man driven mad!!!
 
Would you be brave and pull a few extra paddocks out and “back” the growth? Seriously good forecast for next week. You’ll have your baler man driven mad!!!
We'd normally do about 10 or so acres at a time so there would be around 40 bales being done each week so he's not idle when he comes. He can normally work me in with one or two others around the same time and generally gets paid going out the yard so I wouldn't say I'm being too hard on him :smile:
I'm wary about coming into CCs of under the 180 mark, a week here with no rain and growth drops down to the 30s and 40s. But I'm not long measuring grass so maybe I'll be taking out those extra paddocks when I get a bit more confidence in the figures. And my management of them..
 
I've a field of Westerwolds fast growing ryegrass that had 48 units of N 20 days ago.
It has flown at a serious pace. Up over my knees half way to my hips today (im 6ft) and sprouting heads.

At 2 units a day it shouldn't have much N left.
And in the ideal growing conditions it's had, am I fairly safe to cut today I wonder?
Fert was washed in that evening and it's been wet and warm since.
Will be well wilted before going into the bale.

I know I should test in doubt. But today is the only good window I have in the schedule untill next week really.
 
I've a field of Westerwolds fast growing ryegrass that had 48 units of N 20 days ago.
It has flown at a serious pace. Up over my knees half way to my hips today (im 6ft) and sprouting heads.

At 2 units a day it shouldn't have much N left.
And in the ideal growing conditions it's had, am I fairly safe to cut today I wonder?
Fert was washed in that evening and it's been wet and warm since.
Will be well wilted before going into the bale.

I know I should test in doubt. But today is the only good window I have in the schedule untill next week really.
As well as growing faster than PRG it will also use more N quicker, so after the week we had you will be golden.
 
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I've a field of Westerwolds fast growing ryegrass that had 48 units of N 20 days ago.
It has flown at a serious pace. Up over my knees half way to my hips today (im 6ft) and sprouting heads.

At 2 units a day it shouldn't have much N left.
And in the ideal growing conditions it's had, am I fairly safe to cut today I wonder?
Fert was washed in that evening and it's been wet and warm since.
Will be well wilted before going into the bale.

I know I should test in doubt. But today is the only good window I have in the schedule untill next week really.
I'd have no worries if it's well wilted, that'll bring up the sugars a good bit to counteract any nitrates that might still be there.
 
Grass growth continues to be phenomenal at present. By rights, to keep on top of quality, we should be on a 12 day rotation at current growth rates. The baler and the topper are busy too though, lot of paddocks gone stemmy.
 
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