From rain to results: Managing grass and breeding in Bandon
I used all artificial insemination this year. I did not use any stock bull. We will finish our breeding around July 20. Repeats have quietened down.
We got a good few repeats around week six of breeding, everything has settled down since then. There is bull running with the heifers at the moment. These heifers were also synchronised. I have not scanned anything yet.
I walked the farm on Wednesday. I have one paddock at 1,500kg DM/ha and one paddock at 1,650kg DM/ha. I am going to skip these two paddocks in the hope that I can bale them next week.
My cover per livestock unit is at 150. This is a bit low so if I run tight in grass, I will be able to go back and graze my two heaviest paddocks instead of baling them. This is not ideal, but it may be my only option if I do run tight on grass.
With the rain at the end of June, I am confident that growth rates will be high for the next few days and my cover per livestock unit will increase. My demand at the moment is 62kg DM/ha/day and growth is at 70kg DM/ha/day.
To date, I have not done any pre-mowing or topping of paddocks. As I said, I took out five paddocks for first-cut silage, I like to take out paddocks for bales when there is a surplus of grass on farm.
Sometimes this can lead to me being tight on grass for a few days, but I find I have better quality of grass for the cows to graze compared to pre-mowing or topping.
Our re-seeds are in six weeks now. They are coming up to the right stage now for spraying.
They had excellent germination, and I top-dressed them with 25 units of nitrogen about a week ago.
I hope to spray these fields as soon as possible, once the weather permits. I will be spraying these fields with Clovermax to protect the red clover in the swards.
I signed up to the Farming for Water EIP through my Carbery ASSAP advisor. I am signed up to complete a nitrogen surplus plan and I will get my slurry tested. I am applying for a nitrates derogation.
All drains and rivers are fenced back 1.5 metres to keep cows and run-off away from watercourses. I have all my water troughs kept over 20 metres away from water courses.
All gutters and run-off in the yard is kept to a minimum to try and keep clean water and dirty water separate.
I'm hoping to get along to Carbery's Milk Quality and Sustainability farm walk on Glenn Forde's farm on Friday, July 25.
Dermot and Linda Walsh are farming in Lislevane, Bandon, with their children Tadgh, Aoife, Maebh, and Eoin. They milk 84 cows and supply Barryroe Co-op.
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Dermot's planning ahead to make best use of nutrient applications
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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
From rain to results: Managing grass and breeding in Bandon
Cows are milking around 23L and 4.12% fat and 3.6% protein as of June 24, 2025, and they are currently on 3kg of 14% concentrate per day. I used all artificial insemination this year. I did not use any stock bull. We will finish our breeding around July 20. Repeats have quietened down. We got a good few repeats around week six of breeding, everything has settled down since then. There is bull running with the heifers at the moment. These heifers were also synchronised. I have not scanned anything yet. I walked the farm on Wednesday. I have one paddock at 1,500kg DM/ha and one paddock at 1,650kg DM/ha. I am going to skip these two paddocks in the hope that I can bale them next week. My cover per livestock unit is at 150. This is a bit low so if I run tight in grass, I will be able to go back and graze my two heaviest paddocks instead of baling them. This is not ideal, but it may be my only option if I do run tight on grass. With the rain at the end of June, I am confident that growth rates will be high for the next few days and my cover per livestock unit will increase. My demand at the moment is 62kg DM/ha/day and growth is at 70kg DM/ha/day. To date, I have not done any pre-mowing or topping of paddocks. As I said, I took out five paddocks for first-cut silage, I like to take out paddocks for bales when there is a surplus of grass on farm. Sometimes this can lead to me being tight on grass for a few days, but I find I have better quality of grass for the cows to graze compared to pre-mowing or topping. Our re-seeds are in six weeks now. They are coming up to the right stage now for spraying. They had excellent germination, and I top-dressed them with 25 units of nitrogen about a week ago. I hope to spray these fields as soon as possible, once the weather permits. I will be spraying these fields with Clovermax to protect the red clover in the swards. I signed up to the Farming for Water EIP through my Carbery ASSAP advisor. I am signed up to complete a nitrogen surplus plan and I will get my slurry tested. I am applying for a nitrates derogation. All drains and rivers are fenced back 1.5 metres to keep cows and run-off away from watercourses. I have all my water troughs kept over 20 metres away from water courses. All gutters and run-off in the yard is kept to a minimum to try and keep clean water and dirty water separate. I'm hoping to get along to Carbery's Milk Quality and Sustainability farm walk on Glenn Forde's farm on Friday, July 25. Dermot and Linda Walsh are farming in Lislevane, Bandon, with their children Tadgh, Aoife, Maebh, and Eoin. They milk 84 cows and supply Barryroe Co-op. Read More Dermot's planning ahead to make best use of nutrient applications
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Wexford IFA launch pilot guide to improving water quality
The pilot initiative contains eight actions for change as part of the Better Farming for Water programme. Under three headings – Nutrient Management, Farmyard Management and Land Management – the guide identifies actions to support farmers to achieve higher water quality. The guide was recently launched at the tillage event on the farm of William and Craig Masterson in Bunclody on Wednesday, July 2. IFA Environment Chair John Murphy said the Better Farming for Water programme and the Farming for Water EIP are helping farmers to go beyond regulatory requirements to protect and restore water bodies. 'The latter project is open to all farmers with land in priority action areas (PAAs) where targeted water quality improvements are needed,' he said. He and Jer O' Mahony, the Wexford Environment and Rural Affairs Representative, explained that Wexford farmers recognise that agriculture plays a vital role in achieving the water quality targets set by the Water Framework Directive and are taking proactive steps to protect local water bodies by implementing practical on-farm measures. This includes improving nutrient management, fencing off watercourses, reducing runoff, and adopting targeted solutions like sediment traps and catch crops. "These actions are already making a positive impact, with improvements in water quality recorded across the county. By taking action now, we can continue to protect our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters—supporting sustainable farming and clean water for everyone,' they said. They also highlighted that funding is potentially available to farmers in Co. Wexford under the Farming for Water EIP. This project is a €60 million farmer and advisory led initiative to project and restore water quality. The project is open to all farmers with land in priority action areas (PAAs) and all dairy and tillage farmers in nitrates catchments of concern where targeted water quality improvements are needed.
Agriland
7 days ago
- Agriland
How can farmers increase annual grass growth to 15t DM/ha?
It was highlighted at one of the main boards at Moorepark '25 that farmers need to refocus on growing more grass on farms to reduce costs and increase performance. Teagasc research officer, Professor Michael O'Donovan said that grass dry matter (DM) production from all farms, as recorded on the National Farm Survey, averaged 9.2t DM/ha, whereas Paturebase Ireland recorded farms averaging 13.2t DM/ha/year from 2014-2024. The top 100 farms on Pasturbase Ireland recorded an average growth of 15.2t DM/ha, which is the target. Prof. O'Donovan added: 'It has been a good growing year so far and we are on track to grow 14t DM/ha this year.' He said there needs to be a step away from too much concentrates being fed, as it is holding back grass growth and utilisation. The researcher said it was very difficult – especially for different land types – to grow 15t DM/ha/year, and noted that it can only be achieved through optimum soil fertility to retain and utilise the nutrients, effective nutrient application, grassland management, and clover incorporation. It was highlighted on the day that in order to grow 15t of grass DM/ha, farmers should aim to grow 2.6t DM/ha in spring, 6.7t DM/ha in summer, and 5.7t DM/ha in the autumn. Grass growth According to Prof. O'Donovan, reports from 2024 suggest that soils on dairy farms were significantly below the levels required for optimum pasture growth and nutrient use efficiency. The reports showed that only 24% of soils are at optimum pH, P, and K, and only 60% of the soils have a pH of over 6.3. More than half (53%) of soils are only at index one or two for P and under half (47%) of soils are at index one or two for K. The grassland management and performance difference of farms growing different rates of grass is as follows: NFS average PBI average Top 100 PBI Farm productivity (t DM/ha) 9.7 13.2 15.2 Soil fertility Low Med High Grazing season length (days) 235 265 280 No. of grazings 6 7+ 8+ Concentrate usage (kg/cow) 1,350 1,100 800 Area in clover (%) <5% 20% 35% Area reseeding/over sowing <5% 5-10% 15-30% Fertiliser usage (kg N/ha) 170 190 200 Grass utilisation (t DM/ha) 7.7 10 12 Grass/clover swards were highlighted on the day by Teagasc's Michael Egan to be a proven technology to grow more herbage and improve animal performance by 8-10%, while also boosting intake and sward quality. Grass/clover swards allow farmers to reduce their N usage in the mid-season as swards with 20% clover may fixate up to 70-100kg N/ha. Based on April clover content, Teagasc highlighted the ease of aligning N inputs with clover content as nitrogen fixation will work away on its own with the odd top-up of dairy washings. 15t DM/ha It was highlighted that every farm can increase their grass growth by up to 20% by taking on an array of different actions to improve soil fetility, grazing infrastructure, grassland management, and clover incorporation. In the short-term, farmers should avail of their soil test results by spreading lime where necessary, and try to rectify low P and K paddocks and match N fertiliser applications. There are a number of key grazing management targets that must be achieved to maximise herbage production during the grazing season: Early February (opening farm cover) >1,000 kg DM/ha; Early April (start second rotation) 600 – 650 kg DM/ha; April to August 150 – 180 kg DM/LU; Mid-September (peak farm cover) 1,100 kg DM/ha; December 1st (closing farm cover) >750 kg DM/ha. In the medium-term, farmers need to match their farm's ability to grow grass with their stocking rate on the farm, so that you are not keeping extra cows to only hamper production and increase input costs. Farmers need to put their focus on growing and utilising more grass through optimal pre-grazing cover and post-grazing residuals to maintain quality and to reduce meal input. Michael Egan demonstrating the power of clover in growing 15t DM/ha In the longer term, farmers needs to ensure that their herd is performing off quality grass and their grazing infrastructure allows for this. Through good grazing infrastructure and management, farmers should be aiming for eight grazings in each paddock every year, which may lead to an extra 1.3t DM/ha. The correct pH of over 6.5 can lead to an extra 1.5t DM/ha, while using high pasture profit index (PPI)and high clover performing varieties can deliver an extra 1.5-2.5t DM/ha. Egan added: 'Growing 15t DM/ha is difficult, but if we want to achieve it, all of these actions have to line up.'
