- Home
- Knowledge library
- Forage for Knowledge
Forage for Knowledge
Make the most of your farm's potential with the latest regional grass growth and quality data and analysis, updates and resources.
Stay updated with the latest advice to make informed decisions, whether it's about adding an extra paddock for silage and assessing its impact on demand or ensuring that the growth rate aligns with your requirements.
Utilise the grass growth wedge to gauge potential surpluses or deficits and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Access the Forage For Knowledge database and resources to effectively manage risks and enhance your decision-making process.
Latest grass growth data
Use the interactive dashboard to view the latest regional grass growth and quality data.
Grass growth commentary and advice
Pasture to Profit consultant Piers Badnell will provide comments (usually, every two weeks) throughout the main grass growing season. Read the latest below.
28 March 2024
Grass growth has started its upward trajectory on the grass growth curve. The range of growth this week is 9–40 so the variation is associated with average cover, soil temperatures and sodden soils, very wet tend to be cooler.
But even if your growth is single figures that lift-off is around the corner.
Average covers published this week mirror what I have seen in the last week on farm and a discussion yesterday around getting high average covers back under control
Balance Day is around the corner so by definition growth will exceed demand and as such stock demand will not bring back control, so early staggered cuts will most likely be necessary, as growth will soon exceed demand and grazing in wet conditions above 3200 kg DM/ha usually leads to poor utilisation.
Having said that, on farm in Devon yesterday a 3500 kg DM/ha paddock had just been grazed and the residual was even and no more than 1,600 kg DM/ha. An excellent result.
The key here was the edge of appetite and an understanding of what a cow can eat (at calving she starts at about 55% DM intake of peak and it takes 10–12 weeks to get to peak intake) and accurate allocation.
The key to grazing is to graze the wettest you dare (this does change day to day depending on if you have had rain or a dry day), and looking at the longer range forecast the North looks to have a more settled April so grazing should become easier, but the South looks like more of the same we are experiencing.
Having said that, and this feels a bit counterintuitive to say as the rain hits my office, but nearly everyone I have seen in the last 7–10 days has said it’s drier than it was; there are fewer days of 20 mm, 15 mm, etc. and more showers and totals in the single figures.
By way of proving this to myself and you a wheat field near me (close to Dartmoor, so plenty of rain) has looked virtually dead all winter (yellow and grey) as it has been drowning in a sodden soil but it has greened up in the space of five days. It is improving.
I talked about on-off grazing last week. It is your best tool to utilise grass, especially through April if the forecast is right for the South.
For success, the cow needs an edge to her appetite. For this, you need to know what she can eat and then accurately allocate and no silage.
As an example, for a spring calver client, cows started calving six weeks ago and now cows can eat 15.5 kg DM, two blocks of 2.5–3 hours grazing post am and pm milking, each allocation enough for 6.25 kg DM and 3 kg concentrate and cows are doing a good job and residuals are ok.
The key here is no silage when cows are off and on cubicles this drives the edge of appetite so post milking all cows go together to the paddock so they all have the edge and are focused on grazing and as soon as they are filled up they come off.
Add silage to this mix and they don’t graze as hard and then start wandering around and this causes the damage. The key is for cows to go as a group so they all get the 2.5–3 hours.
Otherwise, the first milked fill themselves and then start wandering around while the last out of the parlour are still grazing. This results in damage and a phone call to say it doesn’t work.
It does, you just need to do it right. A 500–550 kg cow post-calving can eat 10–12 kg DM and it takes her 10–12 weeks to hit peak intake. So on a herd basis, the DM intake potential goes up 0.75 kg DM a cow a week.
An example of an autumn calver a few years ago in a wet spring in a high rainfall area (1,750 mm) on heavy soils with short stocks of silage on off-grazed two bouts of 6 kg DM grass and 6 kg concentrate.
This spring is tough, but drivers of profit are cost of production (COP) and grass utilisation and as you push grass utilisation by default cows are out and you are spending less money on housing and as such costs and cost of production are falling.
I am not suggesting at all that it isn’t tough now, but these are the drivers, COP and utilisation. A discussion group member last week wisely said it is tough this spring, but it is probably tougher on us people than on soils and cows. So have a chat with friends and neighbours and look after yourselves.
Disclaimer
This data set also includes grass growth and quality data from the AHDB-sponsored beef and sheep GrassCheck GB contributors in England.
Latest grass articles and case studies
Useful resources and information
Topics:
Sectors:
Tags: