The Three Priorities of Autumn Grazing

Micheál O’Leary joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to give targeted advice based on the level of grass on farm as we approach the housed period. Micheál emphasises the three priorities of autumn grazing: feed the cow, hit grazing residuals and avoid doing damage. He explains that there is approximately 700 kg DM/ha grass (range 400-1,050) on farms currently which is well below the current target of 850 kg. For farms below target at 400-500 kg, Micheál would urge farmers to remove cows from the grazing platform to allow the average farm cover to build prior to 1st December. For farms above target at 900-1,000, he advises farmers to graze paddocks with lower covers. Micheál also urges farms to employ on/off grazing techniques to avoid damage following heavy rainfall in combination with shorter daylight/drying hours. For more information go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-newsletter/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/