With the current slow grass growth rate, farmers have been put under pressure to try and and achieve some sort of peak milk supply, as the conditions this summer have been stagnating production.

Over the last two to three weeks, there has been an increase in extra supplementation being added to a lot of diets around the country.

Now, more than ever should be the time to get out and walk the farm on a regular basis, considering the lower than average growth rates.

Grass growth

Grass growth rates are back again this week, with a drop to 51kg dry matter DM/ha with a demand of 50kg DM/ha, leaving grass very tight on most farms.

According to PastureBase Ireland, the typical diet around the country consists of 14kg DM of grass, with 4kg of meal and an added 1kg of silage being fed in an effort to hold the rotation at 21 days.

Warmer weather has arrived and is forecasted to stick around for the next number of days, which will hopefully see grass growth rates improve.

The urgency of correcting grass quality paddocks might be a priority for many in order to get them into the next rotation with fresh grass, but it should be avoided.

However, avoid getting into a full rotation of correcting grass quality. Doing so may put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit, as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

Targets for mid-season should be:

• An average farm cover of over 600kg DM/ha which equates to 150kg DM/LU;
• A rotation length of 21-24 days;
• A pre-grazing yield of over 1200kg DM/ha.

The goal for this time of the year should be making sure that your cows daily intake requirements are being met, ensuring an intake of 18-18.5kg DM/cow.

Increase average farm cover

The recommendations have been to bring your grass demand down with the farm grass growth, and keeping a close eye on how regrowths are progressing.

If there is an option to introduce more grazing area to your rotation, it should be considered in an effort to hold your rotation at 21 days, at least.

The introduction of high quality silage of about 3/4kg cow/day in a combination with concentrates, as increasing your concentrates supplementation alone will not be sufficient to increase the rotation length.

Fertilising should continue to give the grass the best chance of rapid growth, as paddocks with no clover should be getting 20-25kg N/ha of chemical or organic N.

For clover paddocks, the clover content should be 20% or higher, before considering a significant reduction in N input.

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Large numbers of farmers applied for the ‘reseeding grant’ which offered a financial incentive of up to €300/ha, or approximately €122/ac to reseed land with two different sward types.

The 2024 Multi-species Sward and Red Clover Silage Measures opened for applications on Tuesday, March 5 this year through the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) online application system.

The deadline for farmers or their advisors to submit applications for these schemes in 2024 fell on Wednesday (May 15).

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has recently provided Agriland with information on the number of applicants to the Red Clover Silage Measure (RCSM) and Multi-Species Swards Measure (MSSM) and the area of ground entered under each initiative.

The total applicants and area/measure are set out below:

DAFM specified that amendments were allowed up to May 31 and that these figures were subject to change.

According to the DAFM information, over 15,000ha or 37,200ac of land were entered in the two measures combined. 5,341ha were entered for the MSSM and 9,727ha were applied for under the RCSM.

The RCSM proved to be the more popular option amongst farmers with 1,392 applicants under this initiative versus 1,062Ha under the MSSM.

To be eligible under these measures the swards must be sown between July 16, 2023 and July 15, 2024 and established by September 30, 2024.

According to the DAFM, the RCSM and MSSM aim “to incentivise farmers to explore less nitrogen intensive forms of production”.

Launching the measures earlier this year, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said:

“Following on from the success of the two previous years’ programmes, I welcome the reopening of these two measures which will expand on the areas already established.

“As part of the ongoing commitment by this Government to support and improve the sustainability of farming, the 2024 budget will be €2.5 million for the measures.

“A payment rate of up to €300/ha has been retained and will allow for the continuing support in establishing these swards that assist farmers reduce their chemical fertilise usage.”

The minister added that the establishment of red clover silage and multi-species swards “creates opportunities for farmers to improve the environmental and sustainability of their farming systems”.

The post How many farmers applied for the reseeding grant this year? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Agriland’s machinery team went along to see Kverneland’s 15.6m tedder the 85156 C at work for the first time in Ireland.

The post Video: Kverneland brings its biggest tedder to Ireland appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Protected urea is urea nitrogen (N) fertiliser made safe from ammonia loss through the addition of a urease inhibitor.

Despite the fact that protected urea can grow more grass than either calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) or urea, it can also give the quickest reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions within agriculture.

With the unpredictability in weather, the price of fertiliser, and the new constraints around how much fertiliser you can use, choosing the most effective fertiliser has never been more important.

With the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database (NFD), farmers had to complete a closing stock of fertiliser left on the farm on September 14, and had a month after that date to submit these records online.

Co-ops have to make regular returns to the database of the herd numbers that bought fertiliser, the date, type and amount of fertiliser purchased.

This monitoring and data collection has raised concerns amongst farmers who fear the possibility of exceeding their fertiliser limits.

With this in mind, it is important for farmers to understand the role of protected urea, understand their fertiliser limits and what to apply to allow for maximum growth.

Grass growth

In short-term Teagasc trials, the quantity of grass grown by using CAN, protected urea and urea was similar across all fertiliser types.

However, protected urea grew 13% more grass on average compared to standard urea in a long-term trial at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. In the same trial, CAN yielded 9% more than standard urea.

From the trial illustrated above, protected urea and CAN had greater responses in growth rates in six out of the seven years of the trial, with 2018 being the exception due to drought when water was the limiting factor not nitrogen. 

The cost of protected urea

Protected urea is cheaper than CAN per kg of N, and it is more expensive than standard urea (on a per tonne basis).

However, it will give the same effective N for the plant as standard urea, at a 12% lower spreading rate as N losses from standard urea are significantly higher.

Protected urea is the cheapest option. The value of retaining N that had previously been lost as urea has increased substantially with increasing fertiliser costs.

Also with the new NFD and limits on N usage, it makes more sense to use less of a more effective product.

The relative cost of an application of N using different fertiliser types has been provided by Teagasc, as follows:

The reason for 57kg N/spread of standard urea is because it is the equivalent quantity of N needed to achieve the same plant available N, allowing for the extra losses with standard urea.

As a general rule of thumb, there is the same of amount of N in three tonnes of protected urea (46%) as there is in five tonnes of CAN (27%).

Based on February 2024 figures, three tonnes of protected urea will cost €1,650, while five tonnes of CAN will cost approximately €1,940 for the same amount of actual N.

Protected urea has been calculated to have 71% lower nitrous oxide emissions than CAN, proving that it has a key role to play nationally in terms of being an easy strategy of reducing GHG emissions.

By using protected urea, you will be contributing to the ammonia reduction targets for agriculture as it significantly reduces the calculated ammonia emissions by 78% compared to straight urea.

Application

Farmers can use protected urea from January to early September, which is a big advantage of the fertiliser.

The fertiliser is most effective in the spring time during damp conditions – during the summer months, it releases N slower and more effectively than CAN due to the inclusion of the urease inhibitor.

Due to the higher N content, the application rate will be lower than CAN and the fertiliser density is also lower for urea fertiliser versus CAN, which makes it more difficult to spread at wider bout widths.

However, larger and stronger granules indicate that fertiliser is of better quality. Protected urea has the potential to draw more moisture which can lead to issues with your spreader if it is not washed out properly after use.

It is important before you spread any form of fertiliser, that you set the spreader accordingly to match the fertiliser’s quality on the spreader manufacturer’s database which will assess size and strenght.

You can use the manufacturer’s app to determine the bout or width capabilty and the spreader settings from disc vane to hopper height and angle to ensure accurate spreading.

The post How effective is protected urea in grassland swards? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Frustration continues among farmers, as summer grass growth rates fail to reach peak levels week after week as the period of stagnation continues.

The cold spell of weather has caused grass growth rates to drop even further this week on dairy farms around the country.

There seems to be no consistency in weather to allow for growth rates to excel this summer, with a lot of farmers beginning to run tight.

Grass growth

The cold weather has dropped growth rates back on dairy farms to 58kg dry matter (DM)/ha, with an average demand across the country of 53kg DM/ha, according to Pasturebase Ireland.

The regrowth on paddocks that were grazed, cut or pre-mowed are a lot slower and will struggle to make up an acceptable cover for the next round.

The reality is that there is still a number of paddocks with poor grass quality, but correcting all paddocks in a rotation should be avoided.

The urgency of correcting the grass quality in these paddocks might be a priority for many, in order to get them into the next rotation with fresh, lush grass but it should be avoided.

By doing this, it might put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

The advice from Teagasc is that if you are below 150kg DM/LU and your pre-grazing yields start to drop under 1200kg DM/ha, the aim should be as follows:

• Hold your rotation at 21 days, if possible;
• Increase the grazing area for a period of time;
• Introduce extra meal in the parlour;
• Supplement with silage before or after milking.

Aim for a cover/LU of 170-200kg DM/LU on dairy farms, and continue to walk your farm every five days to allow for early identification and intervention where needs be.

You will only be able to identify a grass shortage and keep a close eye on average farm cover (AFC) , cover/LU and rotation length by walking the farm every five days during this cold period.

Frequent grass walks will allow for quick rectification and mitigate the chances of your cow production levels falling.

With the bad grass growth looming around the country, it might be a good idea to start making sure that your reseeds are of good quality when they are back in the next rotation.

Managing reseeds

With the bad weather in the spring, many farms got reseeding in late April and those reseeds are now approaching the point at which they should be treated with a post emergence spray.

A successful post emergence spray will help to ensure your fresh grass and this ensures that clover reseeds get the best possible chance of a low weed burden.

Controlling weeds is best done when the grass plant is at the three leaf stage and when the trifoliate leaf has appeared has appeared on the clover plant.

Clover safe spray should already be in the yard already in advance of when you need it so you can spray when the sward is ready.

During this colder spell, it is important to keep on top of your grassland management in order to intervene on time, to ultimately, keep your cows producing high levels of milk and to maintain energy intakes during the breeding season.

The post Grass growth rates see no improvement this week appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This year (2024) to date has been described as “the toughest year on record” for growing grass at a recent farm walk which took place in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.

Speaking at the Irish Grassland Association (IGA) beef event the farm of Martin Shaughnessy, Teagasc advisor Kevin Madden explained the challenges farmers have faced this year.

He said: “As regards grass grown, it’s probably been the toughest year I’d say on record for growing grass.”

He added that the weather conditions experienced this year have made achieving high levels of grass growth more challenging:

“We had one of the wettest springs we ever had and top that off with a cold May and a cold June so far.”

Despite the challenging conditions faced in the region, the Teagasc advisor praised the host farmers’ efforts in sustaining high levels of animal performance predominantly off grass, saying: “He’s still producing top-quality stock”.

The IGA Beef Event focused on the host farmers’ impressive animal performance both in his beef and sheep enterprises and how these levels of animal performance are being achieved with a core focus on the efficient utilisation of grass grown on the farm.

According to the latest grass growth update from Teagasc, cold weather has dropped growth rates back on Irish farms to 58kg/ha/day and 50kg/Ha/day respectively on Irish dairy and drystock farms.

The fall in growth rates has been partially attributed to a cooler northerly airflow, which has slowed down the regrowth of grass on paddocks that have been cut or grazed.

This cooler airflow which has been experienced this month is expected to continue to dominate until next week and Met Eireann has forecast “above average rainfall”, which will be more welcome in some parts of the country than others.

The Teagasc advice to farmers whose grass covers drop below 150 Kg DM/LU and pre-grazing yields start to drop under 1,200kg DM/Ha is to hold rotation length at 21 days, increase the grazing area or introduce extra supplement.

The post IGA event hears of ‘toughest year on record’ for growing grass appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the unpredictability in weather, the price of fertiliser, and the new constraints around how much fertiliser you can use, completing a fertiliser plan is more essential than ever.

Completing a fertiliser plan will allow you to choose the most suitable fertiliser types and amounts for your farm.

Nutrient planning will allow farmers to maintain appropriate soil fertility by applying the right fertilisers in the right place on the farm, at the correct rate and at the optimum time of the year.

With the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database (NFD), there has been an increase in soil sampling, with farmers aiming to improve their fertility, which further increases the demand for a fertiliser plan.

95% of farmers have registered for the NFD, meaning that these farmers have completed a closing stock of fertiliser left on the farm on the September 14, and had a month after that date to submit these records online.

Co-ops have to make regular returns to the database of the herd numbers that bought fertiliser, the date, type and amount of fertiliser purchased.

This monitoring and data collection has raised concerns amongst farmers who fear the possibility of exceeding their fertiliser limits.

With this in mind, it is important for farmers to complete a fertiliser plan so they can understand their fertiliser limits and what to apply to allow for maximum growth.

Fertiliser plan requirements

A Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) application will be needed to show what crops are being grown and their areas in 2024 as every crop has a different allowance for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

When it comes to your grassland crops, the previous years grassland stocking rate (GSR) is used to work out the allowances for N and P.

This is calculated by getting the total N from grazing livestock and dividing it by the grassland area in 2023.

You will need to provide the total tonnage of concentrates fed to grazing livestock in 2023 and the total N from grazing livestock.

Having soil samples for your farm allows for easy allocation of fertiliser and slurry, and in order to get an accurate understanding of the soil fertility status, there should be samples from the last four years.

More information that has to be gathered is the amount of fertiliser and type that was carried into 2024 and what has been bought so far this year.

Finally, the amount of organic manures that have been imported into the farm in 2024 or planned to be imported must be noted.

Maximising efficiency

Although it might seem like another hindrance of a job to do, completing a fertiliser plan will give you guidance on where you stand, in terms of what fertiliser type and amount can be used in 2024.

It will allow you to plan ahead and be comfortable when spreading knowing your not exceeding limits, rather than finding out through an inspection that you have spread too much fertiliser.

Completing a fertiliser plan should be made a priority as you make decisions without the worry of exceeding limits, allow for maximum grass growth and apply suitable to your soil fertility status.

This means that you are maximising your output of fertiliser while minimising any wastage, as you are not spreading certain nutrients on paddocks that don’t lack or need them.

The post The importance of completing a fertiliser plan appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Following the warm June bank holiday weekend, temperatures have dropped significantly, which has seen grass growth rates fall back on dairy farms around the country.

Met Éireann has predicted a cooler airflow to continue over the next seven days, which could see a stagnation in grass growth rates.

According to Pasturebase Ireland (PBI), grass growth has dropped in the last number of days, as the average dairy farm was growing 65kg of dry matter (DM)/ha last week with a demand of 57kg DM/ha.

PBI also identified that 40% of farms are now under 170kg DM/livestock unit (LU), which is not a crisis but something to be weary about.

Reacting to poor grass growth

In the scenario where pre-grazing yields start to drop below 1200kg DM/ha or if you are below 150kg Dm/ha, a few methods may be considered:

• Aim to hold your rotation at 21 days;
• Increase the grazing area, if possible;
• Feed extra meal in the parlour;
• Supplement with silage.

Some of these methods might not be possible for many farmers but at least one method should be a priority to rectify any grass shortage.

You will only be able to identify a grass shortage and keep a close eye on Average farm cover (AFC) , cover/LU and rotation length by walking the farm every five days during this cold period.

By walking the farm every five days, it will allow for quick rectification and mitigate the chances of your cow production levels falling.

The aim throughout this cold weather should be to try and maintain a cover/LU of 170-200kg DM/LU, as this will match demand in the coming days.

The advice from Teagasc is, that even though there may be a number of paddocks with poor grass quality, correcting all paddocks in a rotation should be avoided.

Even though this might correct grass quality in the next rotation, it might put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

Returning paddocks that were taken out for bales

It is important to get paddocks that were taken out for bales straight back into the next rotation to maintain a 21-day rotation at this time of the year.

When cows graze a paddock, they recycle a lot of the nutrients through their dung and urine, which means that only 40% of phosphorus (P) and 10% of potassium (K) is removed from the paddocks.

However, when a paddock is cut for silage, it will see the removal of 100% P and 100% K, meaning your nutrient application post-cutting will have to be more vigorous.

To prevent a poor return of grass in paddocks that have been cut for bales, there should be 2,000gal/ac of dilute slurry applied or one bag/ac of 0-7-30 for every three to four bales/ac that was produced to replace the offtakes.

During this colder spell, it is important to keep on top of your grassland management in order to intervene on time, to ultimately, keep your cows producing high levels of milk and to maintain energy intakes during the breeding season.

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As grass growth has taken off over the bank holiday weekend, a lot of farmers may be concerned about correcting grass quality in front of their cows.

Many farmers may find that their paddocks have a lot of stemmy grass and are wondering how to resolve this issue.

The important thing at this time of the year, is to maintain pre-grazing yields of 1,400kg DM/ha, however, this is not always possible.

The best practice when you begin to have too much grass ahead of the cows, is to take paddocks out of the rotation and cut them for baled silage, however, again, this is also not always possible.

If this is the case, you may need the contractor to come straight away in order to get the paddock into the next rotation, and during this time of year, contractors are not so readily available.

Pre-mowing is an option for the moment, as not every paddock can be mowed and baled.

Correcting grass quality – pre-mowing

Pre-mowing is where the grass in the paddock is mowed and then cows are allowed in to graze the mowed grass. This method is common practice in New Zealand.

This technique can be used on paddocks that have gone too strong or that have a large amount of stem present.

Pre-mowing is not all good, as it does have a number of drawbacks, including being an expensive method of managing grass and it also takes away the cows’ choice of what grass they eat.

Cows are selective grazers, meaning they will choose to eat the lush, high quality grass over the stemmy, low quality grass.

Taking away a cow’s freedom of choice, will more than likely hinder their milk production.

However, pre-mowing can also increase production, providing there is not an overload of stem in the paddock, as it will increase intakes as the grass is readily available to the cow.

This method works well if paddocks have gone too strong and you are looking to ensure that grass doesn’t run out.

However, if grass is plentiful on the farm and there is no fear of running out, mowing and baling the paddock is the ideal option.

Topping

Topping on the other hand, is where the paddock is cut down to 4cm, post-grazing, and will eliminate the amount of stem in the sward and ensure good quality grass for the next rotation.

It is a quick and effective way of correcting the grass quality, but, again, it is quite labour intensive and may have to be carried out more than once.

The fear is that it will affect the regrowth rate of the sward as if paddocks are not topped immediately after grazing, the pre-grazing cover of the next rotation may be affected.

Both options certainly result in improved grass quality for the next rotation, but both are associated with poor grass utilisation as grass is wasted in both cases.

It is no secret that the best way to correct grass quality on your farm is through mowing and baling strong paddocks, but unfortunately, this is not always an option and is dependent on the farm situation, so other options must be explored.

With this being said, good grassland management has to remain the focus, as achieving target residuals through grazing will save a lot of money and labour on your farm.

The post Is pre-mowing an option for correcting grass quality? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Controlling weeds when they are at the most manageable stage is crucial, particularly now as grass growth has improved over the last number of weeks.

Firstly, you must identify which weeds need to be dealt with and then have the discussion with an advisor or agronomist on which products will rectify your problems.

It may not be the case where one product will cover all, as you may have paddocks that have different issues and may require different products to be used.

Controlling weeds

Knowing your fertility status is important, as it will indicate whether or not your soil needs lime, phosphorus (P), or potassium (K) which will allow you to grow more grass, limiting space for weeds.

Dock control at this time of the year is vital as they are at the rosette stage (measuring 150-200mm in diameter), which is the easiest stage to kill the weed.

Best practice is to spray docks shortly after a reseed which will stop them from establishing due to competition in the sward. A well established reseed will also limit and suppress weeds.

Thistles should also be sprayed now, as now they will begin to develop stolons, branch out and cover the grass which will kill what is underneath.

As you may know, the products used to target weeds are not cheap, so application must be precise and accurate to get optimal results.

To make sure of this precise spraying, it is important to read the label of the product carefully to make sure you are applying at the correct rate.

Tips for spraying:

• Make sure the product is suited for killing the weed;
• Read the label carefully, adhering to buffer zones and rates;
• Keep record of the product being used;
• Spray in suitable conditions – not windy or wet;
• Wear protective gear;
• Wash spraying equipment after use;
• Adhere to recommended time between spraying and grazing, or cutting of silage ( around seven days after);
• In the case of ragwort, animals should not be allowed in until the weed is completely rotten and unpalatable.

Managing clover

There are a few product options for the control of docks in your clover swards, however, for the treatment of chickweed, nettles, thistles or dandelions, there are limited options.

If clover is present in your swards, you must select a clover safe product, but, a lot of your conventional products are not clover safe.

In this scenario, if the seed and stem are present, the weeds should be topped first and then sprayed a couple of weeks later.

Farmers, however, should target the non clover paddocks first and get the weeds completely under control and then look to establish clover in these paddocks next April or May of 2025.

Getting the weeds under control prior to clover establishment will prevent issues further down the line, as weed control can be difficult when clover is present.

Controlling weeds in your paddocks this summer will maximise grass yield, improve silage quality, increase grass utilisation and will eliminate any health risks to livestock caused by certain weeds.

The post Controlling weeds in your paddocks this summer appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With many farmers having cut their first-cut silage over the weekend or planning on cutting in the next number of days, the focus will turn to fertilising second cut silage as soon as possible.

A good second-cut silage crop is vital to build a good silage reserve for a potentially long winter ahead.

Teagasc research has shown that there is a high grass growth rate response to nitrogen (N), in second-cut silage.

N will push grass growth and yield, but, it is important to get N application right to drive the growth, while making sure you are only applying what is required.

To further maximise your crop, a balanced nutrient supply is vital, along with appropriate applications of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

Requirements for fertilising second cut

Your second-cut silage should be fertilised according to the crop yield potential.

The table below is a fertiliser requirement provided by Teagasc and is based on a grass dry matter (DM) yield of 2t of DM/ha to four t DM/ha, which is the equivalent to three bales/ac and 6.5 bales/ac.

N, P and K requirements for second cut:

Protected urea can also be used and can replace CAN as a N source and your cattle slurry should be spread in, ideally, damp and overcast conditions.

The value of this cattle slurry with a 7% DM, when using low emission slurry spreading (LESS), is six units of N, 5 units of P, and 32 units of K for every 1,000gal.

For second cut, it is also important to include sulphur (S) in your application, as it is linked to N uptake and N use efficiency (NUE) as the response to S increases with the rate of N applied.

Not applying S can have a negative impact on your silage quality as low protein silages is the result of a lack of S in the grass.

With all of this in mind, fertilising and slurry application should be done as soon as possible after first cut to try and have your second ready for mid to late July.

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Research is still ongoing around the relatively new condition of summer scour syndrome, with many herds experiencing the condition in recent years.

The exact cause of summer scour is still unknown, however, there are a number of risk factors that are likely to cause the illness.

The disease is thought to be related to nutritional issues, such as the grass quality being offered to calves and an excessive intake of nitrogen (N), which leads to ammonia toxicity.

The rumen may be insufficiently developed to digest grass, as a calve’s grazing diet in the first year is a common denominator in all cases.

Summer scour syndrome

The condition sees calves experiencing dehydration, rapid weight loss, scour, lethargy, lack of rumination and weakness, which can ultimately, lead to death.

This can happen only a few weeks after turnout to grass, resulting in calves falling behind targets, which can be difficult to regain.

The disease often occurs when calves are grazing lush pastures with a high crude protein (CP) content (>20%) and a low fibre content (<40%).

If their rumen is not properly developed and they continue grazing the leafier parts of the grass which contain more nitrates and non-protein nitrogen (NPN), a large quantity of ammonia may build-up in the rumen.

Unstable pH is another knock-on effect of inadequate rumen development, which may lead to the calf getting summer scour.

Prevention

There needs to be a gradual weaning for calves, with an appropriate transition from milk to grass.

In order to allow for rapid rumen development, concentrates should be added to the diet within the first week of life.

At four-weeks-of-age, the gradual weaning should begin, and prior to milk being stripped from the diet completely, calves should be eating 1kg of concentrates/day.

Making any dietary changes should be avoided as it will only cause stress on the calf and take the animal longer to adjust.

As calves are unable to handle high quality grass, it may be better for them to have access to more fibre, as calves that are grazing on more fibrous grass rarely suffer from the disease.

A practical way of correcting the fibre deficit for your calves, is to introduce hay or straw into the diet while the calves are out at grass.

It is important to keep this hay or straw fresh and to keep it in their diet for the first number of months out at grass.

Strip grazing calves is another possible method to prevent the onset of summer scour as it will encourage them to graze both the leaf and the stem of the grass.

It is crucial in the first four to six weeks after turnout to grass, to closely monitor your calves for any evidence of scour and weight loss so you can detect the condition early and treat accordingly.

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Although we had a very wet spring, a number of farmers were still able to get their paddocks reseeded.

A spring reseed can produce as much, if not more grass in the year of reseeding as the old permanent pasture.

Reseeding paddocks will rejuvenate swards by increasing the dry matter (DM) production, allow for weed control and allow also for the introduction of clover into swards.

The concern of many farmers now, is getting paddocks back into the grazing rotation. Paddocks that were reseeded this spring must be closely monitored.

You cannot afford to get the management of these swards wrong, as it can have serious implications on the production capability of the reseed.

Grazing reseeded paddocks

The reseed should be grazed as soon as the new grass roots are strong enough to withstand grazing – this is tested through the ‘pull test’.

Grazing as soon as its fit will also allow for light to reach the base of the plant, which will encourage tillering and clover establishment.

The first grazing of your reseed can generally commence at a pre-grazing yield of 600 – 1,000kg dry matter (DM)/ha.

The first grazing should be done in dry conditions to avoid poaching the paddock. Cutting silage off this paddock should be avoided in the first year, as this will inhibit tillering of grass and clover.

Frequent grazing at low covers during the first year of establishment will allow for further tillering and will bulk up the sward.

Managing clover

The management of clover post-reseeding is essential, as allowing covers to get too high will shade out the clover seedlings.

The management of clover is similar to grass, except grazing should continue at low covers for the first five to six weeks post-sowing.

These paddocks should not be allowed to exceed covers of 1,000kg DM/ha for at least five to six grazings.

Spreading around 2,000 – 3,000 gal/ac of watery cattle slurry will aid in germination and seeding establishment post-sowing, as well as supplying nutrient for plant growth.

Applying chemical nitrogen (N) at the same rate for the first eight to 12 months after sowing is essential as the the clover will not uptake N until then.

Managing your reseeded paddocks is just as important as the timing and methods of reseeding and should not be overlooked.

The post Dairy advice: Managing spring reseeded paddocks appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the June bank holiday weekend looking like it will deliver promising weather, it is crucial that you do not delay your first cut silage any further.

The focus for first cut silage should be ensuring it is of high quality. The earlier your cutting date, the more quality silage you will have.

When we talk about high quality silage, we always talk about the dry matter digestibility (DMD), as high DMD (>70%) will result in improved animal performance due to higher feeding values and increased intakes.

With seven month winters now becoming a reality in recent years, a lot of farmers fear that they won’t have enough silage for next winter.

However, if you have completed a fodder budget, you will know approximately how much silage is needed to get you through.

The aim should be to produce approximately eight tonne of silage per cow which equates to about 10 bales/cow, according to the head of dairy knowledge transfer, Dr. Joe Patton.

Dr. Patton warned that if you are concerned about meeting this demand, do not focus on bulking up your first cut silage, but try and solve your feed deficit problems by focusing on the second cut.

The impact of delaying your first cut silage

The cutting date has a huge impact on DMD and as your crop heads, DMD will be no higher than 70% and will continue dropping 1% every every two to three days until cut.

The following table is a guideline on grass silage DMD for different classes of dairy stock:

There is a clear indication that the DMD percentage decreases the later the harvest date, with the tonnage/DM/ha increasing as the harvest date is delayed.

With a lot of silage ground getting fertiliser later than usual and lower than normal growth rates in April and May, many may be tempted to delay cutting their silage even further to bulk up silage crops.

Having extra silage in the yard is better than running out, however, having low quality silage that the cows won’t eat, that has decreased the cow’s intakes could be part of the reason why there is silage left over, according to Dr. Joe Patton.

Concerns about nitrogen content

A real concern around silage cutting time is the nitrogen (N) content of the grass – grass uses approximately two units of N/day.

In practice, if you apply 100 units of N for first cut silage, the grass should use up the N in 50 days- depending on conditions, the N can be used up quicker.

However, Dr. Joe Patton has emphasised to not be waiting for N to go out of the grass, as he believes the two units rule is a fallacy that restricts farmers.

The head of dairy knowledge transfer said that the two unit rule should be “used as a guideline to put out the fertiliser, but it shouldn’t preclude you from cutting”.

Higher N will also lead to higher protein, so, if conditions allow, the grass should be cut straight away, left to wilt, and then picked up, according to Dr. Patton.

The post The importance of not delaying your first cut silage appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The main concern for a lot of farmers around the country during the mid-season is grass quality, and whether or not they are feeding their cows correctly to optimise milk production.

This year’s unfavourable weather conditions has made grazing difficult, which has resulted in peak milk yield being affected on some farms.

Poor grass quality is the biggest risk to milk production in the mid-season, giving reason to make sure cows are grazing low covers throughout the summer months.

Focusing on grass quality

According to a Teagasc study, during the first 11 weeks post-calving, varying levels of nutrition affected both milk production of cows during the mid-season and throughout the entire lactation.

Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc, Dr. Joe Patton said: “Just because you get a high peak, doesn’t guarantee you are set up for high milk production for the year.

“Conversely, if you got a lower peak that does not mean you can’t catch up in milk from this point forward and for the remainder of the year.”

Dr. Patton has warned farmers to not get worried about cows not reaching their peak, and to start focusing on grass quality over the next number of weeks in order to see a positive result in your milk yield.

“Don’t obsess about peak, obsess about grass quality,” he stressed.

Research

Teagasc research had highlighted why a cover of 1,400kg DM/ha was optimal for cow performance and health, regardless of the stocking rate.

The study showed that cows receiving no concentrates and grazing 1,400kg DM/ha covers produced 23.9kg of milk compared to cows grazing a cover of 2,000kg DM/ha and being supplemented 6kg/head/day producing 23.7kg of milk.

These covers were compared again, this time receiving 2kg/head/day of concentrate on each. The cows grazing 1,400kg DM/ha covers had an intake of 16.2kg of grass and produced 26.2kg of milk.

The cows grazing the cover of 2,000kg DM/ha had a grass intake of 14.5kg and the cows produced 19.7kg of milk.

This study has clearly shown the results in milk production when cows graze optimal covers, where there is a focus on quality over quantity.

During the Teagasc webinar, Dr. Patton explained why a cover of 1,400kg DM/ha and a couple of kilograms of concentrates is often referred to:

“It’s the best balance of cow performance, cow health and managing to maximise the grass utilised out of the paddock.”

With that being said, carrying a higher stocking rate does not mean you have to increase you pre-grazing yield above 1,400kg DM/ha.

Having a higher stocking rate means you should reduce the grass allowance per cow and supplement the difference, according to the head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer.

He stated that: “If you run out of grass, it’s not the pre-grazing cover; it’s a mismatch between grass growth rate and your stocking rate.”

The post Dr. Joe Patton on how grass quality will drive milk solids appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Keeping high quality grass in front of cows is essential in order to maintain quality milk production.

During the spring of this year (2024), it had been very difficult to achieve good residuals, with many paddocks being poached or left with an excessive amount of grass.

This resulted in the quality of the following rotation being negatively affected.

During the summer months of the year, grass quality can easily decrease if managed poorly.

If not managed accordingly, you could potentially be left with a large proportion of stem that will not be grazed out properly.

Grass growth has surpassed demand, with there being an average growth rate around the country of 76kg dry matter (DM)/ha/day, and a demand of 58kg DM/ha/day.

Controlling

As growth rates continue to improve, it is important to closely monitor your grass and make changes in your grazing rotation when required.

Grass walks should take place frequently during peak months. Walking the fields twice a week at this time of year will allow for rapid intervention and management.

Without regular monitoring of grass, covers can quickly get out of hand. Walking your grass twice a week will allow for the best decisions to be made with the most up-to-date information.

Grass quality

As grass gets ahead of cows, it is time to start shortening your rotation length to make sure cows are going into appropriate covers.

Entering paddocks with high covers will only result in poor residuals, which is a waste of grass and time.

Identifying paddocks that are too strong is crucial – these paddocks need to be mowed and baled.

Trying to graze heavier cover paddocks will only result in poor residuals and they will need to be topped afterwards.

It is essential that you act quickly on these surplus covers in order to have the paddock available for the next rotation.

Paddocks where quality has dropped can also be identified, for instance, when you have a large amount of dung pads and stem.

In cases where residuals are poor, and where a lot of stem and old grass is left in a paddock, topping post-grazing will ensure better quality grass for the next rotation.

You should ensure your topper is set to cut down to 4cm.

Topping is not as ideal as taking out paddocks for bales, as you still waste grass.

The post Maintaining high quality grass as growth rates continue appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Cell grazing involves the very intensive ‘cleaning out’ of small areas within a field or paddock by animals, which are moved on to new pasture in 24 or 48 hours.

Relative to set stocking, it has been identified as a way of potentially improving the performance levels within the cattle sector.

A recent research project completed by scientists at Rothamsted Research in the UK is confirming that cell grazing has positive effects on soil carbon sequestration, pasture growth, and live weight production/ha compared to set-stocking.

The four-year study compared cell grazing (CG), using TechnoGrazing infrastructure, where animals were moved every one to two days to new and set stocking (SS), where animals remained in the same area for the grazing season.  

With TechnoGrazing, a block of pasture is divided into a grid of grazing cells, each usually less than 0.1ha, by permanent and temporary fences with fibreglass posts.

Permanent fences are used to form long narrow lanes, and temporary fences are placed across these lanes to form the cells.

Research

According to the Rothamsted study, the cell grazing method achieved substantially higher pasture growth, with dry matter (DM) production nearly 40% higher than SS.

By the third year, CG areas supported double the livestock/ha compared to SS – and produced 140% more liveweight/ha.

Despite more intensive grazing and higher stocking densities, soil carbon content increased in cell grazing enclosures, while it decreased in set stocking, indicating higher levels of carbon sequestration.

In a perfect system, livestock would graze all parts of a field equally. In reality, the animals tend to cluster around features like water troughs, leading to uneven grazing and bare patches.

Cell grazing reduces these problems; animals are evenly rotated around the paddock, grazing more intensively. 

The pasture then has the possibility to rest and recover from being eaten and generate new growth.

In contrast, SS approaches may lead to overgrazing of certain areas, affecting pasture productivity. 

“These results give the best evidence yet that it’s not the cow, it’s the how,” said Rothamsted’s Dr. Jordana Rivero, who led the CG study.

“In other words, the way you manage your grazing system is important and can deliver beneficial outcomes.

“Cell grazing benefits both the farm productivity and some aspects of the environment. Negative environmental impacts like increased nutrient runoff potential or soil compaction were similar between the two methods,” he added.

The Rothamsted study team found a range of other effects including changes in the botanical composition of the two systems.

Cell grazing

Cell grazing increased the abundance of perennial ryegrass within the sward and maintained levels of white clover, while set stocking led to an increasing abundance of weed species.

“This study is the first time that the two systems have been systematically compared taking into account both productivity and environmental impacts in lowlands in the long-term.

“We found no added environmental costs in cell grazing systems despite its greater stocking densities. 

“Moreover, animals in cell grazing plots also had a grazing season three weeks longer, on average, than those in set stocking, potentially reducing cost of winter housing and feeding.”

The Rothamsted study started in 2018 and is still ongoing.

The most recent interim report includes the results collated over the first four years. It involves six enclosures, with three replicates of each method (CG and SS).

Autumn born dairy x beef steer calves arriving at around six-months-old were randomly allocated to groups.

They were grazed for two consecutive seasons with the aim of finishing off grass by 24-months-of-age. 

“Long-term trials are critical to assess any intervention applied to productive systems.

“If we are interested in understanding how the components of the system such as soil, plants and animals evolve over time, and how the system adapts to the new management, we need to run extended studies,” said Dr. Rivero.

“The work is ongoing: a couple of week ago, the fourth cohort of calves were turned out to the experimental paddocks to launch the seventh grazing season,” he added.

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AgriSearch is hosting a farm walk on red clover establishment as part of the ZeroNsile project in partnership with Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).

The farm walk is set to take place on Wednesday, June 5 on the farm of David Clarke.

In partnership with his father, Clarke farms 80 spring calving dairy cows alongside a broiler-breeder poultry unit near Augher, Co. Tyrone.

Grassland agronomist from AFBI, Dr. David Patterson and grassland technologist at CAFRE, Robert Patterson will highlight the key steps needed to successfully establish red clover swards.

They will discuss soil fertility, nutrient management, seed selection and reseeding methods, which are all “key steps” to establish red clover swards.

The Tyrone dairy farmer will also discuss his experiences of establishing and harvesting red clover silage swards on his farm as part of the ZeroNsile Project.

A spokesperson for CAFRE, Conail Keown will discuss how to make the most of the crop within the diet of dairy cows, as well as the benefits that the crop can bring.

He will discuss how the use of the clover can lower fertiliser use, have a higher protein forage and it can reduce a farmer’s carbon footprint.

Project on red clover

The ZeroNsile project was established in 2023 to examine the “feasibility and practicalities” of producing silage without the use of manufactured N fertiliser, focusing primarily on red clover swards. 

12 farmers from the Beacon Farm Network and GrassCheck programmes were selected across Northern Ireland to establish swards on their farms. 

There is also a smaller Lucerne component in the study which will investigate the “feasibility” of growing and utilising Lucerne on three farms in Co. Down.

Registrations are now open for the farm walk and places can be booked via the AgriSearch website.

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Over 50 international chefs who are members of the Chefs’ Irish Beef Club (CIBC) took part in a three-day visit to Ireland this week (Monday May 13) to mark the 20th anniversary of the club.

The post Video: International Michelin-star chefs visit Kilkenny beef farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As ground conditions improve and silage season begins, contractors all over the country are working long days to catch up on lost time. Contractor, Stephen Mohan from Mohan Agri Limited in Co. Meath said that he is finding it hard to get enough workers and machinery at this time of the year.

The post Video: Contractors under pressure as silage season begins appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has put together its management tips for farmers as slurry tanks on many farms “remain full” following the prolonged wet spell.

According to CAFRE, farmers in zones 1 and 2 of Northern Ireland should have received their Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) soil sampling results.

Fields that have been identified as low in phosphorus (P) or potassium (K), as well as silage fields, should be targeted for slurry to be spread.

Watery slurry will be more suited to Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE) application and tanks should be diluted where possible.

CAFRE added that the SNHS would have identified the fields that are low for pH and that farmers should create a plan to correct the pH. Fields with the highest lime requirement should be targeted first.

This is because the field may require more than one application to raise the pH levels, according to CAFRE.

Correcting pH will give a “good return on investment” due to the enhanced fertiliser response rate that will be gained.

The best return for fertiliser spread during the year will be from May to July, with 25-30kg dry matter (DM) of grass grown for every kilogram of additional nitrogen (N) sown.

CAFRE added that “a 50kg bag of fertiliser could produce an additional 1.1t of silage fresh weight if growing conditions are favourable.

“This should be done on a ‘little and often’ basis, rather than applying a large amount all at once.”

The organisation added that maize drilling will also be delayed this year due to the wet spring, and that optimum drill timing depends on soil conditions, temperature and seedbed moisture.

Maize should not be drilled before soils have reached a consistent temperature for three to four days of 10 – 12°C.

Mycotoxin issues in dairy cow diets have been experienced on many units over the past two winters. Reducing soil contamination is one way of trying to reduce the mycotoxin load in silage.

Soil contamination in silage should be avoided where possible through:

• Setting the mower cutting height slightly higher than normal;
• Ensuring that the tedder and rake are set correctly and are not disturbing the soil surface during harvesting operations;
• Avoiding cutting deeply rutted areas at first cut.

Following CAFRE advice, when first cut has been taken from silage fields, farmers should assess damaged areas and repair them prior to second cut.

This involves levelling ruts, over-sowing damaged areas, repairing drainage channels where necessary and earmarking some areas for aeration or a full reseed later in the summer.

The post CAFRE offers advice as slurry tanks ‘remain full’ after wet spell appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The inclusion of clover in grass reseed mixes has increased significantly over the past two years, according to Germinal Ireland technical director, Dr. Mary McEvoy.

Dr. McEvoy told Agriland: “It’s a trend that can be traced back to the dramatic increase in fertiliser prices that directly followed Russis’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It makes absolute sense for farmers to include realistic levels of clover as part of their grassland reseeding programmes.”

The Germinal representative acknowledged that many grazing paddocks have been damaged as a result of the very wet spring conditions.

“In some cases the remedial action may simply entail rolling the affected ground and then patch those badly affected areas with seed,” she said.

“However, in some cases it might be a case of pushing ahead with a complete reseeding operation,” she added.

Dr. McEvoy confirmed that grass sown out at the beginning of May can be grazed lightly by cows seven to eight weeks later.

“It takes six weeks to get the new grass plants to become well established. At that stage, it would be appropriate to spray for weeds,” she continued.

“This leaves a new sward ready for grazing before the end of June. Cows are regarded as the animals of choice to graze off new grass, provided ground conditions are suitable and the grass plants pass the pull test.

“Trials carried out in Ireland confirm that new grass swards established at the beginning of May can produce up to 10t/ac of dry matter (DM) in their first season.

“Even if a dry spell hits during the month of May, there will be sufficient moisture available from early morning dews to allow the growth of newly establish grass plants,” she added.

However, grass reseeds established in June and July can become problematic if a dry spell comes in at that time of the year, according to the Germinal representative.

Farm walk

Meanwhile, over 60 farmers and seed trade representatives attended a recent farm walk on the farm of Brian Hogan at Horse and Jockey, Co. Tipperary.

Organised by Germinal Ireland, those present heard how Brian set about establishing and managing clover and multi-species swards on his farm.

His philosophy is to produce high quality milk off grass. To make this happen, he always needs grass ahead of his cows.

Brian Hogan has had his cows out since January, but continued to take them in at night, however they have been out day and night for the past fortnight.

Until now, he has been feeding silage at milking and a 14% protein nut. He is on his third round of grazing, but still has some first-round paddocks left to graze.

Seven years ago, he set about a strategy to reduce his chemical nitrogen (N) fertiliser use with clover.

“We have made some mistakes, but you learn and you improve. Overall, it has been working for us. But, it is something that farmers need to plan for – maybe look to reseed 10% to 15% of the farm each year,” Brian Hogan explained.

“Building up fertility with phosphate, potash and lime is also very important.”

Clover and herd management

In 2023, Hogan sowed a red and white clover grazing mix for the first time. The grass varities chosen were: AberGain; AberChoice; Ballyvoy; and Ballintoy.

“Following reseeding, red clovers start fixing nitrogen straight away. White clovers won’t get going until year two,” Hogan added.

“Temperature is also very important and we cut chemical nitrogen fertiliser use almost completely from about the middle of the grazing season.”

Brian Hogan pays a lot of attention to herd health and integrates his grazing management with the condition of the cows.

He said: “With clover, it is important to pay close attention to the cows and how hungry they look.

“I don’t let them into paddocks with a lot of clover if they look hungry. We haven’t had problems with bloat. But we manage it carefully. Also, at this stage our cows are used to clover in their diet.”

Reseeding

Germinal’s Diarmuid Murphy provided a checklist for reseeding with grass-clover swards.

“Farmers need to plan their reseeding. This must start with identifying which paddocks should be reseeded and then soil test accordingly,” Murphy said.

“This will determine what the fertility is like and if there is a need to apply applying nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Lime is also critical.

“In preparing the seed bed, farmers have options; normally ploughing or min-till. Each has its own requirements.

“After burning-off the existing sward with glyphosate, it should be possible to reseed about a week after ploughing,” he explained.

However, if a min-till approach has been taken, he strongly recommends waiting for up to three weeks, until such time as the old sward has been properly removed.

Murphy strongly advised rolling. “The advice we all got from our fathers is that the seedbed should be firm enough to cycle a bike across it.

“While this might be bit of an exaggeration, rolling the ploughed field after tilling, and then after sowing seed is still advisable. The grass and clover seed should be placed barely below the surface of the soil.

“We recommend applying the chosen seed mixture at a rate of 14kg/ac.

“As mixtures are sold in 12kg bags, this works out at a recommending sowing rate of a bit over a bag to the acre, or about six bags for 5ac.”

The post Demand for clover increased while fertiliser prices rose appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The sunshine and warm weather finally arrived to most parts of the country over the weekend, and farmers in many areas took the opportunity to get an application of fertiliser out on their ground for first-cut silage.

Some farmers in drier parts of the country even managed to take out a few surplus paddocks that had high grass covers for a cut of bale silage.

With winter feeding still continuing in many parts of the country, many farmers have yet to assess what course of action they will take as regards silage cutting this year.

Before coming to a decision, farmers should first assess their grass covers and the ground conditions.

Some silage ground may not have been grazed since last August or September and may have a high grass cover on it.

Where slurry stores are full and grass covers are high across the farm, it could well be a feasible option to mow and clear off grass covers now, securing silage while making ground available for a slurry application.

Where farmers are going to proceed with a fertiliser application, the general rule of thumb is that grass will use two units of nitrogen (N)/day between the application date and proposed harvest date.

However, where farmers are in doubt, it is always advisable to test grass for the prescence of N before cutting.

Farmers have been well briefed on the importance of cutting silage early as well as the impact of heading out date and stem on silage feed quality.

The quality/quantity debate is also not a new discussion and most farmers know themselves the benefits of feeding good-quality silage over poor-quality silage.

Where slurry has been applied on silage ground already, establish what N volume has already been applied via slurry. The table available here will offer a guideline on the nutrient content already applied to silage ground.

Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) requirements can be provided by early-season slurry applications.

Where this was not possible, a compound fertiliser containing P or K can be used – in line with soil analysis results.

Six weeks from today (Tuesday, April 23) is June 4, and if three bags (150kg) of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) (27% N) is applied/ac today, it will be the end of the first week of June before farmers could consider taking their first cut.

Where lower rates of N are spread now, farmers may be able to secure an earlier cut of silage if the opportunity arises, which could be of more benefit to some farming systems.

The post First-cut fertiliser: Sow less and cut early or sow more and cut late? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Approximately 19 million grass silage bales are made in Ireland on an annual basis, which is a figure that is likely to increase significantly.

As a consequence, this specific form of conserved fodder will remain a critically important winter feed source.

Driving this will be the continuing development of baling and wrapping technologies – the now almost common use of inoculant applicators on baler/wrappers illustrates this perfectly.

Grass bale weights are also increasing, with 750kg now commonly achieved on Irish farms. Significantly, this weight of bale can still be obtained after a 24-hour grass wilt.

The reality is that well-made grass bales are probably the highest quality winter forage source now available on Irish livestock farms.

Chopping, inoculant application, and the enhanced compaction capacity of modern balers combine to deliver optimal fermentation conditions while also delivering a ‘zero waste’ scenario.

Silage research

Significant investment and research into the development of bale wrapping materials has also helped to secure the enhanced quality forage that baled silages now represent.

Sales director for Berry Global’s Silotite brand in the UK, Ireland, Pacific, and Asia, Lloyd Dawson told Agriland: “Recent years have been marked by a step forward in the development of bale wrap films that deliver enhanced silage quality. This is a 100% recyclable polythene film.”

Another example of innovation driving the quality of baled silage, is the growing use of film-on-film technologies.

“Using film, instead of netting, to initially bind the bale has many advantages. In the first instance, the applied film is creating an oxygen barrier from the very outset,” Dawson continued.

“This has an immediate and beneficial impact on the fermentation processes taking places within the bale. Subsequently, a lower number of film layers [is] required to provide the totally anaerobic conditions required within the bale.

“Finally, baler net cannot be recycled; in contrast the bale wrap films manufactured by Berry Global are 100% recyclable,” he said.

According to Dawson, the introduction of Silotite to the British and Irish market helped revolutionise bale wrapping, pushing forward the market for sustainable products.

By engaging directly with the farming community and working closely with key research establishments to undertake commercial scale trials, Berry claims that its product developments are both scientifically grounded and closely aligned with the sector’s needs.

Approximately 16,000t of bale wrap is used across the island of Ireland on an annual basis.

Dawson continued: “Silotite is now sold in 75 countries around the world, however, Ireland has always been synonymous with the use of baled silage at farm level.

“Future developments regarding the size of silage bales and the range of forages ensiled within them are on the horizon.

“These breakthroughs will help to make livestock production a more sustainable option in countries around the world.”

Every tonne of polythene recycled saves 1.8t of crude oil, reduces energy usage by two thirds, entails 90% less water and cuts sulphur dioxide emissions by 33%, according to Berry.

Useful products manufactured from recycled bale wrap include agricultural slats, farm fencing, and garden furniture.

“We remain committed to providing farmers with cutting-edge solutions that enhance efficiency, promote sustainability, and contribute to their success,” Dawson added.

The post Silage set to remain critically important winter feed source appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Teagasc is advising farmers to aim for a silage harvesting date of around mid-May, and to close up fields now where possible for harvesting.

John Galvin, Teagasc drystock advisor in the Galway/Clare area, said that, with the challenges faced by farmers due to excessive rainfall impacting silage making, planning silage harvesting becomes even more important.

“It is questionable if it is either sane or appropriate to be discussing the topic of silage making. Yes, there are still large numbers of stock still in sheds and grazing has not gotten into second gear, and indeed it is a common sight to see large trailers of bales being transported on our roads with the winter feeding period going long into extra time,” Galvin acknowledged.

However, he added: “However, plans must be put in place immediately to replenish the much depleted silage stocks on many farms.”

“Every farmer should carry out a simple fodder budget to work out the silage requirements for their farm based on planned stock type, numbers to be wintered and the number of months housed.”

According to Galvin, suckler cows, zero-to-one-year-olds, and one-to-two-year-olds consume 1.4t, 0.7t and 1.3t of silage per month respectively.

A 20-cow farm plus followers housed on November 1 and let to grass on the March 1 gives a silage demand of 272t or 340 bales.

“Quality silage is key in reducing the feed costs associated with cattle rearing in a suckler beef system. Dry matter digestibility (DMD) is one of the key measures of quality, with protein also being very important especially in growing cattle,” the Teagasc advisor said.

The silage quality guidelines for different types of livestock are as follows:

• Autumn calving cows – 75% DMD;
• Finishing cattle – 74% DMD;
• Weanlings and store cattle – 72% DMD;
• Suckler cow in milk – 70% DMD;
• Dry suckler cows – 65%-70%.

Galvin said that, ideally, silage should be cut and harvested in the first half of May as grass digestibility decreases by 2% to 3% units per week from mid-May onwards.

“A leafy sward with little or no stem will typically give 75%-80% DMD silage, while a grass crop with seed heads emerged will normally be as low as 65% DMD. Silage crops need to be walked regularly to monitor growth stage and ground conditions,” he said.

Galvin added: “In my experience, farmers can get too hung up about the requirement to have a crop closed for a minimum of seven weeks due to nitrogen (N) levels.

“There needs to be a greater focus on bringing the harvest date forward to the second or third week of May.”

As the weather is also impacting grass growth, Galvin also advised how fertiliser should be used as a result.

“First cut silage has a requirement of 80 units of nitrogen (N), 16 units of phosphorous (P), 80-90 units of potassium (K) and 15 units of sulphur(S) per acre. I

“Ideally, 3,000gal/acre of cattle slurry would fulfil most of these needs with only 1.4 bags of pro-urea plus S/ac required in chemical fertiliser,” he explained.

“However, this year, with little or no pre-grazing carried out, poor ground conditions and high grass covers, the time for achieving all of the pre-closing best practice measures is quickly diminishing,” he added.

“In this scenario, the crop requirements will have to be supplied by chemical fertilisers in agreement with the farm P allowances depending on soil analysis results.

“If there is no P allowance just spread the required N + S + K and put out the slurry after harvest.”

Some key points Galvin outlined for farmers to remember are:

• Pasture quality;
• Stage of growth of grass at time of cutting (just before seed heads start to appear);
• Do not overload the crop with N, especially old pastures with limited yield potential and un-grazed fields – it delays cutting date and causes lodging risk;
• Ensure not to mow too bare – this risks bacterial contamination;
• Try to mow in late afternoon, when both the sugars and dry matter levels of the grass are at their peak;
• A fast wilt of 24-48 hours depending on mower type and weather conditions is best;
• Avoid delay in harvest especially as there is a 7%-9% quality penalty associated with lodged crops.

“Aiming for the big June cut is false economy. It costs the same to harvest poor quality silage as good quality silage, and this combined with a performance penalty of 50kg-60kg/weanling in the absence of meal supplementation [further increases] wintering costs,” Galvin said.

The advisor added: “Anecdotal evidence from previous fodder shortage surveys suggests that the farmers that delayed their first cut the longest had the largest fodder shortages. Remember late first cut silage means losing out on the May/early June growth rates for second cut crops.”

The post Farmers advised to aim for mid-May silage harvest date appeared first on Agriland.ie.

There are renewed calls for the fast-approaching deadline for spreading under the National Liming Programme to be pushed out beyond the current cut-off of March 31.

Farmers have until the end of this month to spread the volumes of lime they purchased under the scheme.

Originally, the deadline for spreading was October 31 last year, which was the same date by which farmers had to submit invoices marked paid for the lime they purchased.

In light of poor weather conditions at the time, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue extended the deadline for spreading to March 31, as long as invoices were submitted by the original October 31 date.

However, there have been persistent calls since then for the spreading deadline to be further extended, most recently from the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), which said that, due to wet weather continuing, the conditions for spreading are far from optimal.

“Ground conditions remain extremely difficult on both dry and wet land and there is no prospect for farmers in wet areas being able to meet the March 31 deadline without doing severe damage to land,” ICMSA deputy president Eamon Carrol said today (Tuesday, March 12).

“The jobs are just piling up and the reality is that when land does dry, farmers will be prioritising getting animals to grass given the scarcity of fodder. Then there is spreading slurry and fertiliser to get grass growing,” he added.

“We can safely anticipate that liming contractors will be inundated with calls to get the lime spread before the deadline while also trying to do other jobs for farmers.”

According to Carrol, extending the deadline would serve the interests of health and safety, as well as delivering the “maximum environmental benefit”.

The ICMSA is calling on the minister to extend the deadline to June 30.

“It’s logical, do-able and sensible and would remove one element of pressure from farmers at an extremely difficult time,” Carrol said.

The ICMSA deputy president added: “The minister has the authority to change this deadline and he should do so immediately in recognition of the challenges facing farmers.”

‘Generous extension’ to liming

However, last month Minister McConalogue appeared to rule out the possibility of a further extension to the deadline, saying the original extension had been “generous”.

The minister made the comment following a question from Fine Gael Mayo TD Michael Ring, who expressed concern that weather conditions were making liming difficult on marginal land.

In response to Ring’s question, Minister McConalogue said that applicants were given “significantly more time to spread their approved quantity of lime”.

“This 5-month extension to the spreading deadline was made in light of the challenging weather conditions in 2023.

“The National Liming Programme was supported as a once-off measure funded by the national exchequer for 2023. Given the generous extension of time already granted, coupled with the need to conclude outstanding payments as soon as possible, I do not intend to make any further extension to the spreading deadline of March 31, 2024,” Minister McConalogue said.

The minister called on farmers who have not spread their approved quantity of lime to do so “at the earliest opportunity”, and no later than March 31, if they wish to qualify for payment under the scheme.

The post Renewed calls for liming extension as deadline approaches appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Grass breeding programmes and the associated trial work are continuing to deliver for Irish dairy cattle and sheep farmers, according to Germinal technical director, Dr. Mary McEvoy.

Dr. McEvoy said: “Farmers want to optimise output while, at the same time, achieving this objective on a sustainable basis.”

Dr. McEvoy identified two fundamental traits associated with current grass clover breeding development work, which reflect this reality.

These are: nitrogen (N) utilisation efficiency and improved protein utilisation efficiency with animals grazing high sugar grasses.

She continued: “New grass varieties are delivering improved efficiencies at farm level. We see this with the performance of the varieties on the recommended list and pasture profit index (PPI). In turn, this is helping to improve the sustainability of farm businesses in every sense.

“Other traits of grass varieties that are delivering significant benefits at farm level include: enhanced dry matter (DM) yields and improved persistency.

“Improved seasonal yield in both spring and autumn are beneficial to farmers, as they try to extend the grazing season and reduce dependency on more expensive bought in feeds.”

“Relative to what would have been the case 30 to 40 years ago, we now have grasses with a much higher concentration of sugars, or water soluble carbohydrates in particular.

“This additional energy is allowing ruminant animals to make better use of the protein in these forages, thereby reducing the levels of N excreted in urine.”

McEvoy spoke at a recent technical seminar, hosted by Germinal Ireland.

She confirmed that April, as opposed to August, was the most appropriate month of the year when it comes to committing to a grass re-seeding programme.

“A spring re-seed gives the newly-sown sward a better opportunity to get established and to grow on, also allowing for multiple grazings before the field is closed for the winter.

“Farmers also have a better opportunity to control weeds with a spring reseed compared to the autumn.”

Grass breeding programmes

Another exciting development, is the ongoing work by Germinal Horizon in their Clover Breeding Programme.

The breeders at Germinal Horizon Aberystwyth, have successfully crossed a Caucasian clover with white clover, resulting in a hybrid clover which has both rhizomes and stolons.

These are known as DoubleRoot, with AberLasting being the first of these varieties available on the market.

Conventional red clovers grow from a single taproot. As a result, they struggle to survive longer than two to three years when grazed intensively. 

RedRunner is a newly-developed red clover, which in addition to the tap root, also has stolons – giving it exceptional persistency under grazing.

“RedRunner is currently being trialled under sheep grazing to really test its persistency. We are more than confident that it will do well under Irish conditions.

“As a legume, it will have significant capacity to fix N from the air, although it’s still a few years away from being available commercially,” the technical director confirmed.

Grass disease are not a major issue at the moment, but are becoming more prevalent in Ireland.

“We are seeing more cases of diseases in recently years, although it’s still a relatively small number,” Dr. McEvoy added.

“Proper sward management is important in this regard. A case in point is making sure that very heavy covers are not taken through the autumn.

“There is also some evidence pointing to the greater prevalence of grassland disease in swards established after ground has been in tillage for a period of time,” she continued.

The Germinal Ireland representative is very aware of the spring cereal seed shortage that has been predicted for the Irish cereal sector over the coming weeks.

“This is not the case, where grass seed is concerned. There is plenty of grass and clover seed to meet the needs of Irish farmers wanting to push ahead with a grass-re-seed over the coming weeks,” she said.

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Utilising legumes and growing cover crops was a key focus of a recent Germinal Ireland technical briefing.

The event identified ways in which climate-smart agriculture can help grassland farmers lower inputs while continuing to drive production and improve soil health.

Mary McEvoy, Germinal technical director, told delegates: “Pasture utilised continues to be a key driver of profit per hectare. It is important we don’t start to see system drift.

“Grass and clover management will become increasingly important.

“Healthy soils will underpin the profitability of our systems. We need to maintain productive agricultural systems to ensure we can feed the world,” she added.

Approximately, 90% of land in Ireland is in grass which provides huge scope to sequester carbon at a national level.

“Agriculture and the environment can have a very symbiotic relationship in the future,” McEvoy added.

The Germinal Ireland representative also highlighted the importance of using the Pasture Profit Index for grass seed to select top-performing varieties.

There is a €157/ha difference between the best and the worst perennial ryegrass on the list, she revealed.

Role of red clover

Dr. Nicky Byrne, from Teagasc Grange, confirmed that red clover could play a key role in helping to lower nitrogen use while maintaining or even increasing sward and animal performance.

Since 2019, the management team at Teagasc Grange has reduced chemical nitrogen (N) from 250kg/ha/year to 120kg by incorporating white and red clover into grassland.

Byrne explained that red clover could biologically fix up to 300kg of N/ha. But swards needed careful management to achieve good yields and persistency.

He encouraged farmers to select varieties for good persistency after year three, and sow red clover alongside good quality perennial ryegrasses and white clover to bridge the gap when red clover diminishes in the sward.

New developments in plant breeding

Dr. David Lloyd, head of plant breeding at Germinal Horizon – which is part of Aberystwyth University in Wales – explained how Germinal is developing improved varieties of red clover to improve persistency.

One of these is RedRunner; it has a stoloniferous growth habit like white clover.

Lloyd referred to this specific trait as being “revolutionary in grassland agriculture”.

“Not only does it have improved grazing tolerance, but it also reduces ammonia losses,” he said.

“When leaves are damaged during grazing or when clover is ensiled, it produces compounds that bind to proteins making them less vulnerable to degradation by fermentative processes.

“Therefore it reduces the loss of nitrogen as ammonia and increases protein available for use by the animal.”

RedRunner is one of the varieties being developed as part of the Nitrogen Utilisation Efficiency-Legume (NUE-Leg) project which has recently secured €4 million in grant supports from the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for its next on-farm trial phase.

Project NUE-Leg seeks to combine newly developed legume varieties with selected soil microbes and bespoke plant nutrition programmes to achieve a three-fold increase in fixing atmospheric nitrogen.

Cover crops

Soil scientist Neil Fuller, from the Atlas Sustainable Soils Program, talked about the role of cover crops in retaining nutrients, like nitrogen, while also building a ‘brand new proposition’ for agriculture in helping to mitigate climate change.

“The only piece of the puzzle that can get involved with carbon removals is farmers because they have land and that’s a unique proposition. The whole thing pivots around soil sequestration,” he explained.

Trials have confirmed that growing multi-species cover crops for 90 days after barley harvest retained 120kg of N and 32kg of phosphorus, three years of data showed.

“If it’s green, it’s growing, it’s multispecies, it’s really climate-friendly and farmers are taking the first steps towards climate-smart farming,” Fuller said.

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The importance of red clover in silage swards has been highlighted by AgriSearch general manager, Jason Rankin.

“Grassland farmers are under pressure to reduce fertiliser costs, while still maintaining optimal levels of output from forage,” he said.

“Red clover has the potential to meet both these requirements.”

According to the AgriSearch representative, red clover varieties have the potential to fix 200kg/ha of nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere on an annual basis.

Trial work carried out by Agri-Food and Bisosciences Institute (AFBI) scientists has confirmed that pure stands of red clover can produce up to 13t of dry matter (DM)/ha/annum.

“As a consequence, farmers growing silage swards containing significant quantities of red clover need only add the required levels of potash and phosphate to ensure that high levels of productivity are secured,” Rankin continued.

“In addition, the protein in red clover is of an exceptionally high quality. This then allows livestock farmers to reduce the levels of additional protein they offer stock in concentrate feeds.”

However AgrSearch has acknowledged that red clover is a complicated crop to grow.

“Soil pH, phosphate and potash levels must be correct in order to optimise crop growth,” Rankin explained.

“Red clover grows from a single point within the plant. If this crown is damaged, issues relating to persistency within a silage sward will arise.”

Red clover in silage

As a general rule of thumb, it is now envisaged that red clover will persist within silage swards for a maximum of four years.

“It is generally recommended that a mix of red clover, white clover and perennial ryegrass should form the main constituents of a 10-year silage sward,” Rankin continued.

“The red clover will generate its impact during the first four years, post-establishment. Thereafter, the ryegrass and white clover can maintain the high levels of output and forage quality until such times as the ground is re-seeded again.”

AgriSearch will be holding a webinar on Wednesday, February 28 at 8:00p.m on how to successfully establish red clover silage swards.

Dr. David Patterson, a grassland agronomist from AFBI, will outline the key steps needed to successfully establish red clover swards.

Issues include include soil fertility, nutrient management, seed selection and reseeding methods.

Two farmers from the ZeroNsile project – Stephen Maguire, a beef farmer from Co. Fermanagh and David Clarke, a dairy farmer from Co. Tyrone – will discuss their experiences of establishing red clover silage swards on their farms as part of the ZeroNsile Project.

The ZeroNsile project was established in 2023 to examine the feasibility and practicalities of producing silage without the use of manufactured N fertiliser, focusing primarily on red clover swards.

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has again ruled out allowing more time to spread lime under the National Liming Programme after the “generous extension” already granted.

The minister made the comment following a question from Fine Gael Mayo TD Michael Ring, who expressed concern that weather conditions were making liming difficult on marginal land.

Ring asked the minister if he would extend the deadline for the spreading of lime under the programme beyond March 31.

In early October, the minister announced flexibility under the scheme which allowed farmers until March 31 this year to spread the lime they had purchased under the scheme and for which they had submitted receipts to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The previous date had been October 31 last year.

In response to Ring’s question, Minister McConalogue said that applicants were given “significantly more time to spread their approved quantity of lime”.

“This 5-month extension to the spreading deadline was made in light of the challenging weather conditions in 2023,” he said.

The minister called on farmers who have not spread their approved quantity of lime to do so “at the earliest opportunity”, and no later than March 31, if they wish to qualify for the payments under the scheme.

“The National Liming Programme was supported as a once-off measure funded by the national exchequer for 2023. Given the generous extension of time already granted, coupled with the need to conclude outstanding payments as soon as possible, I do not intend to make any further extension to the spreading deadline of March 31, 2024,” Minister McConalogue said.

Calls for liming extension

This is not the first time that there has been calls for an extension to the liming deadline under the National Liming Programme.

Late last year, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) called for an extension until July.

Speaking at the time, the ICMSA’s then-deputy president (now president) Denis Drennan welcomed the extension to March, but warned that the “reality for farmers in particularly wetter parts of Ireland is that a lot of land targeted for lime spreading will probably not dry out sufficiently before April or May next year”.

“At that stage, the land will have been closed off for first cut silage.

“The liming programme is a welcome initiative, and the minister should ensure that its benefit is maximised. That is why [we think] that forcing farmers to spread lime in unsuitable conditions between now and next March would not be sensible,” Drennan had said.

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The average price of one hectare of arable land in the EU was €10,578 in 2022 according to new report but in Ireland it was more than three times that price.

Latest Eurostat research shows that the national average price of arable land in Ireland was estimated to be in the region of €38,013/ha in 2022.

This represents a significant year on year jump in the average price of arable land in Ireland which was €32,201/ha in 2021, compared to €25,724/ha in 2020.

However, this is still considerably lower compared to prices in one of the more expensive regions to purchase one hectare of arable land – the Netherlands.

Prices there ranged from €66,051 in Friesland to €150,644 in Flevoland and where the national average price is in the region of €85,431/ha.

According to the latest Eurostat report the price of one hectare of arable land ranged the lowest of €3 700 on average in Croatia to €233,230 on average in Malta.

The reason why arable land is so expensive in Malta is down to its “limited availability” and the demand for land for alternative uses.

Arable

Research also shows the cheapest region in the EU to buy one hectare of arable land in 2022 was in Övre Norrland – on average €2,041 and Mellersta Norrland – €2 437 both in Sweden.

Meanwhile in Greece, prices ranged from €6,290/ha in Dytiki Ellada to €84,820 in Attiki while the national average was in the region of €13 571 per hectare.

In Spain, prices ranged from €4,906/ha in Extremadura to €83,299 in Canarias and the national average was in the region €10 263/ha.

Grassland

In general the average price of one hectare of arable land in most EU countries was about €2,200 more than the average price of one hectare of permanent grass in 2022 – €8,393.

Arable was also more expensive compared to permanent grassland in almost all countries and regions. 

Permanent grassland was cheapest in Bulgaria at €1,887/ha in 2022.

Rental prices

According to Eurostat the average rental price of arable land or permanent grassland was €199/ha in 2022.

The rent for one hectare of permanent grassland in 2022 ranged from a low of €32 on average in Slovakia to €354 on average in Ireland.

But rental prices for arable land were much more varied and ranged from €77/ha in Slovakia to €510/ha in Ireland on average.

However among the most expensive countries to rent one hectare of either arable land or permanent grassland continued to be the Netherlands at €843/ha in 2022, followed by Denmark at€561/ha.

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A TD has said she is “deeply alarmed” at the results of a survey carried out by Agriland which revealed that one-third of farmers are running short of fodder.

At least 33% of farmers who took part in the survey will at some stage have to purchase fodder.

The survey was open to respondents for a 24-hour period between 4:00p.m on Tuesday (January 9) until 4:00p.m on Wednesday (January 10), with 2,356 farmers responding in total.

Responding to those results, independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan said she is “deeply alarmed by the findings of the Agriland survey”.

“As such I will be making urgent representations to (Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) Charlie McConalogue urging the roll-out of all necessary support measures to address what is now a clearly foreseeable emerging crisis,” Nolan added.

“Inaction is not an option,” she said.

Concern was also expressed by a member of the Seanad, senator Victor Boyhan, who also said that he will raise the results of the survey with Minister McConalogue.

Agriland survey results

The survey asked three questions, as follows:

• Are you running short on fodder?
• Will you have to purchase more fodder?
• What county are you from?

Participants were also invited to leave a brief comment on their situation.

796 farmers said they are running short on fodder, while 1,560 said they have sufficient supplies. Meanwhile, 769 farmers also indicated that they would need to buy-in fodder, while 1,587 respondents said they would not.

Feedback from farmers who participated in the survey shows that many are now facing a critical shortage of fodder on their farms which has forced some of them to buy-in more silage.

This option is costly, with some farmers stating that the prices are too high, and some are considering the possibility of selling off some of their livestock earlier than planned.

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New research carried out in the UK suggests that both organic and inorganic fertiliser may contribute to concentrations of microplastics in agricultural soils.

The research paper, published in the scientific journal Nature, was authored by researchers from Lancaster University and Rothamsted Research, an agriculture and environment research institute based in Hertfordshire in England.

The researchers said that their study demonstrated that microplastic concentrations increased at higher rates in soils that are “amended” with either organic (farmyard manure) or inorganic fertiliser between 1966 and 2022.

The results were determined using soil samples collected by Rothamsted Research at 18 separate time points over the course of some 180 years.

A significant increase in microplastic concentrations was observed between 1966 and 2022 across the three soil treatment types that were examined, namely farmyard manure, inorganic fertiliser, and ‘nil treatment’ (no treatment with fertiliser).

In the samples taken up to the year 1914, no microplastics were detected, consistent with the creation of ‘modern plastics’ some 100 years ago.

In the samples taken between 1914 and 1966, the microplastics detected were likely not from agricultural sources but instead reflected increased plastic use in wider society, especially in infrastructure, fashion, and domestic use, the research paper said.

However, the research indicated that, in the samples taken between 1966 and 2022, microplastic amounts in soil treated with farmyard manure and inorganic soil were significantly different than amounts in untreated soil, but not significantly different from each other.

The researchers said that these findings indicate that the application of organic and inorganic fertiliser “is directly contributing” to the microplastic load in the soil beyond baseline concentrations.

“We demonstrate that microplastic concentrations in agricultural soils increase over time and that the application of organic and inorganic fertilisers are significant contributors of microplastics to soil beyond baseline concentrations,” the researchers said.

They added: “The impacts of microplastic pollution on agricultural activity are largely unquantified and unreliable, due to the lack of longer-term field trials and the use of unrepresentative concentrations in many studies.

“Given that microplastic concentrations will likely continue to accumulate in agricultural soils from agricultural and non-agricultural sources, the effects of microplastics in agricultural systems must be better understood.

“With no immediate solution to remediate microplastic pollution on the horizon, it is critical to reassess our relationship with plastic use in agriculture and beyond,” the researchers added.

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According to Teagasc, chemical fertiliser usage on Irish farms – grassland and tillage – continues to decline.

Recently published figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have highlighted the progress Irish farmers have made in terms of reducing their nitrogen fertiliser usage.

Fertiliser sales in Ireland declined in 2023. 

According to Teagasc, this has been achieved through a combination of changed practices at farm level and a reaction to higher fertiliser prices as a result of global unrest.

Driving all of this has been a greater uptake of soil sampling plus the tailoring of fertiliser plans based on soil and crop requirements.

Chemical fertiliser

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023 sets a maximum chemical nitrogen (N) use target of 300,000t by 2030, which is a key greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measure for agriculture to deliver a 25% reduction in carbon emissions.

DAFM figures for fertiliser sales in 2023 indicate that this target was achieved for the year, when 280,569t of chemical nitrogen nutrient were sold.

This represents a reduction of 18% on the quantities of chemical nitrogen nutrient sold in 2022, which were 343,193 tonnes.

Commenting on this reduction, Teagasc’s Mark Plunkett, said: “Chemical nitrogen use of 280,569t is well below the Climate Action Plan target of 300,000t by 2030.

“The 18% reduction of chemical nitrogen will feed into reducing the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2023. Chemical nitrogen use is 31% lower in 2023 than the base year of 2018.

“This large reduction in chemical nitrogen shows that farmers are being strategic in their use of fertiliser on farm.

“This reduced nitrogen use is being underpinned by increased use of soil analysis, lime, cattle slurry, clover and multispecies swards on farm,” he added.

Source

Of the total nitrogen tonnage sold in 2023, DAFM figures show that 56% originated from straight nitrogen products (156,342 tonnes), whereas 44% was derived from compound fertilisers (124,227t).

In terms of the straight nitrogen fertiliser component, 29% was in the form of unprotected urea, 22% was protected urea and 49% was calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN).

The Climate Action Plan 2023 targets 90-100% uptake of protected urea on grassland farms by 2030.

Plunkett continued: “Protecting all the straight urea used by farmers would make a huge difference to meeting our national ammonia targets now and into the future.

“The use of protected urea nitrogen in compound fertiliser such as 29-0-14+ S increased from 547t in 2022 to 1,427t nitrogen in 2023.

“This gives a total tonnage of protected urea of 35,427t, which is a 15% increase in protected urea,” he added.

“Urea and protected urea now make up a combined 52% share of the straight nitrogen market and if all this was protected, farmers would be almost be 54-60% of the way towards the 2030 protected urea target.”

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The scale of the mycotoxin challenges in Irish silages is higher than in previous years and will need to be managed in order to maintain performance.

This was the key assertion made by Alltech’s Aislínn Campbell in her presentation to a recent mycotoxins workshop.

Alltech’s European Harvest Analysis Programme for 2023 has highlighted testing results from grass silage, straw and total mixed ration (TMR) samples, taken throughout Ireland over recent weeks.

All of the work was carried out at the Alltech laboratory, based at Dunboyne in Co. Meath.

The facility provides a comprehensive overview of the mycotoxin risk in animal feeds by testing for 54 individual mycotoxins.

Mycotoxin challenge in silage

The results this year confirmed that 63% of grass silage samples, 15% of straw samples, and 76% of TMR samples were at high risk for mycotoxins.

To better understand the link between mycotoxins and animal performance, Alltech’s mycotoxin management team has developed the risk equivalent quantity (REQ).

This figure represents the overall mycotoxin risk associated with a sample and a particular species’ health and performance, based on the cumulative effect of the groups of mycotoxins present in a feed sample.

“Of the Irish grass silages assessed, 62.9% posed a high mycotoxin risk, 5.7% a moderate risk, and 31.4% a low risk,” Campbell explained.

“Penicillium compounds represented the highest mycotoxin grouping identified. The average REQ value measured across all the samples analysed was 322.8.”

“These numbers represent a worst-case scenario when considering a cumulative effect of various mycotoxins.”

Dairy cow performance

So what could all this mean for dairy cow performance?

According to Campbell, an REQ figure of 323 could impair milk production by up to 0.74L/cow/day while increasing cell count by a factor of 107.2%.

“Where 2023 straw analyses are concerned, 14.3% of samples posed a high mycotoxin risk, 14.3% a moderate risk, and 71.4% a low risk. The average straw REQ value was 286,” she said.

 “Straw included within a TMR with an REQ value of 286 could have a negative on somatic cell count.

“However, when included in a TMR, it is important to consider the effects of straw in relation to mycotoxin risk, something that is often overlooked.”

Mycotoxins and animal health

The global director of Alltech’s mycotoxin management team, Nick Adams, also spoke at the workshop.

He confirmed that mycotoxins can affect any animal at any stage of production.

Problems can be ongoing or flare up suddenly, even on the same pit of silage. This may be due to hitting pockets of mycotoxins in the clamp.

Animals may exhibit one symptom or several. Mycotoxins can reduce appetite, gut integrity and rumen function, decreasing the animal’s ability to absorb nutrients from feed, resulting in performance losses.

Symptoms may include reduced or fluctuating milk yield, poor milk solids or reduced daily live weight gain (DLWG).

Fluctuating forage intakes, variable dung consistency across a batch of animals, or loose dung consistency can also be signs of gut problems.

Mycotoxins suppress the immune system, a problem which can manifest itself in multiple ways, including cell count problems such as raised somatic cell count (SCC), often leading to increased cases of mastitis or E. coli, swollen hocks, lameness and rough coats.

Fertility problems caused by mycotoxins can range from irregular heats to cysts, lower conception rates and abortions.

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has announced a one-week extension to the closing date for receipt of claims under the National Liming Programme.

Wet weather over the summer and autumn significantly diminished many farmers opportunities to spread lime this year.

For this reason, the minister announced earlier this month that, provided an invoice marked paid was submitted with the payment claim by October 31, the lime could be delivered and spread up to March 31, 2024.

However, in recent days quarries have experienced a significant increase in the number of farmers seeking to forward buy lime for delivery and spreading by the end of March.

In some cases this has resulted in quarries suspending sales as they could not guarantee they would have payments processed and invoices marked paid issued to all their customers in time for the claim to be submitted to the department.

Responding to this situation, Minister McConalogue said today (Friday, October 27): “Given the difficult weather conditions, I introduced flexibility at the start of October to allow farmers spread lime under the Liming Programme up to March 31, 2024, provided the lime was paid for and the claim for aid submitted to my department by October 31.

“Significant numbers of farmers have opted to avail of this important flexibility,” he added.

“Such is the demand that a number of quarries have advised that, as they can’t guarantee their customers will have an invoice marked paid in time for next Tuesday’s deadline, they are ceasing to take orders.”

“Given the environmental benefits associated with the application of lime to correct soil pH, I want to ensure all approved farmers can avail of this scheme and purchase lime. I am therefore granting a one-week extension, with the scheme now closing for claims at midnight on November 7,” Minister McConalogue said.

The National Liming Programme is supported as a once-off measure from the national exchequer and farmer payments have to be paid from the 2023 budget.

To allow time for claim processing, there will be no further extension to the deadline for receipt of claims, according to the minister.

The extension has been welcomed by Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture, food and the marine Claire Kerrane, who had requested that the deadline be extended “given the increased input costs this year and the delay in farm payments”.

“Farmers were under huge financial pressure and the idea of having to buy lime now just to have a receipt when the lime more than likely will not be spread until next year was not fair,” Kerrane said.

“I welcome the extension of one week, and while it is just a week, it will give farmers a small bit of breathing space,” she added.

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Key deadlines are approaching under both the National Liming Programme and the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme.

Participants have until next Tuesday (October 31) to submit invoices marked paid under the National Liming Programme for volumes of lime purchased.

This had also been the deadline by which lime had to be delivered and spread on farm. However, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue announced flexibility on that requirement earlier this month.

The minister said that, once invoices are submitted by October 31, farmers will have until March 31, 2024, to spread the lime.

In announcing that flexibility, the minister said he recognises that that weather conditions during 2023 resulted in significant challenges to the spreading of lime which diminished opportunities to avail of this support.

“To address this challenge, I am today providing important flexibility for farmers that purchase lime in 2023 but spread it when ground conditions are more optimum which could be into early 2024,” Minister McConalogue said.

He added: “This will allow latitude to farmers to purchase lime but await delivery and spreading until conditions allow, with the latest for spreading being March 31, 2024.”

Soil sampling

Meanwhile, farmers in the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme have until Monday (October 30) to submit their applications.

The Soil Sampling and Analysis programme is aimed at” “putting soil health, soil fertility and soil carbon at the very centre of the future agricultural model”.

The aim of this phase of the scheme is to enable better surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a national and regional level, by screening for the presence of E. coli.

Announcing this phase of the scheme, Minister McConalogue said: “Nutrient management and soil health are central to achieving economic and environmental sustainability on farms and are therefore high priorities for my department and form part of our commitments.”

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has said that he does not envisage any further extension to the deadline for spreading lime under the National Liming Programme.

In response to a parliamentary question this week from independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan, the minister said that the programme is a once-off measure with no funding available for next year.

Nolan asked the minister “if he will consider extending the deadline for lime to be spread beyond March 31, 2024 to July 15, 2024 to allow farmers time to spread the lime after first-cut silage if the weather has not improved sufficiently before then”?

In response, Minister McConalogue said: “On October 6, I announced flexibility to the spreading date under the National Liming Programme. While the deadline of October 31, 2023 remains in place for receipt of claims, applicants have until March 31 to spread the lime.

“The extension to the spreading dates was permitted due to the challenging weather conditions in 2023.”

However, this deadline for spreading is not likely to be extended further, the minister suggested.

“As this programme is supported as a once-off measure from the national exchequer and there is no funding available for next year, I do not envisage any further extension to the spreading date as administration checks for the programme must be completed by 2024,” he said.

Calls for liming programme extension

The minister’s response comes after the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) called for the deadline for spreading under the National Liming Programme to be extended to July next year.

Deputy president of the ICMSA, Denis Drennan, who also chairs the association’s Farm and Rural Affairs Committee, welcomed the extension to March as “a step in the right direction”.

However, Drennan also said “the reality for farmers in particularly wetter parts of Ireland is that a lot of land targeted for lime spreading will probably not dry out sufficiently before April or May next year”.

“At that stage, the land will have been closed off for first cut silage.

“The liming programme is a welcome initiative, and the minister should ensure that its benefit is maximised – that is why [we think] that forcing farmers to spread lime in unsuitable conditions between now and next March would not be sensible,” Drennan added.

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Claims under the multi-species sward and red clover silage measures can still be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine until Wednesday (October 4).

The original deadline for the submission of claims for both measures had been Friday (September 29). However, the department has informed applicants that claims can still be made for an additional five days after the original closing date.

The department confirmed: “[The department] wishes to advise the deadline for submission of claims under both the multi-species swards measure and the red clover silage measure has been extended to Wednesday, October 4.

“An SMS text message issued to approved applicants under both measures to notify them of the extension,” the department said.

The claim system initially opened on August 30, following on from the opening of the application process in April.

The multi-species sward and red clover silage schemes have a combined budget of €2.5 million.

According to the department, these measures were introduced to promote “environmentally sustainable methods of farming”, with the department saying that these will have a positive impact on climate emissions, biodiversity and water quality.

A payment rate of up to €300/ha is being allowed for the measures as part of the government’s response to meeting increased input costs.

Farmers who applied for the measures can continue to upload their claims for payment through the agfood.ie portal up to Wednesday.

After signing into the online system, applicants should select ‘AgSchemes – Applications for Payment’ and then select the relevant measure from the scheme drop-down menu.

Applicants must have declared the appropriate crop code for the respective parcel on their 2023 Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) application.

Supporting documents, such as invoices and seed labels, must also be uploaded to agfood.ie to support the claim for payment.

Only seed purchased after the applicant’s expression of interest to participate in the respective measure was lodged on agfood.ie, and before the final date for sowing the crop (July 15, 2023), can be considered eligible for aid.

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The claim system under the multi-species sward and red clover silage measures is set to close this Friday (September 29).

The claim system initially opened on August 30, following on from the opening of the application process in April.

The multi-species sward and red clover silage schemes have a combined budget of €2.5 million.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, these measures were introduced to promote “environmentally sustainable methods of farming”, with the department saying that these will have a positive impact on climate emissions, biodiversity and water quality.

A payment rate of up to €300/ha is being allowed for the measures as part of the government’s response to meeting increased input costs.

Farmers who applied for the measures can continue to upload their claims for payment through the agfood.ie portal up to Friday.

After signing into the online system, applicants should select ‘AgSchemes – Applications for Payment’ and then select the relevant measure from the scheme drop-down menu.

Applicants must have declared the appropriate crop code for the respective parcel on their 2023 Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) application.

Supporting documents, such as invoices and seed labels, must also be uploaded to agfood.ie to support the claim for payment.

Only seed purchased after the applicant’s expression of interest to participate in the respective measure was lodged on agfood.ie, and before the final date for sowing the crop (July 15, 2023), can be considered eligible for aid.

Trial work carried out by University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) School of Agriculture and Food Science has shown that the use of multi-species swards lowers the levels of nitrogen (N) fertiliser application on farms by at least 60%, when compared to typical swards.

Along with a significant reduction in N use, the researchers found there was a huge increase in the amount of fodder grown when this type of sward is used.

Initial findings from the research have shown that specific types of multi-species swards can produce up to 25% more herbage for cattle.

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Total fertiliser sales were down over 15% in the last three annual quarters compared to the same three quarters of the previous statistical year, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.

The statistical year for fertiliser sales runs for 12 months from October to the following September, with the first three quarters running until June.

From last October to last June, a total of 935,423t of fertiliser was sold, comprised of 379,075t of straight fertiliser and 556,348t of compound fertiliser.

The total figure is down 15.43% on the total figure for the 2021/2022 statistical year, which was 1,106,109t.

The data also provides the nutrient content of the fertiliser sold, which refers to the tonnage of nutrients in the fertiliser (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, or a combination of these in a compound fertiliser).

The total nutrient content of fertiliser sold in the nine months to June was 324,182t, with the nutrient content of straight fertiliser at 125,892t and that of compound fertiliser at 342,182t.

The total nutrient content figure was down 14.56% compared to the first three quarters of the 2021/2022 year.

Sales of straight fertiliser containing nitrogen in the three quarters to June stood at 361,953t, while sales of compound fertilisers containing nitrogen amounted to 547,156t.

The combined sales for fertiliser containing nitrogen was 909,156t, a decrease of 15.78% for the same figure for the three quarters to June 2022.

Sales of straight fertiliser containing phosphorous in the nine months from last October to last June amounted to 5,792t, while sales of compound fertiliser containing phosphorous came to 542,074t.

The sales of all fertiliser containing phosphorous in the analysed time period totalled 547,866t, a decrease of 8.99% on the same period for 2021/2022.

For straight fertilisers containing potassium, 11,330t were sold between October and June, while 551,887t of compound fertiliser containing potassium was sold in the time period.

A total of 563,217t of fertiliser containing potassium were sold the first three quarter of this statistical year, a decrease of 8.34%.

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Ulster Grassland Society recently hosted a successful visit to the Kilkeel farm of James, and Brenda Henderson.

The business is managed by the couple and a number of family members.

Their farm extends to 150ac; 135ac are in grass, the remainder is sown out in cereals.

Given the sandy soil and seaside location, the farm is prone to drought. Over the years, soil nutrition and fertility has been improved with the benefit of soil sampling and today boasts pH of 6.2 across the farm with a phosphorous (P) Index of 2 and potassium (K) Index of 3.

The main enterprises on the farm comprise a dairy-bred calf-to-beef operation and a flock of 250 breeding ewes.

The Hendersons’ overall objective is to operate the farm business as efficiently as possible with consideration for the environment.

The overriding priority is to optimise the production and utilisation of grass, while reducing concentrate feeding levels, in order to produce high quality beef and lamb.

The dairy-bred beef operation centres on the purchase of Aberdeen-Angus / British Blue heifers in October / November, mainly from the marts.

These animals are then reared on the farm and finished at around two-years-of-age with a carcass weight of 320-340kg. A mix of O+/R carcass grades is normally achieved.

Calves receive up to 300kg meal during their first winter and rely on quality silage during their second winter with no concentrates fed at grass.

Heifers rotationally graze two-day paddocks (1.5ac) and receive minerals through the drinking water, with calves wormed twice during their first summer.

Sheep are also rotationally grazed with part of the flock now grazing a multi-species sward. Adult ewes lamb indoors during March with the year-olds lambing a month later.

Primera composite rams are used on the flock. Last year 1.71 lambs were weaned per ewe with 56kg concentrates fed per ewe.

The average days to slaughter for lambs is 140 days and considerable improvements in this figure have been achieved in recent years.

Reseeding takes place every 10 years with mainly diploid perennial rye grasses and some tetraploids and white clover used in both grazing and silage swards.

Silage is now based on a three-cut system – early May, late June and late August with big bales used to better utilise surplus grass and provide buffer feeding during periods of drought.

The Hendersons’ silage ground receives 2,500 gallons per acre for every cut along with 80units of N/ac for first cut and 60 units of N for subsequent cuts.

The Hendersons have also committed to carbon benchmarking. To date, this work has confirmed 21.9kg carbon output per kg of beef produce.

The equivalent deadweight carbon figure for lambs is and 26.4kg. No account taken of carbon sequestration levels within the farm business is taken account of in these calculations.

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AgriSearch has published a new booklet focusing on ‘grass cover estimation for precision grazing systems’.

The project is part of a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) research challenge fund initiative that has been developed, in partnership with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

Accurately estimating grass covers is crucial for maximising grassland utilisation, grazing efficiency, and meeting livestock demand in rotational grazing systems.

However, the additional labour required to conduct regular paddock walks to measure grassland (either by using a rising plate meter or by cutting and weighing), and accurately recording data can put many farmers off, despite the clear benefits.

In response, AgriSearch and AFBI have completed a research project evaluating new precision technologies, which have recently come available, to measure grass covers, which reduce labour requirements in comparison to traditional grass measurement methods.

It is hoped such innovations will encourage farmers to adopt technology to improve grazing efficiency and grass utilisation.

Grass cover estimation

The precision technologies evaluated within the project included a range of remote and ground-based technology, such as a ‘Smart Platemeter’ that connects to the user’s phone via bluetooth to speed up data entry, and a C-Dax trailed Pasture Meter that can be towed by an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

The remote precision technologies reviewed courtesy of the project, comprised a range of drone and satellite technology which were able to measure the reflectance of near infrared light by chlorophyll in vegetation to estimate grass cover.

As part of the project, two plot experiments commenced in 2018 and 2021 at AFBI Hillsborough, where both remote (satellite and drone) and ground-based technologies were tested to compare cover estimation accuracy against cut and weigh protocol.

This involved the establishment of a large number of perennial ryegrass trial plots to evaluate the accuracy of technology at a range of different grass covers that would be representative of conditions experienced on Northern Ireland farms.

Findings from the plot experiments indicated there is opportunity for advanced ground and remote technologies to be used within precision grazing systems in Northern Ireland, with grass cover estimation accuracy similar to that of existing grass measurement technology currently used on farm.

However, further development of these technologies is required, in order to be able to integrate them on farm.

Booklet

The new booklet draws a number of specific conclusions.

Different vegetation indices obtained with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and multispectral cameras have shown strong correlations with pasture biomass in some studies.

However, complex photogrammetry processing and the saturation of reflectance from the dense grazing swards generated through good grassland management remain a barrier to the utilisation of this technology on-farm.

In practical terms, while these approaches show some promise, further development is required before they will be available as commercial packages.

While the process of image collection with a UAV may be speedier than plate-metering a paddock, associated issues such as licensing and training requirements, planning and subsequent image processing do not currently seem to offer the significant time savings, which are desired.

The GrassHopper smart plate meter trialled did the job of recording grass covers equally well to the older style traditional plate meter, while making data recording and interpretation much simpler and faster through the automated upload and processing.

Interpreting automatically processed data from the trailed pasture meter was equally straightforward, and the operation via ATV offers an attractive alternative to using a plate meter, although accuracy remains a concern and the equipment requires a greater cost outlay, the project determined.

Satellite-derived estimations of grass cover were rapid and easy to obtain, although cloud cover and the irregularity of satellite passes was limiting for data collection.

The overall accuracy of the satellite platform tested was low in this trial, but this was highly variable within the study.

With coming improvements to allow data collection regardless of cloud cover, and combined with ground-truth measurements on a proportion of the grazing platform, these remote sensing estimates may well offer more rapid access to grass cover estimate for farmers.

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One of the key messages emanating from the recent Drummonds grassland reseeding event was the need for farmers to think 12 months ahead, from a planning point of view.

Driving this mindset are two key messages.

The first reflects the fact that adding clover into a reseed varieties mix ticks all the boxes; the second reality is centred on the fact that that clover-friendly herbicides are as rare as hens’ teeth.

So what does this entail from a practical point of view?

In essence, it means that farmers should act to remove problem weeds, including ragwort, nettles and chickweed, from an existing sward some months before the actual reseeding process takes place.

If this is not done, the use of a broadleaf herbicide, post-establishment, may well kill-out most of the clover that was in the new sward.

Under these circumstances, the farmer is then forced to look at stitching-in fresh clover seed at some future stage.

Reseeding

According to Drummonds agronomists, grass reseeding will deliver a full repayment on the investment made within two years.

Making this happen is a combination of factors – the higher growth rates achieved by new and improved grass varieties, the higher sugar contents within these forages and the role of legumes in fixing atmospheric nitrogen.

Drummonds’ Wesley Martin explained: “New and improved swards also hold out the prospect of grazing seasons being extended in both the early spring and at the back end.

“New grass varieties are also more drought resistant.

“Grazed grass remains the cheapest source of feed for ruminant livestock. The average production cost is 8c/kg of dry matter. The comparable cost for spring barley is 32c.”

According to Martin, new and improved grass leys can quickly generate an enhanced return of €160/ha.

Soil testing

Soil testing is the all-important starting point to any grass reseeding project.

“The results of a soil test will deliver critically important information where three key criteria are concerned – soil pH values plus soil phosphate and potash indices,” Martin continued.

“The optimal pH value for a grassland soil will be in the range 6.0 to 6.5. When this is achieved, soil phosphate and potash availability will be at their optimal levels.

“Adding lime, as required, allows farmers to meet this target.”

Managing a new sward is as important a requirement for livestock farmers as is establishing it in the first place.

Getting it grazed down – preferably with young calves or weanlings – is critically important.

New swards should not be grazed before the emerging grasses have reached the three-leaf stage.

One very practical way of establishing a new sward’s suitability is through the use of the ‘pull test’. If young grass plants can be easily pulled from the ground by hand, then they should not be grazed.

If young plants resist hand pulling, then they can be grazed carefully using young stock at the outset.

When asked about the possibility of new swards being easily poached, Wesley Martin said: “Yes, old swards have a high root mass that can help, from a stock carrying capacity.

“This is why it is so important to encourage active root growth within a new sward. Ensuring that available soil phosphate is at the required level is key in this regard.”

Soil structure

Courtesy of his presentation, Grassland Agro’s John O’Loughlin highlighted the role that soil structure plays when establishing a new crop of any kind.

Where soils containing a high level of organic matter are concerned (black soils), he indicated that pH values should be maintained at a value of 5.8.

He defined those soils containing 20% organic matter or more as falling into this category.

According to O’Loughlin, soil compaction is a major challenge on many Irish grassland farms.

This refers to the physical degradation of the soil, leading to a reduction in biological activity, porosity and permeability. As a consequence, soil structure is partly destroyed.

Compacted soils impede root development which can reduce yields. Along with reduced plant growth, poor aeration induces the loss of soil nitrogen (N) and produces greenhouse gases [GHGs] through denitrification in anaerobic sites.

The Grassland Agro representative encouraged farmers to dig inspection holes in their fields, using a spade, to check for the presence of compaction.

“Following the recent rains, it’s very probable that compaction problems will increase on many farms over the coming weeks,” he said.

“This will be a direct result of silage machinery and other items of heavy equipment trafficking fields.”

O’Loughlin then demonstrated the use of the ‘GrassVESS’ app as a means of quickly assessing soil structure on a visual basis.

He compared soil to a three-legged stool, with biological, physical and chemical attributes. And all three criteria must be assessed by farmers, if they wish to maximise their grassland and crop outputs.

“The physical health of every soil is extremely important,” O’Loughlin added.

“In the first instance, farmers must define their targets in this regard and manage their soils accordingly.

“Aeration and sub-spoiling are techniques that can be used to improve the physical structure of a soil. But if carried out at the wrong time, they can be totally counterproductive, in terms of the outcomes generated.”

One very obvious consequence of soil compaction is the limitation on plant root growth below ground level.

“Evidence of this can be easily gauged, simply by using a spade to turnover a sod,” O’Loughlin explained.

“Where compaction has occurred, the root zone will be very thin.

“But where compaction is not an issue, roots will be seen travelling deep into the ground. Compaction limits plant access to the total nutrient pool within the soil.”

Clover

The use of clover in both grazing and silage swards was repeatedly highlighted at the event.

Specifically from a silage perspective, the benefits of including red clover in a varietal mix were heavily endorsed.

According to the Drummonds agronomy team, red clover is a cost-effective source of home-grown protein with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Moreover, it performs well in severe weather with its long tap root increasing sward performance in both cold and drought conditions. Soil fertility and structure will be benefit accordingly.

Red clover can be included in a silage varietal mix at a weight ratio of 1:2. In order to achieve optimal dry matter yield, the other component of the mix should be a hybrid ryegrass variety.

If managed properly, red clover will remain viable within a sward for up to six years.

Representatives from Whelehan Crop Protection also attended the reseeding event. The issue of maintaining clover in a new sward, after the use of a broadleaf herbicide was discussed in detail.

Looking to the future, the company hopes to have access to a new herbicide brand ‘ProClova’ within the next 12 months.

The product has been specifically developed to enable farmers preserve white clover in new swards while still providing enhanced broadleaf weed control.

Multi-species swards

The potential for multi-species swards into the future was also discussed at the reseeding event.   

They comprise a mix of at least two forage species. Perennial ryegrass and other grass varieties tend to make up the backbone of these mixtures, along with legumes and herbs.

Performance from these swards is delivered through the complementary activities of the various plant types.

A variety of leaf and root architecture combines to maximise the use of light, moisture and nutrients, both below and above ground level.

Deep rooting species, such as perennial chicory and plantain, allow nutrients to be taken up from different depths within the soil profile, relative to what is the case with a shallower rooting perennial ryegrass.

Having a range of different species within a sward will also mean multiple sources of protein, energy and minerals. The end result is a more complete nutritional profile for the grazing animal.

Successful reseeding?

So what are the key steps to ensure a successful reseed?

According to Drummonds agronomists, the process starts by identifying relevant fields, based on perennial ryegrass content and paddock performance.

Soil testing is critical. The pH objective for mineral soils is in the range 6.3–6.5. Farmers should target Index 3 or greater for both phosphorous and potash, while also ensuring that all nitrates regulations are adhered to.

Existing swards should be sprayed-off using glyphosate. Sufficient time will be needed to ensure that all existing plants are dead, prior to cultivation taking place.

Cultivation work can be carried conventionally by ploughing and tilling. This approach will help level the field. However, minimal cultivation can also work just as well; a fine, firm, seedbed is key.

Growers should apply lime as required.

A quality seed mixture should be selected to meet the required production targets.

Seed mixes should be sown out at a rate of 14kg/ac, under ideal conditions, and no deeper than 10-15mm.

Farms in derogation must include 1kg/ac of coated clover or 0.6kg/ac of naked clover seed.

Ground should then be rolled well to ensure good soil to seed contact – this is crucial.

Nitrogen, phosphate and potash should be applied to the seedbed, as per soil test recommendations.

It is important to be on the look-out for possible pest attack e.g., fruit flies, slugs, leatherjackets etc. Appropriate action should be taken, where needed.

A post-emergence herbicide spray should be used to control any weeds such as nettles and chickweed.

It is important to use a clover-safe spray when necessary. Re-seeds should be grazed lightly to promote tillering of new plants.

Farmers should ensure that young plants are not being ‘pulled up’ by grazing animals.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that “processing work is ongoing” in relation to the latest nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) statements.

DAFM told Agriland that the statements “will be made available online as soon as possible”.

The department has come under fire from farm organisations who have said that farmers are “flying blind” without the latest N and P data.

Denis Drennan, deputy president, of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), said that previously farmers were able to check online early in July and at regular intervals which enabled them to adjust their stocking rate accordingly.

The ICMSA deputy president said farmers need to know where they stand on their general “room to manoeuvre”, along with specific issues related to Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).

According to DAFM, the reason why the latest N and P data has not be published is down to a number of factors.

The department said: “The introduction of the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme and the new definition of eligible land for direct payments meant changes are required to the processing of nitrogen and phosphorous statements which now have to be based on the farmer’s declared ‘reference area’.

“In addition, where appropriate, certain declared land uses have to be excluded from the area used for the nitrogen and phosphorous statement.” 

DAFM also said that the statements this year must take account of the new banding of dairy cow nutrient excretion rates. 

“In combination these changes require significant operational changes to be completed before nitrogen and phosphorous in-year statements can be made available for 2023.

“This processing work is ongoing and the statements will be made available online as soon as possible,” it added.

But the ICMSA deputy president has called on DAFM to “immediately publish the most up-to-date figures and then provide opportunities for regular updates and checks”.

Drennan has said that farmers are being asked by the department “to obey a speed limit without being supplied with a speedometer”.

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A world-first technology breakthrough that could revolutionise grassland farming and grass measuring has today (Tuesday, July 18) been announced by technology companies Origin Digital and Aspia Space. 

Launching in Ireland later this year as part of Origin Digital’s ‘GrassMax’ service, the new technology accurately measures the height of grass from space.

The companies claim it offers groundbreaking insight for increasing farm productivity and profitability, while also enabling organisations and businesses to verify sustainability practices in the livestock supply chain.

Duncan Robertson, head of research and development (R&D) at Origin Digital, said: “This is a game-changing moment for grassland farmers and the businesses that partner with them.

“For the first time, they can remotely and automatically calculate the quantity of grass in their fields and paddocks, on a regular basis and at scale.

“This enables farmers to make better-informed decisions regarding grazing schedules, animal nutrition, and silage cuts for example, resulting in less waste and a more stable, sustainable food supply.”

Kieran Holden, grassland digital specialist at Origin Enterprises, added: “As a farmer myself, I’m really excited about the ability to measure grass height remotely, because it brings huge benefits to grass management while eliminating what is currently a laborious manual measurement process.

“This will save Irish farmers around two hours per week, or €1,600 per year, in measurement costs alone.

“But the main benefit is in how farmers like me can use this data through the GrassMax app to increase grass utilisation on their farms.”

Grass utilisation

Holden explained that grass utilisation alone accounts for 44% of the variation in net profit per hectare on dairy farms.

In Ireland, each additional tonne of grass utilised per hectare translates to a €256 increase in profit.

The companies claim that integrating this automated grass measurement data into GrassMax will give it even more power to help farmers optimise their grass use, with even a half tonne per hectare increase in utilisation equating to a €10,000 increase in profitability on an 80ha farm.

Devlyn Hardwick, GrassMax product manager at Origin Digital, said: “The businesses that partner with grassland farmers can also benefit through our GrassMax service, which uses this game-changing new technology alongside the on-farm decision-support app to build a real-time picture of aggregated farm insight.

“This insight has many applications, from helping businesses and farmers achieve sustainable growth to verifying sustainability practices and scope 3 emissions on farm, and enhancing supply chain security and sustainability.” 

Through Irish parent company Origin Enterprises, Origin Digital said it has unique access to a vast pool of ground-truth and field-trial data alongside a strong network of farmers and agronomic experts, which has helped it build this breakthrough measurement technology in partnership with earth observation and artificial intelligence (AI) experts Aspia Space.  

Aspia Space co-founder and director of AI Dr. Mike Smith said: “Earth observation satellites literally provide an eye in the sky that offers the potential to monitor every single field on a regular basis.

“Aspia Space’s patented ClearSky technology uses a generative AI algorithm to deliver cloud-free imagery of the ground, making satellite data more reliable, especially for agricultural applications.

“Through our partnership with Origin Digital, we have developed a new AI solution that uses ClearSky imagery to estimate grass height to within an accuracy of just 1.5cm from a vantage point of nearly 700km up in space.

“To put it in context, imagine standing in a field in Amsterdam and being able to accurately measure the height of the grass in a field in Dublin,” he added

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Sodium has been recommended as an integral component of all grassland (grazing and silage) fertiliser programmes.

The benefits of the nutrient in improving palatability and mineral balances are relevant at all times of the season.

According to Origin Fertilisers, the inclusion of sodium is particularly relevant during periods of hot, dry weather.

It should be included as part of a tailored nutrient management plan to alleviate heat stress on grass and livestock.

Driving this approach is the fact that grass with access to good levels of sodium can withstand extended periods without rainfall.

Use of sodium

Grass uses salts such as potassium and sodium to regulate the movement of water and sugars.

The availability and balance of these salts is particularly important in dry conditions. If the ratio of potassium to sodium is high, there is an increased risk of hypomagnesaemia (grass staggers).

However, applying sodium in grassland fertiliser helps optimise the key potassium to sodium ratio.

In turn, this reduces the risk of staggers. Peter Scott, technical director at Origin Fertilisers, says sodium is a vital nutrient to prevent crops becoming stressed.

“A greater percentage of sodium taken up by the crop will increase digestibility and improve sugar content, making grass more palatable to livestock, even as it starts to become fibrous,” he said.

“Sodium encourages a greater percentage of live herbage, which will help livestock increase dry matter intake and get more from grass.”

In addition, where grass is being supplemented with concentrated feed, sodium can
help reduce the risk of acidosis by helping to buffer the pH in the rumen.

It also reduces the risk of pica which has been highlighted as a common sign of sodium deficiency.

Application

Fertiliser applications of sodium can continue even in drought conditions. Peter Scott recommends farmers should get the advice they need when using sodium.

This will ensure that nutrient performance is maximised from the application rates that farmers are using.

“Even in soils with a moisture deficit, a heavy overnight dew can deposit up to 0.5mm moisture,” he explained.

“This has been proven to be sufficient to start dissolving fertiliser. Where grass is visibly green, and there have been signs of growth, it is also possible to apply small amounts of fertiliser and see a response.”

As a guide, sodium should be applied at 5-6kg/ha to help alleviate stress in both grass and livestock.

So could sodium become the new sulphur? 20 years ago, sulphur was deemed not to be required as a component – at all – within grassland fertiliser programmes.

Now the nutrient is widely regarded as a key contributor of growth and forage quality, particularly within silage scenarios.

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Scattered showers and heavy, thundery downpours have been the weather trend for the past number of days across most of the country, leaving limited opportunities to secure cuts of silage.

The period of wet weather comes at a time when many farmers have crops of silage ready to be mown and ensiled.

The prolonged dry spell of weather in late May and June has, in some cases, caused second-cut regrowths to head out and become stemmy earlier than usual, as the grass plants became stressed due to the soil moisture deficits previously encountered.

Many farmers also delayed second-cut fertiliser applications due to the lack of rainfall and resulting drop in grass-growth following the peak first-cut silage season in late May and early June.

Where surplus paddocks or silage ground is ready to be cut, farmers should first ensure all fertiliser has been used by the crop.

Grass can be tested for nitrate levels and sugar content before cutting if farmers are unsure if their crop is ready to cut.

Once nitrate levels are low enough in the grass crop, it should be cut without delay – once conditions allow.

As farmers know all too well, delaying the cutting after grass heads out will reduce the feed value of the ensiled crop.

Assess silage supplies

The dry spell earlier this summer resulted in many farmers having to feed out silage due to reduced grass growth from the lack of rainfall.

Now is a good time to complete a fodder budget- if it hasn’t already been completed.

A fodder budget will allow farmers to assess the level of silage they will need for this winter and identify if there will be any potential silage surplus or shortages.

Completing a fodder budget will also allow farmers to see if another cut of silage will be needed.

It is always better to have a winter-feed surplus than a winter-feed deficit and as the old saying as regards winter feed goes: ‘It’s better looking at it than looking for it.’

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A new long-term programme aiming to improve the genetic merit of grass and clover has been officially launched.

Teagasc and Goldcrop signed an agreement during the Teagasc Moorepark Dairy Open Day held yesterday (Tuesday, July 4) in Co. Cork.

The new breeding and commercial collaboration, called ‘Pasture Innovations’, was negotiated following an open tendering process.

The new programme is set to run for a 15-year term with an option for that to be extended.

It comes on the back of a previous 10-year agreement between the two organisations.

Programme

Pasture Innovations will allow Goldcrop to have the sole marketing and propagation worldwide rights to all forage material bred from the Teagasc Oak Park grass and clover breeding programme.

“This is a really important vote of confidence and commitment by Goldcrop in the very successful Teagasc breeding programme at Oak Park,” Prof. Frank O Mara, director of Teagasc, said.

“Its gives the programme more scope to progress in the years ahead, to continue to produce grasses, clovers and herbs for Irish grassland farmers.”

The Oak Park breeding programme has been breeding perennial ryegrass and clover varieties over the past three decades that are specifically suited to Irish conditions.

In the recent months, the programme has delivered two clover varieties Clodagh (white clover) and Fearga (red clover), which have both achieved outstanding performance rankings for a number of traits on the UK National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) list.

The new collaboration will help to support and resource the Teagasc breeding programme, which is part of the grassland science department led by Prof. Michael O’Donovan.

Commenting at the launch, John Murphy, managing director of Goldcrop, said: “Goldcrop prides itself in supporting the entire agri-food sector by bringing advanced genetic material that meet the challenges facing Irish farmers.

“The long-term extensive collaboration, Pasture Innovations, paves the way to drive a better next generation of improved pasture varieties.”

Goldcrop is Ireland’s largest seed wholesaler, employing over 80 people across its three locations in Carrigtwohill and Killavullen in Co. Cork, and Dunleer, Co. Louth .

The post Grass and clover genetic improvement programme launched appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As farmers will know all too well, the wet spring and drought conditions in May and June made the task of getting reseeds established very difficult and this was no different on the ABP Demo Farm.

It was decided this spring to reseed a 28ac bloc of land on the ABP Demo Farm to incorporate multi-species swards in an effort to further reduce chemical fertiliser usage on farm.

Due to wet weather conditions throughout the spring, the reseed was delayed but was finally sown when conditions allowed on May 23.

Local agri-contractors got the seed in on-schedule despite mounting silage season pressure.

While the seed bed was prepared perfectly and all was done accordingly, there had been no rain on the farm since the first week of May.

With the lack of moisture, some seeds germinated but the crop was struggling as the prolonged dry spell progressed.

The reseed was in major need of moisture in the form of rainfall. A light shower of rain fell on the struggling seedlings which drove up weeds that out competed the seedlings.

Weeds such as Lambs’ quarter (White goosefoot) took off and there was no sign of the multi species.

No spray can be applied to the multi-species as it would also kill the desirable plants in the multi-species mix so following advice, the decision was made to be patient and hope for more rain and the sward to grow.

Rain arrival on ABP Demo Farm

With the land being taken out of production and the poor grass growth on the rest of the farm due to the dry spell, the reseed was badly needed back in the grazing rotation.

Finally, on Saturday morning, June 17, a shower of light rain fell on the reseed which was of course to be welcomed.

As the rainfall continued, a heavy, thundery shower fell in the afternoon for about 15 minutes which washed soil from the elevated part of the field to the bottom causing furrows as it came.

The photos below show the damage caused by the short-spell of torrential rain:

Due to the damage to the seed bed, the decision was made to sow the reseed secondly.

The field was sprayed with Roundup at a half rate, and left for six days. The headlands were disked and the remainder of the field was power harrowed. The field was then rolled before sowing and the multi species sward was sown at a rate of 15kg/ac with an ABV Grassharrow.

The field was then rolled again after sowing.

The seedbed was prepared again and the reseed was sown secondly:

It is hoped with the change in the weather that the second-time reseed will be a success.

Further updates on the reseed will be posted in the monthy ABP Demo Farm updates on Agriland.

Commenting on the challenges experienced with the reseed, ABP’s agri-sustainability manager Stephen Connolly said: “We are very lucky to have a great team on the farm and excellent contractors locally that acted quickly over the past few days to get the field resown and its much appreciated.

“The ABP Demo Farm is a family-owned and family-run farm, and aims to also demonstrate the challenges that farming can present.

“As well as outlining how well things are going, it is important to highlight when things don’t go to plan. In farming and as farmers, we know not everything goes to plan and there are many variables which we cannot control, and weather is definitely one of those.

“On the ABP Demo Farm, we want to tell the good and the bad because this is a commercial family-owned farm and what happens on this farm, is relatable to the challenges on many farms across Ireland.”

The post Weather woes for ABP Demo Farm’s multi-species reseed appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (Wednesday, June 14) released statistics on fertiliser sales for 2022, which show a decrease of 18%.

The latest publication contains data on mineral fertiliser sales, the nutrient content of mineral fertiliser sold in Ireland, and lime sales.

Mineral fertilisers and lime are mainly used in agricultural production. Mineral fertilisers contain nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), which are absorbed from the soil by plants such as crops to support their growth.

Mineral fertilisers are used to prevent soil degradation and to allow continuing agricultural production, as well as to improve soil and crop yields.

However, excessive use of mineral fertilisers containing N and P can lead to water, soil and air pollution, as the nutrients are lost to the environment. Lime is a soil conditioner which is used to regulate the acidity of soil.

Fertiliser sales

Data on fertiliser sales and nutrient content of fertiliser sales are based on the crop year, which runs from October to September.

The key findings from the CSO indicate:

• The N content of fertilisers sold in 2022 was 14% lower than in 2021 at 343,193t;
• The P content of fertilisers sold in 2022 was down 26% on 2021 at 34,240t;
• Total fertiliser sales fell by 18% in 2022 to 1.4 million tonnes;
• In the crop year 2022, 55% of fertiliser sales took place in the three months from January to March 2022;
• Lime sales increased by 4% in 2022 to 1.4 million tonnes, the largest quantity of any year from 2000 to 2022.

Commenting on the data, Clare O’Hara, statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the CSO, said: “This release from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) contains data on fertiliser sales from 2000 to 2022.

“Fertilisers are added to soil to provide crops with nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These nutrients enhance crop production but can also be lost from agricultural soil to groundwater, surface water and air, contributing to environmental pollution.

“In 2022, total fertiliser sales decreased by 18% to 1.4 million tonnes. Nitrogen content was down 14% at 343,193t, and phosphorus content fell by 26% to 34,240t. Lime sales increased by 4% to 1.4 million tonnes, which is the highest in the period 2000-2022.”

Quarterly sales data can give an indication of the time of year of greatest fertiliser use.

“Each year from 2015 to 2022, at least 75% of fertiliser sales took place between January and June, with only 2-4% occurring in October to December,” O’Hara continued.

“In 2022, 55% of fertiliser sales were in January to March, 22% were in April to June, and 20% were in July to September. Loss of nutrients to the environment is affected by the amount of rainfall at the time of fertiliser application.”

Fertiliser sales were at their highest of the time period 2000-2022 in 2000 at 1.7 million tonnes. They were at their lowest in 2009 at 1.2 million tonnes before reaching 1.7 million tonnes again in 2018 and in 2021.

Nutrient content of fertiliser sales

The nitrogen content of fertilisers sold in Ireland was 407,598t in 2000. It fell to its lowest level of the period 2000-2022 in 2011 at 295,795t, while it was highest in 2018 at 408,495t.

In 2022 there were 343,193t of N in fertilisers sold in Ireland, a decrease of 14% on 2021.

Phosphorus content was at its highest level of the period 2000-2022 in 2000 at 49,267t, and was lowest in 2009 at 20,231t.

In 2022, there were 34,240t of phosphorus in fertilisers sold in Ireland. This was a fall of 26% compared with 2021. There were 93,614t of potassium in fertilisers sold in Ireland in 2022.

Lime sales

Lime is a soil conditioner which is used to regulate the acidity of soil. Applying lime to soil leads to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to the carbon content of the lime.

However, as soil acidity is a factor in fertiliser efficiency, applying lime to soil can reduce requirements for N, P and K fertilisers.

According to the CSO, this can result in a reduction in pollution, including a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from nitrogen-containing fertilisers.

Lime sales were at their highest of the period 2000-2022 in 2022 at 1.4 million tonnes. This was an increase of 4% on 2021, which in turn had already shown an increase of 50% on 2020.

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The silage cutting season is almost upon us and all involved are once again hoping for good weather and an open season, enabling the work to be done while the grass is at its optimum growth stage for ensilage.

That the importance of this window is being more widely recognised is to be welcomed, yet that in itself brings much greater pressure on farmers and contractors to get the job done in an ever shorter time frame.

Focused cutting season

In Ireland, we are at the point where there is a terrific frenzy for three or four weeks before it all deflates into occasional bouts of second and third cuts.

This situation has been becoming more acute over the years and the question has arisen as to how long it is sustainable, for it places a huge strain on the staff and machinery of both farmers and contractors.

It is also becoming a problem of finance, for the contracting industry has found itself needing ever bigger harvesters which require larger tractors to mow and prepare the swath while higher capacity trailers are required to keep up with the output, which, in turn, require more horsepower to pull them.

There are signs that the breaking point has been reached with several well established contractors getting out of the business and numerous rumours that others would like to, but are constrained by the investment they have made in machinery.

Taking up the slack

This silage season will tell by how much this drop-out rate is affecting the overall ability of Irish farmers to get their silage made on time.

The ripples from the sales are likely to remain localised and there is a degree of spare capacity in contracting, although it is not clear whether that extends to large pit silage operators, which are the businesses selling up.

For farmers, ensuring adequate and good quality feed for the winter is a major concern and investment.

Many might now be thinking of how best to secure both the quantity and quality of the winter’s feed if contractors are fading from the scene.

There are several ideas which may be considered in a bid to finding a route out of this bind. One is to change the silage system, a second is to bring it in-house while a third is to extend the cutting window.

Opening up the window

None of these should be thought of as an isolated and immediate alternative to waiting for a contractor and his fleet of heavy machinery to turn up, instead, they are factors that might be mixed and matched in a move away from such a system.

One aspect common to all three is that they involve a greater management input from the farmer, which may deter those with a heavy enough workload already.

Whatever the solution chosen, all will benefit from a wider cutting window and the greatest effect on this that the farmer can influence is the heading date of the grass leys he sows.

It should be noted at this point that the heading date is not the optimum cutting time, it simply indicates the time period in which the balance of digestibility versus yield shifts towards the latter.

Although Teagasc does make mention of this factor, it is hardly stressed and seed merchants tend to provide general purpose grass seed mixtures aimed at catering to all needs rather than blends formulated to become ready within a specific period.

Plan the cutting season

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) produces a list of grass varieties recommended for use in Ireland and within the perennial ryegrasses there is a five-week gap between the earliest and latest heading types.

However, Teagasc suggests that all silage is cut by the end of May, 16 days before the latest variety, Bowie, comes to head.

Choosing to reseed fields to produce either an early cut, or a late cut, rather than a middling in-between cut, will help insure against the vagaries of the weather and contractor availability, and so take some stress out of the season.

Contractors themselves will be greatly helped by having this built-in flexibility rather than suffer endless calls from frustrated customers during the last week of May.

Having a larger window will also benefit those who choose to change their silage system from one major cut by a contractor, to a longer season centred around bales or self loading wagons.

Lower capital requirement

Either of these routes will reduce the investment needed in machinery for the farmer if he decides to take the operation back in hand.

If, as likely, that is not viable, then there are many smaller contractors with the equipment to make silage with a baler or wagon, neither of which demands a large fleet of machines.

It is at this level of contracting where the greatest over capacity lies for it encompasses farms which spread their machinery costs through working for others, the result being, in essence, that machinery will be shared more between farmers.

Downsizing to smaller machines being used over a longer period will not put contractors out of business, it simply reduces the capital investment they need to make and pushes the season out to a month or two rather than three weeks or less.

Small is beautiful

The machinery trade could also benefit from more smaller machines being sold rather than fewer large units; it helps with the cashflow as well as building in a safety margin so that if a machine breaks down, there is more likely to be a backup available while it is fixed.

Smaller tractors are being suggested as a way forward by at least one major manufacturer, although that is in the context of automation and battery power, but it is obviously not averse to the idea.

One big issue is staffing, yet here there are still benefits, because there will not be the need for a gang of extra operators over a short time frame.

Spreading the workload will enable longer periods of employment which might help retain people within the industry.

Spreading the cutting season through sowing leys of different heading dates is by no means a novel idea, but it is one that has been forgotten, or simply ignored, in the push to have everyone make silage at the same time.

Ireland has now reached the point where such a practice is no longer practicable, certainly in seasons of poor weather. It would be sensible in so many ways to back down from the annual May madness yet, unfortunately, there are few signs of it happening.

The post Focus: Ending the madness of silage cutting season appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to ensure that all farmers who applied for the National Liming Programme are accepted into the scheme.

Just under 41,000 applications for 4.5 million tonnes were made to the €8 million euro scheme with concern rising that the budget is not sufficient to cater for all applicants.

Rural development chair with the IFA, Michael Biggins said: “There’s huge focus on farmers regarding the climate challenge. However, what isn’t acknowledged is the significant ambition among farmers to improve on-farm efficiencies and their environmental footprint.

“There’s huge demand for the National Liming Programme because farmers want to improve their soil fertility and thereby reduce chemical fertiliser usage.”

The IFA chair pointed to the fact that earlier this year, there were 46,000 applicants for 30,000 Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) places.

At that time, Minister McConalogue found a way to get all 46,000 ACRES applicants into the scheme and the IFA has said that he needs to do the same for Tranche 2 of ACRES later in the year, but more immediately for farmers who applied to the National Liming Programme.

“There was only €8 million provisionally allocated, but obviously more will be needed to satisfy demand,” Biggins continued.

“Limiting support per tonne or eligible volumes will prove counterproductive overall.”

National Liming Programme

The key objective of the National Liming Programme, which was launched in March is to support farmers to deal with input costs and also help them reduce the need for artificial fertilisers.

The new programme will provide financial support to farmers of €16/t of lime spread to participating farmers, to offset part of the cost of applying calcium ground limestone (CaCo3) or magnesium (dolomitic) ground limestone (CaMg (CO3)2). 

In order to qualify for the payment there are a number of conditions that farmers must meet:

• Lime can only be purchased directly from quarries licenced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to manufacture and market liming materials;
• Applicants that have submitted a Basic Payment scheme (BPS) application in 2022 and/or a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2023 are eligible to apply;
• Farmers that have a Nitrates Derogation in 2022 or 2023 and farmers with a grassland stocking rate above 170kg livestock manure nitrogen/ha prior to export in 2022 are not eligible to take part in the programme;
• Herd owners who are are participating or plan to participate in the 2023 eco scheme practice relating to soil sampling and liming are not eligible to participate;
• The following land categories are also excluded from the programme: Commonage land; forestry; lands under Natura 2000; NHA/pNHA designation as well as Annex 1 grassland and environmentally sensitive permanent grassland;
• Ground limestone can only be applied in accordance with the lime requirement stated on up-to-date soil analysis reports (maximum of four-years-old from date of purchasing the lime).

According to the DAFM, based on budget availability – payment will be made on a minimum of 10t of ground limestone and a maximum of 200t. 

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The harvesting of first cut silage for the 2023 season has gotten underway on Callan’s dairy farm outside Adree in Co. Louth.

The good weather over the last few days, means that silage season is now apon us – as farmers move to harvest their winter feed stocks.

Although the window appears to have been small a number of farmers have been able to get their crops harvested.

A wetter than usually March and April has results in more silage being fed to cows and the possibility that harvest was going to be delayed for many.

While for farms on drier ground it is now possible to harvest crops, for some on heavier land types harvesting may be delay for another few days or weeks

Silage

The farm is operated by Michael and his three son Sean, Conor and Barry and they are milking 480 cows on seven Lely robots.

With 130 cows milked on the home farm and 350 milked on the out-farm.

The Callan’s also have a keen interest in machinery, with all the silage and slurry completed in house.

Although many farms are only on first cut, this technically second cut for the Callan’s as some 60ac of silage was harvest in on valentines day (February 14) due to good growth rates over the winter months.

Around 175ac have been cut, 30ac of which was technically second cut.

A further 120ac still to be harvested – the remainder of the first cut will be harvested after the weekend once weather conditions improve.

The crop is in good condition, but speaking to Agriland, Barry said that it should of been harvested about 10 days earlier.

Safety

The harvesting of silage crops is a busy period on farms, but it is important that safety is not forgotten.

Modern machinery in much larger and much faster than every before, which can result in serious injury if an accident was to happen.

For anyone operating a tractor this silage season start each day by checking:

• Brakes and tyres;
• Lights – especially brake lights;
• Steering systems;
• Pick up hitch condition;
• Keep windows clean and wipers working for showery conditions.

It is also important that when crops are being brought into the yard that children are kept out of the yard and anyone working in the yards is aware of the increased traffic.

Many farms have seen an increase in herd size in recent years, but silage pits in many cases have not followed suit.

Avoid over filling pits and if pits are getting too high either bale what remains are start putting into a second pit if there is one available.

The post Video: Silage season kicks off in Co. Louth appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Fertiliser company Yara has reported weaker financial results for the first three months of 2023 compared to a strong first quarter in 2022.

The latest quarterly report shows steep market price declines impacting both sales volumes and margins.

First-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortiSation (EBITDA) excluding special items was $487 million, compared with $1.35 billion a year earlier, mainly reflecting reduced margins and lower deliveries.

Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent was $104 million (0.41c/share) compared with $944 million ($3.71 per share) in the first quarter 2022.

Yara Q1 2023 results

The main elements of the first-quarter results are:

• Weaker results compared with strong Q1 2022, with steep market price declines impacting both sales volumes and margins;
• Production curtailments of around 0.6Mt ammonia and 1.3Mt finished fertilisers for the quarter;
• Improved operating cash flow including operating capital release;
• Tighter nitrogen market into second quarter, with strong European demand at new season nitrate prices.

President and chief executive officer of Yara, Svein Tore Holsether said: “Declining market prices led to lower deliveries and margins in the first quarter, impacting results compared to a strong first quarter last year.

“However, we see a tighter nitrogen market into the second quarter, with strong European demand at new season nitrate prices and strong farmer affordability metrics indicating higher nitrogen application rates.

“I am also pleased with our strategic progress to decarbonise agriculture and serve new clean ammonia segments, announcing our cooperation with Enbridge to construct a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility near Corpus Christi, Texas,” he added.

Outlook

According to Yara, the energy transition, climate crisis and food security have become top priorities globally and with its leading food solutions and ammonia positions, Yara claimed that it is uniquely positioned to drive these transformations.

While consumption patterns for nitrogen are typically more stable than those of other crop nutrients, the current operating environment has increased short-term demand fluctuations, Yara added.

Yara responded to these fluctuations with partial curtailments of European production capacity when needed, and said it will continue to use its global sourcing and production system to import ammonia to Europe and supply global customers where possible.

Based on current forward markets for natural gas and assuming stable gas purchase volumes, Yara expects its gas cost for the second quarter 2023 to be $650 million lower than a year earlier.

The quarterly report explained that a declining price environment towards the end of 2022 and through the first quarter made farmers and distributors delay purchases, leaving season-to-date European nitrogen industry deliveries an estimated 7% behind a year earlier.

However, Yara stated that the start of the second quarter has seen a tighter nitrogen market, with strong European demand at new season prices and improved farmer affordability metrics indicating higher nitrogen application rates.

The post Yara reports revenue decline in first quarter of 2023 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that prices being paid for fertiliser by Irish farmers are “unsustainable”.

Addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on fertiliser, IFA deputy president Brian Rushe said the high cost of fertiliser in Ireland “is coming at a detrimental cost to Irish farmers’ livelihoods”.

He said that prices around Europe continue to decrease, with an almost 60% fall in prices between the peaks of 2022 and March 2023, but in Ireland prices have only reduced by a fraction.

Fertiliser prices in the UK

According to the IFA, in the UK, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported that the price paid for urea by farmers had fallen by over 40% from September 2022 to February 2023.

The association added that fertiliser price data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in the same period in Ireland showed that the price of urea only reduced by 9%, and that was from a higher level than the UK in September 2022.

“Farmers, as price takers, operate in a sector with very tight margins and must have the opportunity to purchase fertiliser at a fair and competitive price,” the IFA deputy president said.

“Farmers cannot pass on increases on their input costs directly in the price they sell their produce for.

“For that reason, it must always be ensured that farmers are paying a correct price for their inputs.

“Currently that is not happening, and the prices farmers are being quoted are simply unsustainable,” Rushe added.

In November 2022, the EU Commission announced the formation of a market observatory to share data on the production, use, prices, and trade for fertiliser in Europe.

The IFA has said that it will be an “active participant” in the expert group within the observatory and it hoped that all members of the Irish fertiliser trade will also fully engage in this.

The post IFA describes fertiliser prices as ‘unsustainable’ appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The 2023 grazing season has just gotten underway in earnest on the Co. Monaghan dairy farm of Declan McKenna.

He farms at Doogary, near Tydavnet in the north of the county.

Declan milks 70 spring-calving dairy cows with the dairying operation managed in tandem with a poultry enterprise.

Making best use of grazed grass has always been a priority for the farm.  

The cows are currently averaging 6,000L at 4.4% butterfat and 3.4% protein. The milk is supplied to Lakeland Dairies.

Grass measuring in Monaghan

Measuring grass regularly and effectively has long been a priority objective for Declan McKenna.

But spreading his time over two enterprises meant that other priorities might well have taken precedence at certain times of the year.

However, all that changed when he signed up to a grass measuring service at the start of the 2022 grazing season.

“It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. With the dairying and poultry enterprises I could never have managed to get these results myself without the use of the Farm Relief.

“My paddocks are measured accurately 30 times throughout the grazing season. The information gathered is transferred in real time to an app that has been downloaded onto my phone and a tablet device that is kept at the house.

“But it’s not just the figures. I also receive a series of recommendations on how best to manage the grass that is available across all the paddocks. As a result I am in control of the grass, not the other way round.”

Grass growth

Declan believes that the grass measuring service will be of even more value to him this year.

He explained: “There has been no grass growth of note across the farm up to this point. The cows are only getting out now. This means there will an explosion of growth over the next few weeks, all of which will have to be carefully managed.

“With the use of the grass measuring service, I was able to work out that the paddocks averaged 11.1t of grass dry matter [DM] per hectare [ha] last year.

“It was the first time that I had ever been able to work out this figure so accurately.

“I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much grass the farm can actually grow. It is also a good point from which to build for the future.” 

Farm Relief’s Christopher Moffitt was a recent visitor to the McKenna farm and said: “The new service takes the stress out of grass measuring for farmers. It entails swards being assessed on 30 occasions throughout the grazing season.

“The information gathered is sent back to the farmer with the use of grass budgeting software. This includes the accurate assessment of the grass available for grazing on a real-time basis.

“The software also calculates grass demand, daily grass growth, grazing days ahead and average farm cover.”

Regular measuring lets farmers know when and how they can react to a constantly changing grass supply situation on the farm.

The post Grass measuring service having major impact on Monaghan farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers are reminded that tomorrow (Thursday, April 20) is the closing date to apply to the National Liming Programme.

The programme was introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to incentivise the use of lime.

Applicants who have submitted a Basic Payment scheme (BPS) application in 2022 and/or a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2023 are eligible to apply.

Claims for payment must be submitted by October 31, 2023.

National Liming Programme

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is reminding farmers that liming can improve the response to freshly applied nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potash (K), while providing a valuable source of calcium.

Trial results have also indicated that increasing soil pH to optimum levels leads to a significant reduction in nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions while simultaneously increasing grass and other crop yields.

Up until last Friday (April 14), 11,080 farmers around the country had applied for the €8 million National Liming Programme, according to the DAFM.

The scheme aims to incentivise the use of ground limestone, a natural soil conditioner, which corrects soil acidity by neutralising the acids present in the soil.

Farmers will be able to avail of a payment of €16/t for lime spread, to offset part of the cost of applying calcium ground limestone (CaCo3) or magnesium (dolomitic) ground limestone (CaMg (CO3)2).

Teagasc research estimates that 57% of Irish soils require lime.

It should also be noted that farmers with a nitrates derogation in 2022 or 2023 and those with a grassland stocking rate above 170kg livestock manure nitrogen/ha prior to export in 2022 are not eligible to take part in the programme.

The post Reminder: Closing date for National Liming Programme tomorrow appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Irrespective of what grass varieties a farmer chooses to select, the ‘three-leaf rule’ still kicks in every time when it comes to determining when cattle can best utilise the resulting sward.

This was one of the key take-home messages delivered by DLF Seeds’ general manager, Paul Flanagan to those attending a recent open day, hosted by Co. Meath dairy farmer, Kevin Crinion.

Currently, DLF is sourcing new grass genetics from a range of countries, including the Netherlands and New Zealand, which are then critically assessed under Irish conditions.

The Crinion farm is one of the sites used by DLF to carry out the assessment of new grass varieties under actual grazing conditions.

Grazing

The plots are located within the grazing block and are grazed by mature dairy cows as part of the normal rotation followed on the farm.

Paul Flanagan commented: “The aim of the trial is to see how perennial ryegrass varieties, new and old, perform in a real-life grazing rotation with all of the challenges that management, livestock and weather bring.

“We have collected a massive amount of data from across the country during this trial and it is giving us a very clear picture of what makes a great grazing variety.

“The key traits we are looking for in a grazing variety are the potential utilised yield i.e., the amount of grass actually consumed by the animal and also the residual or post-grazing sward height,” he added.

These traits are closely linked with dry matter (DM) yield and quality, but also physiological characteristics of the variety like leaf size and density.

The testing work carried out to date strongly indicates that cows prefer to eat tetraploid perennial ryegrass varieties and farmers are now conscious of this when choosing grass mixtures.

“What our data tells us is that tetraploid varieties are better suited to grazing systems than diploid varieties,” Flanagan continued.

“This agrees with similar trials comparing tetraploid to diploid varieties and is primarily due to larger leaf size, greater digestibility and general ease of grazing with tetraploids.”

The utilisation of grass grown is a key performance indicator of any enterprise.

Each extra tonne of grass utilised is estimated by Teagasc to be worth an additional €256/ha. Maximum grass utilisation can be achieved by selecting the right varieties and mixtures.

“The grazing utilisation trait is a very positive addition to the pasture profit index because it provides farmers with information that was previously unavailable from independent data,” Flanagan said.

“For years we have been asked about grass palatability and how mixtures and varieties will graze out and while we already knew that tetraploid varieties graze better than diploids, the new trait on the Pasture Profit Index confirms this.  

“The traditional grass mix is a blend of diploid and tetraploid with the diploid historically included for density and persistence while traditional tetraploid varieties tended to be very open and upright.”

The last decades of breeding have brought the positive attributes of diploid grasses into tetraploid breeding programmes.

“We refer to this type of variety as NxGen tetraploids, combining the density and persistence of diploids with the quality and graze out of tetraploids,” Flanagan added.

“Xenon was the first achievement from that work and has been my personal favourite variety for some time for that reason. It is one of only three varieties that achieved five stars on the new grazing utilisation trait.”

Nashota is the second NxGen variety that DLF has brought to the Irish market and is up at the top of Teagasc’s Pasture Profit Index (PPI) ranking. A grazing score is currently not available for it.

The open day also provided the DLF team with the opportunity to discuss the benefits of white clover inclusion in grazing swards.

The use of the legume in grass mixtures has the potential to offset up to 150kg of inorganic nitrogen (N) per hectare per year.

So with fertiliser prices increasing all the time, the incorporation of white clover into grass swards has the potential to greatly reduce the reliance on inorganic N fertiliser and increase the financial and environmental sustainability of Irish farms.

The post Three-leaf rule remains the grazing yardstick appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Multi-species swards (MSS) are performing well on Irish dairy farms. This was one of the key messages emanating from an open day in Co. Meath this week.

The event was hosted by DLF Seeds on the Co. Meath dairy farm of Kevin Crinion.

Driving this trend, from a production perspective, are two key factors. Multi-species swards will retain high levels of dry matter (DM) output during drought conditions.

And, during a normal growing year, they will match the DM output achieved from perennial ryegrass swards, but with a much lower requirement for nitrogen (N) fertiliser.

Multi-species swards

The Crinion family milks 180 cows on good land that sweeps down to the River Boyne on the outskirts of Slane.

The decision to sow out a number of paddocks in a six-variety seed mix was taken in the spring of 2022. Included in the varietal mixture were plantain, chicory and white clover.

The Crinion herd has already had one opportunity to graze the SPP swards in 2023. The legume was specifically included to maximise the levels of nitrogen fixation within the sward  

Teagasc’s Dr. Shona Baker spoke at the event. She confirmed the growing interest in multi-species swards on grazing platforms across Ireland.

Regarding the persistency of the swards, she suggested that the herbal component – particularly plantain – could start to die out after two years.

However, trial work had confirmed the effectiveness of over-sowing an existing sward with the herb, if required.

Soil

The very open structure of MSS allows for high levels of seed to soil contact.

Irish research has shown that the long tap roots of herbs can seek out water at lower depths within a soil profile, thereby providing for the continuing productivity of MSS during periods of drought.

Baker indicated that rotational grazing systems best suit the management of MSS swards.

There are some indications that extending the average grazing interval slightly beyond 21 days would be appropriate. However, this will depend wholly on the conditions that prevail on individual farms.

DLF is confirming that MSS can be used in both grazing and silage-making situations.

The company used the open day to highlight its commitment to assessing new grass varieties under Irish conditions.

Staff within the business are currently working with a number of partner farms to facilitate the necessary trial work. The trials carried out over the past two years have been centred on the actual use of grazing animals, specifically mature dairy cows.

Frank Crinion is one of the partner farmers, who has been facilitating this work.

The post Multi-species swards performing well on Irish dairy farms appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The number of approved lime suppliers on the licenced list provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is “too small” according to an agricultural advisor in Co. Cavan.

Oliver Crowe of C.C Agricultural Consultants addressed farmers at a meeting organised by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) in Co. Leitrim last night (Tuesday, March 21).

A new National Liming Programme was launched last week to help farmers “offset part of the expense of using lime”.

According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, the key objective of the programme is to support farmers to deal with input costs and also help them reduce the need for artificial fertilisers.

To qualify for payment, lime can only be purchased directly from quarries licenced by the DAFM to manufacture and market liming materials. There are currently 45 quarries on the DAFM list.

Olive Crowe told the ICSA meeting last night: “The list [of lime suppliers] is very small. At the minute the likes of McCaffrey’s Quarries, those boys are not on the list. The nearest quarry in Cavan is up in Kingscourt.

“So there are very small numbers of quarries on the department list. That’s not the department’s fault necessarily. Quarries need to get onto the department to get themselves added to the list.”

According to the agricultural advisor, the programme lists a minimum requirement of 10t of lime and a maximum of 200t of lime with a €16/t subsidy and a maximum of 3t/ac.

Farmers will also be required to provide valid soil samples which must have been taken within the previous four years.

Lime

Research carried out by Teagasc shows that liming not only increases soil microbial activity but can also unlock soil phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).

Trial results have also indicated that increasing soil pH to optimum levels leads to a significant reduction in nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions while simultaneously increasing grass and other crop yields.

Estimates also show that soils with the correct pH will release up to 80kg of N/ha/yr.

As part of the National Liming Programme, the DAFM states that any ground limestone purchased before the date of submission of an application is ineligible.

Ground limestone invoiced and paid for on, or after, the date of submission of an application is eligible for consideration under the scheme.

Herdowners who are participating or intend to participate in the 2023 eco-scheme practice relating to soil sampling and liming are not eligible to participate in this programme.

Also, farmers who availed of a Nitrates Derogation in 2022 or 2023 and farmers with a grassland stocking rate above 170kg livestock manure nitrogen/ha prior to export in 2022, are ineligible to participate.

Only applicants that have submitted a Basic Payment scheme (BPS) application in 2022 and/or a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2023 are eligible to apply.

The closing date for applications to the programme is Thursday, April 20, 2023.

The post Video: List of lime suppliers ‘too small’ – advisor appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Northern Ireland’s grass growth in March will be below the long-term average, at 7.2kg of dry matter (DM)/ha/day, according to GrassCheck.

In its first bulletin of 2023, GrassCheck warned that the weather in March so far, and the forecast for the rest of the month, will prove less favourable for grazing.

The grass growth forecaster, which aims to help livestock farmers maximise their returns from grazed grass, said that on-off grazing should be used when conditions allow.

This, it said, would ideally mean turning stock out which have an appetite to graze for two to three hours to low grass covers into square-shaped areas.

It also advised farmers to have a nutrient management plan in place for the coming season.

GrassCheck

The GrassCheck initiative is led by AgriSearch, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), and is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).

GrassCheck sponsors said the programme enables improved network coverage which will allow conditions across Northern Ireland to be monitored.

AgriSearch will invest £400,000 in GrassCheck over the next few years, it said, adding 15 new farmers to the existing 38 participants.

These new additions were to improve GrassCheck’s coverage across the province but to also allow the programme to incorporate a number of farms with high clover/low-nitrogen swards.

With weather extremes observed in recent years the importance of understanding the variations in growing conditions has never been more important for optimal grassland management, AgriSearch said.

Recent increases in fertiliser and concentrate costs mean that maximising grassland utilisation is a top priority for farmers, as well as the use of high-clover grass swards to mitigate the rising costs.

GrassCheck organisers said the trends in weather and the impact on grassland production and quality was the main topic of conversation at the recent meeting of GrassCheck farmers, which was hosted at AFBI Hillsborough.

Carbon sequestration and growth

GrassCheck also aims to highlight the importance of grassland’s role in the sequestering of carbon.

Work conducted over the past 50 years at AFBI Hillsborough has shown that well-managed grassland can sequester over 800kg of carbon/ha/yr.

Growth in Co. Down has been affected most by the dry weather, according to GrassCheck, and has grown the least grass.

Co. Down has grown 11% less grass than Co. Derry in 2022.

The 2022 season summary shows that GrassCheck plots at Hillsborough and Greenmount produced their joint-lowest crop yield (9.2t DM/ha) since GrassCheck was established in 1999.

The long-term average shown in the data is 11.5t DM/ha.

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Farmers attending a recent meeting in Co. Armagh were briefed on the benefits of foliar feeding grassland swards.

The technology has been widely used within the tillage sector over a number of years. However, the potential to use foliar feeding as a crop nutrition option for grass swards is only now being explored.

Trials carried out at locations in Wales over a three-year period have confirmed that the efficiency of foliar nitrogen (N) application to both grazing and silage swards can be improved by a factor of 300% and 200% respectively.

So, where an application of 250kg of N/ha was previously used with conventional fertiliser, similar yields could be achieved with 100kg of N/ha.

Foliar feeding

The work was carried out by Aberystwyth-based grassland consultant, Nigel Howells.

Not only did his trial confirm the improved N use efficiency of a foliar applied option, it also pointed to an improvement in quality, such as the significantly enhanced forage sugar levels that can be achieved by taking this approach.

The trial also indicated that using a foliar N, as opposed to a granular source, helps to maintain soil pH levels. Urea was the N source used in the Welsh trial.

The development of a foliar feed that will work under Irish conditions has been taken on by Co. Fermanagh-based Farmcare products.

The company’s Mark Crawford  explained: “An aqueous solution of ammonia is a very unstable product.

“The key to making the technology work effectively is centred on the addition of a carbon source, one that will complex with the urea, thereby making its translocation into the grass plant almost immediate.

“The work carried out in Wales, identified humic acid as the option to run with in this regard, so it made sense to follow this lead,” he said.

The new product was brought to market for their first time last year, with a significant number of farmers opting to trial it.

A follow-up survey undertaken, confirmed the following results: 60% of those farmers using the product identified a clear and obvious benefit, 30% were unsure and 10% of users had some questions about the new product.

“It is extremely encouraging that 60% of the farmers using the product last year were able to replicate the results of the Welsh trial,” Crawford added.

“This is a new technology; we knew from the outset that there would be a need to hone the application protocol. And that’s what we are doing right now.”

The post Foliar feeding grassland swards – is it an option? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Mark Fuller is a 24-year-old agricultural contractor based in Co. Cavan. He is in the process of growing his own business and recently invested in a Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) umbilical system.

Agriland recently paid a visit to see this system in operation on the hills of the Lake county.

Mark said he got into agri-contracting simply from “one job leading to another”.

“I got my tractor licence and my Professional Pesticide Training certificate and I was doing a bit of spraying for a few farmers located nearby,” he said.

“I then bought a 600L sprayer and two years ago, I invested in a new 1,200L sprayer.

“I developed a good customer base of farmers and a few were asking me would I spread slurry for them.

“I then borrowed a 1,600 gallon slurry tank and started spreading slurry for a few neighbouring farmers and that’s how it progressed.

“I was spreading with a four-cylinder engine tractor and I knew I needed a larger tractor so I went and invested in a six-cylinder engine tractor and bought a New Holland TM-140.”

Now, Mark’s business, Fuller Agri Contractors, offers a range of services to farmers including spraying, slurry spreading, fertiliser spreading, and tedding-out grass.

“I started tedding grass with a second-hand six-rotor Lely grass tedder. Last year, I had an awful lot of tedding work on so I went out and bought a new six-rotor Malone tedder,” the young contractor said.

In quiet periods of the year, Mark works with Nigel McDowell at Cavan Tree Services where his tractors are put to work pulling low-loaders and dump trailers as well as drawing wood chip.

“It’s a great help because it keeps the tractors busy when there’s nothing else on in the winter,” Mark explained.

LESS umbilical slurry

Regarding his LESS umbilical slurry pipe, Mark said: “A couple of farmers wanted umbilical slurry spreading work done so and I saw an opportunity there and bought 600m of umbilical slurry pipe with a pump, reel and splash plate in 2018.”

Umbilical slurry spreading, or ‘the pipe system’ as it is commonly known, involves pumping slurry from a lagoon or tank using a high-pressure pump unit, via a pipeline, to a tractor-mounted applicator unit in the field.

With regulations surrounding LESS coming down the line, Mark then decided to invest in a dribble bar.

“I bought the dribble bar in February 2022 and it has gotten me a lot of extra customers. My work went up by about 50% since I got the dribble bar. Every year it’s getting busier,” he said.

Progress

Mark said that the dry weather and good ground conditions in February have been a tremendous help to getting his slurry work completed.

“All the slurry I spread in March of last year was out before the end of February this year,” he said.

“The weather has been brilliant and ground conditions are in great order.”

Challenges

Mark believes the ever-increasing costs faced by contractors is the most significant challenge facing the sector.

“Machinery, diesel and machinery parts are all very expensive and are not showing much signs of easing,” he said.

Goind forward, Mark is confident on continuing to develop his business. “I’ll keep at it and go where the work takes me,” he said.

The post Video: Young agri-contractor’s LESS umbilical slurry setup appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Grassland Agro is confirming that retail standard urea price this week is around €850-860/t in 500kg bags on pallets, and stocks seem to be available countrywide at present.

Company managing director Liam Woulfe told Agriland: “We do not have a CAN [calcium ammonium nitrate] option at the present time. Fertiliser sales are currently only at around 20% of where they would normally be at this time of the year.

“Yes, there is the expectation of cheaper nitrogen becoming a reality during the second quarter of 2023. But importers must first sell-on the stocks they have in order to be able to obtain supplies for the normal peak application season of April over the coming weeks and months.”

Woulfe ruled out the possibility of fertiliser companies cutting nitrogen prices now, simply to get existing stocks through the system.

“Our approach will be consistent with every other year regarding stock which is the ‘first-in/first-out’ approach,” he continued.

“And whether cost prices go up or down, the next consignments will be priced accordingly. This is a massively working capital intensive industry and to have a different approach would be crazy, operationally and financially.

“Like all other industries, fertiliser stocks must be sold at a price that reflects their supply chain cost.

“At this time, it’s very difficult to see how importers like us can live with the risk of increasing their current inventories that is currently tied up as it is already at an unsustainable level and cannot be increased further,” Woulfe said.

Supply chain difficulties for fertiliser

Woulfe told Agriland that he can foresee serious supply chain disruptions between now and the end of April because even though stocks exist currently, he said that there is not enough committed in the pipeline to cover late-March and April.

“The time lag from purchasing new product and the arrival time of same, versus the peak application season, is getting very tight indeed,” he stressed,

According to Woulfe, urea sales may well increase in relative terms this year again.

“Up to now urea has accounted for about 10-20% of total nitrogen sales in Ireland. This figure may well rise to 30% + in 2023,” he explained

“There is every indication that farmers will opt for a combination of slurry and urea up to early March, after which, the market may switch to NPKs beyond that point.”

Protected urea

Protected urea is available at the present time. The advice is that farmers should budget for an additional cost of €70/t if using this product.

Protected urea is almost always best value per unit of N versus any other source of N and is optimal from an emissions point of view.

The Grassland Agro representative recognises that farmers using urea for the first time may have to recalibrate their fertiliser spreaders.

“However, most modern spreaders can be easily reset automatically in this regard,” Woulfe said.

Looking ahead, Liam Woulfe suggested that international fertiliser nitrogen prices could increase over the coming weeks due to ‘pipeline filling’ across Europe, before probably dropping back again. 

“This could act to reduce the availability of supply coming into Ireland and cause supply disruptions,” he commented.

There are adequate stocks of potash (K) and phosphate (P) available to importers at the present time. 

But this could change as the European market picks up and especially because of the many fewer suppliers of P and K at this time due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and its consequences. 

“Both P and K prices strengthened last August,” Woulfe confirmed. “But they have now dropped back to the similar levels that farmers were paying this time last year.”

The post Fertiliser: Standard urea available at €850/t this week appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The treatment of entire cereal crops – at full maturity – to produce alkaline crop forages is opening up new opportunities for Irish dairy and beef farmers.

This was the key message delivered at a recent farm seminar and tour hosted by the Lowe family, from Adare in Co. Limerick.

Coordinated by Clonmel-based agri merchants, Star Fuels, the event was attended by more than 30 dairy and beef farmers from every county in Munster, as well as parts of the south east.

Alkaline crop forages

George Lowe and his son Richard milk 120 Holstein and Jersey cows.

Calving the year round, the Holsteins are currently averaging 11,000L per lactation with good fat and protein; the Jerseys are averaging 8,000L with exceptional milk solids.

The cows are milked twice daily. However, the Lowes are in the throes of putting up a new buildings complex on the farm, which will be home to three milking robots.

The farm visit took place against the backdrop of the Tillage Incentive Scheme encouraging greater numbers of livestock farmers to grow cereal crops.

Last year, Ireland’s cropping area increased by some 6%. And the expectation is that a further growth in the area of crops grown will follow in 2023.

Driving this trend to a large extent will be dairy and other livestock farmers, ploughing up grass. So the question then becomes – how can these farmers make best use of the additional, arable crops that they have access to?

According to Richard Lowe, one very feasible option is to alkali-treat the entire crop, grain and straw, at point of full maturity. The end product is called alkalage.

“We have traditionally treated grain grown on the farm with Home n’ Dry pellets and the product worked well for us,” he explained.

“The ammonia produced by the pellets preserved the grain. It also added to the protein value of the feed and significantly boosted its pH value.

“We have long recognised the health and production-related benefits of offering the cows a total mixed ration that is less acidic in nature.”

Wheat crop

Last year the Lowes were encouraged to produce alkalage from their wheat crops and include it as a forage component within the rations fed to their cows.

“This was an entirely different challenge,” Richard admitted. “Growing the crop was not the issue. But getting it harvested correctly was.

“We have a Claas self-propelled harvester here on the farm. But it had to be kitted out with a primary processing mill to ensure that the grain was processed prior to being crop blown into the accompanying trailers.

“The milling unit comprises two rollers with 125 teeth each and running at different RPM.

“Claas provided us with a unit that fitted their harvester. But other manufacturers can supply processing mills that meet the specs on their harvesting equipment,” he added.

Lowe said that the grain must be physically treated in this way to optimise the digestibility of the grain. Where the straw is concerned, the chop length was set at 25mm.

Preparing alkaline crop forage

There are a number of criteria which must be met prior to a cereal crop is harvested for the purposes of alkalage production.

First off, no desiccant must be applied in the run up to cutting. In addition, there must be no green material left in the crop, at all, prior to harvest.

“Both these issues come back to the same point – any green material in a crop will react in an unfavourable manner with the applied pellets,” Lowe explained.

“Under these circumstances, heating within the alkalage clamp can take place.”

George and Richard Lowe regularly grow up to 50ac of wheat on their farm. The continuing availability of the Tillage Incentive Scheme may well encourage them to increase the area of cereal grown into the future.

Last year’s wheat crops performed extremely well. They were sown out during October 2021 and the variety Costello was grown.

“All the wheat destined for alkalage production was weighed. The total output of the crop – grain and straw combined – averaged 6t/ac,” Richard confirmed.

“Making the alkalage was straightforward. The pellets were mixed with the harvested crop at a rate of 40g/t.

“Each of the trailers coming in from the field contained roughly 6t of wheat. After mixing, the crop was stacked in a roofed silo with a plastic sheet put over the clamp for a fortnight.

“It took the ammonia that was released from the pellets this amount of time to do their job.

“After a fortnight, the clamp had become totally stable. It is possible to make alkalage in the outdoors. But in these instances, it is advised that the cover is kept on the clamp to keep out the elements,” he added.

He also explained that the clamp was not rolled at any time. According to Richard, it cost €74/t to treat the crop.

What is alkalage?

So, what is alkalage? The one thing it is not is fermented wholecrop silage.

Paul Sayle, from Sayle Agri, took part in the farm visit. He was accompanied by his father Alan, who was responsible for the development of Home n’ Dry and the alkalage production process.

Paul pointed out that all silages, grass and whole crop, are fermented forages.

“As a consequence, they are extremely acidic in nature,” he said. “Alkalage, on the other hand, is a cereal-based forage with a pH well above 7.0.

“Overloading total mixed rations with grass, forage maize and whole crop silages will predispose dairy cows and beef cattle to acidosis.

“Alkalage, on the other hand, will help maintain the pH in an animal’s rumen around its optimal value of 6.0. So in addition to the obvious nutrition-related benefits of alkalage, the forage is also delivering significant improvements in animal health.”

According to Alan Sayle, the most appropriate forage mix in a dairy total mixed ration is one third grass silage, one third alkalage and one third maize whole crop.

Alkalage can be made from all the cereal options grown in Ireland – wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale.

Alkalage for animals

As a rule of thumb, alkalage made from wheat is most commonly used in dairy rations; barley is the preferred option in beef rations.

Significantly, barley alkalage can be included in beef-finishing rations to increase the levels of concentrates these animals can consume on a daily basis without acidosis kicking in.

Star Fuels’ Ray Connolly confirmed that many farmers are reliant on contractors to make silage and harvest their cereal crops.

“The key issue here is the availability of self-propelled harvesters fitted with grain processing mills,” Connolly said.

“We are expecting a significant uplift in the number of Irish farmers making alkalage this year.

“Preparations are in place to have enough harvesters fitted with processing mills in the country to meet this demand.”

George and Richard Lowe have been including alkalage in the total mixed rations fed to their dairy cows over the past five months.

“The feeding rate is 7kg/head/day,” George explained.

“The other forage sources in the cows’ diet are wholecrop maize and grass silage. Our top yielding cows are being fed to produce up to 60L per day. This management approach puts a fair amount of stress on cows.

“We are also using sexed semen on the cows. One of the most obvious things that I have noticed since the alkalage was included in the diets is the stronger heats demonstrated by the cows,” he added.

“We scan the cows regularly. And there is also evidence coming through now to indicate that conception rates are also improving.”  

The post Alkaline crop forages for dairy and beef sectors  appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has announced that cattle only nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) statements for the whole of 2022 are now available.

The department said that the N and P statements, which are now available for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2022, are useful for farmers as they can plan for the remainder of the year to ensure compliance with nitrates regulations limits.

DAFM said this will help farmers avoid penalties for breaching the limits of 170kg of organic nitrogen per hectare or the limit of 250kg/ha for those who hold an approved Nitrates Derogation licence.

The department has provided details on measures farmers can take to avoid exceeding their nitrates limit of either 170kg/ha or 250kg/ha, including:

• Reducing livestock numbers;
• Renting additional land;
• Exporting enough slurry/farmyard manure and declaring the movement online.

Up until today, farmers could only view N and P statements for the period of January 1 to October 31, 2022 but the extended period can now be viewed on the agfood website.

DAFM also issued a reminder to farmers about the closing date of March 31, 2023, for Nitrates Derogation 2023 applications.

Farmers who applied for a derogation in 2022 are also reminded that they must submit fertiliser accounts for 2022 by the closing date of March 31, 2022.

The post DAFM: N and P statements for full 2022 year now available appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Colm Cussen is a beef farmer from Broadford, Co. Limerick, who breeds and sells pedigree Simmental heifers and bulls.

Aside from farming, Colm is the managing director of his company, ABS Engineering Control Systems Ltd. in Co. Limerick, where ABS designs and installs building management systems for new and existing buildings.

Supporting cattle growth with excellent nutrition is essential to produce high-quality animals on Colm’s farm. For this, Colm works to take advantage of Ireland’s temperate climate and excellent grass growth to keep feed costs low.

However, when chemical fertiliser costs began to rise, it became expensive to keep grass growth plentiful.

As an alternative to chemical fertilisers, the Limerick man decided to enquire about Supersoil, a 100% organic fertiliser.

The post No more chemical fertiliser costs for Limerick beef farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Homeland and Nutrias Animal Feed Donegal Silage Competition winners for 2022 were announced at a recent event in the county.

The competition is segmented into five categories as follows, with a 1^st and 2^nd prize offered to winners from each category:

• Dairy;
• Beef;
• Sheep;
• Round bale;
• New entrant (entrant to dairy farming within the last two years, or starting in 2022).

Participants in the competition had to collect silage sample bags from any of the Donegal Homeland stores and take a sample of their own silage.

Each competitor then returned the sample to their local Homeland store or Farm Commercial Specialist.

Here are the winners of the Donegal Silage Competition:

The post Photos: Donegal Silage Awards winners announced appeared first on Agriland.ie.

There is a growing expectation that nitrogen fertiliser prices are to ease late into the second quarter of this year.

Grassland Agro managing director, Liam Woulfe, spoke at the recent Ulster Arable Society annual conference.

He confirmed that natural gas, ammonia, phosphate and potash prices (despite some reductions in the price of same from their peak levels), remain at levels that are up to four-times higher than they were during the application season of 2021, i.e., prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In my view there is enough fertiliser in the country or contracted to arrive to meet farmers’ needs up to the middle of March or so,” Woulfe told Agriland.

“But this product must be brought through the system in a normal pattern first, in order to allow importers secure the stocks they need for use later in the spring.

“No importer can live with the risk of increasing their current inventories as the working capital that is currently tied up is already unsustainable and cannot be increased further,” he added.

He went on to say a blocked pipeline in the supply chain will cause supply disruptions when peak supplies are required.

So, according to Woulfe, if farmers do not purchase and utilise the stocks of fertiliser that are now available from merchants and co-ops in the normal pattern, importers and merchants will not have the wherewithal to secure the potentially somewhat cheaper supplies of product that will be required for application later in the season.

“We need to see significant quantities of fertiliser moving on to farms over the coming weeks,” Woulfe explained.

Nitrogen prices

While Woulfe believes nitrogen (N) prices may come back later in the year, the same trends are not as evident insofar as phosphorous (P) and potash (K) are concerned, as the price of these two nutrients remains stubbornly more firm.

“P and K prices will be staying where they are for the foreseeable future,” he commented.

In 2022, total fertiliser sales fell by almost 20% in Ireland – relative to 2021. However, nitrogen consumption was only down by about 14%. But the combined P and K reduction in consumption was over 30%.

The Grassland Agro representative is now concerned about the impact of this development on overall soil health.

“Under the new climate change regulations there will be a requirement to reduce the total amount of fertiliser N used in 2023 versus 2021 by 10%. To achieve this the reduction in consumption of N fertiliser in 2022 will need to be maintained,” he said.

“But this issue must be considered in the context of the overall objective, which is to improve the sustainability of Irish farming and agriculture in every respect. The scope to improve fertiliser utilisation rates within Irish agriculture is immense.

“But in order to achieve this, we need to soil test and use the data from same to create a specific and unique fertiliser plan for each farmer to optimise the soil capability and in turn the forage output of their farm with minimum effect on farm output in the short- and long-term.”

Soil health

Woulfe explained that it has long been recognised that soil pH values greatly determine the utilisation efficiency of applied fertilisers.

Recent surveys have confirmed that about 90% of Irish grassland soils are well below their optimal value in one, two or all combinations of pH, P and K.

“Grassland Agro has joined forces with industry partners, including co-ops and merchants, to implement a soil sustainability programme,” Woulfe added.

“This will help their farmer-customers by working directly with each individual farmer on their farm on the detailed diagnosis in order to optimise their soil and forage output in the most sustainable basis through our specific process across the island of Ireland.

“Soil testing diagnosis and action there from, which is guided by farm output optimisation while staying within the ever tightening fertilisation regulatory tolerances, are at the very heart of this work at an individual farm basis,” he added.

Woulfe explained that while there is a significant resource of agronomy staff, they will ultimately have a limited overall capability.

“But if any farmer wishes to get involved, they should talk to their co-op, merchant or any of my Grassland Agro team,” he continued.

“Finally, given the trends in fertiliser sales last year, I am deeply concerned that soil P and K index values have even taken a further hit and thus this further increases the bar to achieve optimum farm output while remaining compliant with regulations.”

The post Nitrogen prices due to ease in second quarter of 2023 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Agriland attended the Irish Farmers’ Association’s 68th annual general meeting this week in the Irish Farm Centre, to hear representatives, members and ministers from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine debate topical issues across the various farming sectors. 

Opening the event, president Tim Cullinan said “it is a challenging time for Irish farming” which has been fueled by the illegal war in Ukraine, soaring input costs, inflation, eroded support payments and climate change. 

He told delegates that the agricultural industry “is the economic bedrock of the rural economy” yet it is not getting credit for this, and instead is “vilified” for its role in climate change. 

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue delivered the keynote speech before he and his departmental colleagues, junior ministers Pippa Hackett and Martin Heydon, faced questions from committee chairs and farmers on the floor. 

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In recent years, more and more farmers are focusing on the overall health of their soil, worm population and root depth; essentially, bringing their soil back to life. 

Soil is comprised primarily of organic matter, rock particles, air, water and micro-life. A healthy soil will help the uptake of nutrients into the plant and animals will have access to better quality forage. 

Noel O’Toole is a third-generation dairy farmer based in east Galway milking 180 cows on 45ha. Noel has been using Sobac products on his land for the last four years.

Noel uses both Sobac’s products, Bacteriolit and Bacteriosol, on his land. Bacteriolit is added to the slurry and spread on the grazing platform and Bacteriosol pellets are spread with a fertiliser spreader on the out farms.

For more information or to arrange a no-obligation consultation, contact.

• Tom Stapleton: 087 232 8051 (North, East, South, South West: South Tipperary);
• Adrian Molloy: 087 232 5234 (West: Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary, Galway, Offaly);
• Francis Egan: 087 752 3328 (West: Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Galway, Offaly).

For more information on Sobac, visit their website by clicking here.

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Farmers must register for the new Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) fertiliser database, which will go live early next year.

This can be facilitated through the agfood portal on the department’s website.

DAFM’s Finbarr O’Regan stated on a recent Tillage Edge podcast: “When farmers go into the agportal, there will be a national fertiliser database section, which they can click into.

“Thereafter, the registration process is a ‘ticking the box’ exercise. This will allow them then to enter their opening stock. Later in the year, it will also allow them to download reports on their purchases as well.

“The farm’s herd number will be the identifier for this process. Everything we are doing is to make it as simple as possible for farmers and everyone involved.”

Fertiliser database

According to O’Regan, it was felt that using the herd number approach would be a better option from a registration point of view.

Farmers not registering for the new database will be flagged on the system. In such instances, a reminder will be sent out to the producers in question.

“We would hope that within a  few months of the system being launched, all of these issues would have been addressed,” O’Regan stated.

When ordering fertiliser into the future, merchants will require the farmer’s herd number.

“This is how the purchase will show up on the system,” the DAFM representative further explained.

“The merchant is legally required to ask for the herd number. If that herd number is not registered on the national fertiliser database, this will be flagged and DAFM will, subsequently, contact [them].”

Opening and closing stock take

According to O’Regan, the farmer’s only interaction with the new register is to record an opening, and then a closing, stock at the end of each year.

“Nitrates will probably look for this information in September. The closing stock from one year, automatically, becomes the opening stock for the next,” he commented.

DAFM will put in place an email facility and, hopefully, a telephone line for farmers who have picked up any discrepancies in the reports.

Inspections linked to the new register will be carried out by DAFM staff.

“Where merchants are concerned, we know that they carry out a reconciliation during February regarding stocks of fertiliser on-site at the end of January,” O’Regan continued.

“They would have done all their own internal checks at that stage, hoping that everything balances.

“So, we are hoping in this way that very little incorrect fertiliser-related information ends up in the National Fertiliser Database.”

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that Ireland’s new National Fertiliser Database will include all nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potash (K) sales.

Speaking on a recent edition of the Tillage Edge podcast, Finbarr O’Regan indicated that details of all N, P and K fertilisers coming into the country will be supplied by importers and the country’s dealership network.

“The database will also cover lime and associated products,” he stated.

“From a climate change perspective, we will also have information on the use of inhibitors. Protected urea will be the key product in this context.”

Fertiliser from NI

According to the DAFM, products coming across the border will be captured in merchants’ subsequent sales records to end users.

There is also a facility on the new database that farmers bringing fertiliser in directly from Northern Ireland can enter this on to the system as well.

“Most of the work will be carried out by retailers. Whoever is selling to farmers must upload their sales data onto the system,” O’Regan explained.

“The bulk of the work will be done at that level. There will be a facility, linked to DAFM, that will make the transition of information easier.

“When it comes to farmers and professional end users, there will be a requirement to register on their part.

“They register with the department [of agriculture]. Specifically, farmers will have to declare an opening stock, even if the figure here is zero,” he continued.

Tracking fertiliser

Regan confirmed that the new database will provide a comprehensive tracking mechanism of every unit of fertiliser brought into the country.

“This is the goal. But it won’t be achievable immediately,” O’Regan commented.

“Initially, we are looking at sales to farmers. We already have a system, whereby the importers provide DAFM with their data.

“There are also CSO [Central Statistics Office] figures. However, all of this is a bit disjointed. Longer term we want to get all of this information included within the fertiliser database,” he explained.

“And the new legislation will account for this. In the longer term all fertiliser importers will have to upload all of their relevant data. This will mean that all the relevant information will be available from the one source.”

The aim of DAFM staff is to have all of this data accessed by the end of next year.

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Moving from a pastoral farming system that is more sustainable, in terms of sward diversity, will not be a straightforward process, scientists have warned.

Today most Irish swards comprise perennial ryegrass varieties.

According to Dr. David Patterson, a pastoral and research scientist at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), the obvious starting point in this journey to a sustainable farming system is the inclusion of red and white clover species in grassland swards.

Both legumes will fix significant amounts of nitrogen (N) from the air and in theory, this will reduce the quantities of chemical N fertiliser required by swards.

But there are issues according to Patterson, and one of these is the fact that many clover varieties are not that persistent in a commercial environment.

The other main issue relates to the fact that only 30% of the N fixed by clover is made available to other plant species making up a sward.

Patterson, who addressed the AFBI’s 2022 science outlook conference, said that clover inclusion can act to reduce the carbon footprint of  a grass sward and an overall livestock enterprise.

He also highlighted that grassland can have a positive impact on the sustainability of agriculture in a number of ways.

He outlined how the actual levels of animal performance can be achieved in a grazing scenario including the use of grassland as a tool to counter the impact of climate change, the impact of grassland on rural landscapes and using grassland management techniques to improve soil fertility levels.

Climate

Paterson also specifically stressed the need to incorporate greater levels of climate change resistance into the development of new perennial ryegrass varieties.

The AFBI scientist also referenced the results of trial work carried out at Loughgall in Co. Armagh during 2020 and 2021.  The work was centered on swards containing a mix of grass, clover, plantain and chicory.

Looking to the future, Paterson said trials will be used to identify ways of improving herb persistence within swards and achieving consistent levels of forage output throughout the growing season.

He believes converting to silvo pasture is the ultimate step that grassland farmers can take in terms of diversifying the composition of their swards.

Patterson said research work carried out by AFBI over a 40-plus year period has confirmed the myriad benefits such an approach can secure in delivering a more sustainable grass based production system.

He said the most obvious of these is a significant extension to the grazing season.

But Patterson also believes that the planting of trees will help to lock-up significant quantities of carbon over many decades.

He detailed how AFBI’s current silvo pastoral development work has a key focus on determining the best ratio of tree numbers to grassland area at a specific site.

To date all the livestock studies involving silvo pasture have been focussed on cattle and sheep, but dairy trials will get underway in 2023.     

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Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) is shaping up to be the ‘ominous threat’ that could wipe out winter cereal production in Ireland, if we are not careful.

The tillage year just past, 2021/2022, saw large tonnages wiped-off the yields of many winter barley crops, particularly in the south and south east.

And why was this? Put simply, many fields were sown out in September at a time when grain aphids were extremely active.

This year, in response, growers waited until October to sow out their barley crops. And what happened then?

One of two things: either the deluge of rain that came down during those weeks prevented any field world from taking place at all.

Or crops that did get planted found themselves emerging into swamp-like conditions to be greeted by unimaginable numbers of slugs

Both scenarios have combined to make winter barley a pretty uneconomic crop option for 2022/23, I would suggest.

Adding to the challenge being faced by cereal growers is the escalating price of seed and all the other costs entailed in establishing a new crop.

If this process isn’t successful, then the prospect of looking at real losses being incurred next harvest becomes a very real one.

The big question within all of this comes back to the weather. Was the rain experienced over the past few weeks the exception?

Or is the prospect of exceptionally wet and mild autumns the future scenario that we can all ‘look forward’ to?

The other issue to be addressed relates to the future control of grain aphids.

If farmers cannot use planting date as an effective integrated pest management (IPM) control measure with any degree of reliance and insecticide usage is fast becoming taboo, what can be done to secure the future of winter cereal production in this country?

It is in this context that plant breeders must stand up and be counted. Already a number of cereal varieties that show partial resistance to BYDV have been identified.

Hopefully, it should be possible for breeders to take the next step and come up with varieties that are fully resistant.

And that clock is ticking. And, of course, this comes with the caveat that BYDV resistance and yield potential should be developed hand-in-hand.

There is nothing wrong in asking for everything: whether we ever get it all is another question entirely.

Keeping growers up to speed on all these issues is another priority. And, in this context, Irish tillage farmers are tremendously well served by Teagasc.

I will end with a quick reference to the ‘Tillage Edge’ podcast, produced by Teagasc on a weekly basis. For me, it represents a compulsive listening opportunity. Every Irish cereal grower should view it in the same light.

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Farmers who leave a grass stubble height of between 6 and 8 cm could find it an important approach to managing mycotoxin contamination of grass silage, a leading German expert has advised.

Dr Bernd Pieper, who is a leading silage specialist, told Agriland that farmers who choose to leave a specific stubble height could address what will be a key management challenge on Irish livestock farms over the coming months.

Pieper said that the approach taken in Germany could also deliver key benefits for Irish farmers in dealing with mycotoxin contamination.

“The moulds that produce the mycotoxins are in the field. And they attach to the growing grass plants close to the soil surface.

“In Germany, it is standard practice to leave a grass stubble height of between 6 and 8cm. It’s an approach to silage making that eliminates for the most part the threat of mycotoxins at feed-out.”

According to the silage specialist cutting grass to almost soil level increases the risk of mould contamination.

He also warned:

“It also reduces the rate at which grass swards grow back.By leaving 8cm of stubble in the field individual plants have sufficient leaf cover to ensure an immediate growth response after cutting.”

Pieper said reducing silage losses at feed-out is a priority for German livestock farmers.

He said spraying potassium sorbate on grass destined for the top layers of a grass silo is one technique that is now commonly applied by farmers and contractors in Germany to reduce forage wastage within a clamp.

“Potassium sorbate is a natural preservative, it kills moulds. It can also be included within a total mixed ration in cases where feed is delivered to the likes of an out farm every second or third day.”

Pieper detailed that grass accounts for approximately 50% of the silages produced on German dairy farms.

He said that given the fast-increasing price of soya, livestock farmers across Germany are now seeking to include as much home-grown protein sources as possible within the rations they feed to cattle.

One option is Alfalfa – which grows very well in Germany but it is difficult to ensile.

Pieper said:

“A very effective way around this problem is to spray a mix of silage inoculant, molasses and formic acid at a combined rate of 6L/t on to the lucerne as it is being picked up in the field.

“The molasses provides a valuable sugar sources for the bacteria in the inoculant while the formic acid delivers an immediate pH drop.”

He strongly recommends the use of molasses in cases where fresh forages have inherently low sugar levels.

According to the German expert approximately 14m ha of land are farmed in his country and permanent grassland accounts for almost 30% of this area.

Peiper, who recently hosted a visit for Irish farming representatives to Germany, is well known for the silage inoculant Bio-Sil which he developed 30 years ago.

The product, which contains strains of the homofermentative bacterium, Lactobaccilus plantarum, is available in Ireland. 

Bio-Sil is mixed with water and then sprayed on to the grass as it is picked up from the field but Pieper has cautioned that if chlorine, is present at concentrations above 0.2mg/L  this can be an issue.

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The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has hit out at the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme, claiming that many sheep farmers have been “left behind” by its terms and conditions.

Earlier this week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced a funding pot of €13 million for the scheme for 2023.

It is a continuation of the 2022 scheme which was set up to encourage more farmers to make silage or hay amid concerns that the high price of inputs such as fertiliser this year, would result in a drop in fodder crops.

Fodder scheme terms

IFA Sheep Committee chair, Kevin Comiskey has said the terms and conditions issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for the advance payment for the scheme is “another example of sheep farmers being left behind”.

Comiskey said the scheme is only available to farmers who qualified for payments in 2022 and is based on saving hay and silage.

The IFA chair said a large cohort of sheep farmers operating in hill areas were unable to claim the scheme this year and have now also being ruled out of the €30 million scheme.

He said the IFA highlighted concerns for the store lamb trade to the minister and his officials earlier this year and stated that this has now come to pass with a “very difficult store trade for lighter hill lambs” in particular, which are the same cohort of farmers ruled out of this scheme.

Anger

Comiskey said the lack of support for sheep farmers from the minister has reached a critical stage and the “failure of the minister and his officials to address the shortcomings in the original Fodder Support Scheme” has angered sheep farmers.

The IFA has called on Minister McConalogue to come forward with targeted supports for sheep farmers in recognition of the current difficulties on farms and the market failure to return production cost increases.

Comiskey stated: “Factory prices are now up to €12/lamb behind last year despite the increased production costs on farms. This is not sustainable in a low-income vulnerable sector and must be offset by direct supports.”

He has called on the minister to immediately commit funding to a targeted scheme for sheep farmers that will bring direct supports for the sector up to €30/ewe.

Comiskey added: “It is ironic sheep farming is one of the most environmentally sustainable farming systems in the country, yet it is the one government [has] failed to support throughout this crisis and in the new CAP [Common Agriucultural Policy] for next year.”

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Forage expert Dr. Dave Davies is posing the fundamental question to farmers – have you met your silage-making targets for 2022?

He spoke at the first of the 2022, Alltech-hosted ‘Making Silage Sense’ webinar series.

According to the renowned forage scientist, the following targets should be set for the production of grass silage in any year:

• Dry matter (DM): 30%;
• Metabolisable energy (ME): 11.5–12.0;
• Crude protein: 14%+.

However, he went on to make the point that it is possible to push protein levels significantly above the generally accepted 14% threshold, possibly up to 16%.

“By having the higher protein target, we are more likely to hit the more generally accepted specification,” Davies explained.

Silage survey

Davies then discussed the results of the 2022 Alltech silage survey for the island as a whole. Starting with dry matters, he confirmed that the average figure is coming in at around 30%.

“This is bang on target. However, there are very wide variations within this. The lowest dry matter figure comes in at 18%, with the highest value recorded at 70%,” he said.

“I am assuming that this latter figure relates to baled silages.”

According to Davies, it is important to assess the average figures at the top and bottom of the dry matter scales.

“The top 10% of silages have an average dry matter figure of 50%. Again, it is to be expected that these represent baled silages. However, the bottom 10% of silages analysed are averaging a dry matter figure that is below 20%.

“This will constitute a huge challenge for the relevant farms, in many respects.”

The forage scientists went on to point out that overall silage analysis results become more inaccurate as dry matters start to decrease.

“More importantly are the crude protein and ME results. The Alltech survey confirms an average crude protein figure of 12% and an ME value of 10.5 for the island of Ireland as a whole,” he commented.

“Both figures are below target levels. But it is well worth looking at the range of results. These confirm that the top 10% of Irish farmers have met their crude protein and ME targets in 2022.

“So this means we are setting targets that are achievable. And, of course, this has a major impact on the levels of animal performance that can be achieved from forages.”

Silage-making trials

Davies reflected on a number of dairy cow trials carried out at Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Hillsborough a number of years ago.

This work entailed the making of silage in the same field 15-18 days apart. The DM value of the forages differed significantly: 73 versus 62.

Moreover, when the silages were offered to cows, the milk yield difference amounted to 2.6L/day.

“So, this is why we keep talking about the need to set targets for silage making,” Davies stressed.

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Forage specialist Dr. Dave Davies spoke at the first of the 2022, Alltech-hosted ‘Making Silage Sense’ webinar series.

The Wales-based consultant specifically highlighted the factors that impact silage crude protein and metabolisable energy (ME) values.

The maturity of grass at harvest is a critical issue in this regard.

He explained: “The starting point is the period between initial field closure and the date of first cut.

“The target should be cut before the start of the sixth week. The bulk of the ME value is determined by the digestibility of the NDF [neutral detergent fiber] fraction within the grass.

“As lignin content within the grass increases, so do NDF digestibility and ME values.”

Grass silage protein values

Davies also confirmed the link between ME and silage protein values.

“There is a clear linkage between ME and crude protein values as grass goes through its various growth stages,” he continued. But in the real world, other factors come into play. This is apparent in the 420 silages analysed by Alltech this year.

“Basically, we can see that there are a significant number of factors impacting on crude protein levels, apart from the digestibility of the grass and the maturity of the crop.

“It is clearly evident that numerous forages with the same ME values have different protein values.”

In explaining these differences, Davies pointed to the fact that nutrient management programmes implemented while growing grass crops will have a fundamental influence on subsequent silage quality.

“This has been a challenging year in terms of fertiliser prices. This challenge is going to increase as the season progresses. So it is an issue that we will have to keep a key focus on.

“Research work has consistently confirmed the linkage between added fertiliser nitrogen (N) and silage protein values.

“This is a factor that farmers must take full account of as they look forward to 2023. Another key grass nutrient is sulphur. It is critically important in allowing grass to synthesise specific amino acids and proteins,” he added.

The specialist explained that if sulphur is not available in sufficient quantities, growth rates will be reduced. This is another important issue that farmers will have to take account of as they consider their fertiliser options for the year ahead.

Other factors for forage

The consultant explained that other factors that impact on silage energy values and protein contents are the harvesting-related dry matter and organic matter losses.

“These values are impacted by wilting times and the management of the forage from ensiling through to feed out,” he said.

Davies went on to question the long-accepted wisdom of cutting in the afternoon, when grass sugar levels are at their highest values. A 24-hour wilt would then follow.

“Yes, sugar levels are at their highest in the afternoon period,” he added. “But this is not really the issue. Making good silage is all about conserving the nutrients in the grass.

“Research has shown that grass left to wilt overnight will lose a high proportion of its nutrient value. Wilting to get grass down to a 30% dry matter value as quickly as possible is important.

“While leaf stomata are open, grass can lose up to 100L of water/t of grass per hour. However, when the stomata close, this figure drops to 20L.

“Stomata only stay open for a couple of hours after mowing. So we need to spread the crop immediately after cutting, irrespective of the weather conditions,” he continued.

This means that the bulk of wilting takes place in the period directly after mowing.

A study carried out in Wales has confirmed that rapid wilting will minimise ME losses, while a further study in Devon confirms that rapid wilting will act to reduce protein losses.

Nutrient losses in forage

According to the silage specialist, farmers must control the nutrient losses from grass. Crucial to this is the need to wilt as rapidly as possible.

“So cutting at 10:00a.m., and then pushing for as rapid a wilt thereafter, will help to maintain the protein values and other key nutrient parameters in grass that is made into silage,” Davies explained.

Clamp management is also key in maximising the nutritive value of grass silage. Here Davies recommends the use of homo-fermentative-only additives in order to control the breakdown of nutrients.

“Hetero-fermentative bacteria will deliver a more inefficient fermentation, taking longer to get the pH of the silage down to the required value,” he continued.

“When we think about silage, it is the acid in the liquid phase that controls the fermentation. Lower dry matter silages contains more water. So, greater quantities of acid will be required to drop the pH.

“Lactic is almost eight times stronger acid than is the case with acetic acid, which is produced during a hetero-fermentative ensiling process.

“The quicker a pH value of 4.0 is reached within a clamp, the greater the level of true protein and sugars that are maintained within the forage.”

Clamp management

The specialist highlighted the importance of the forage clamp becoming anaerobic as quickly as possible.

“This entails good clamp management, the use of sheeting, the use of cling film, an oxygen barrier, top sheet and sufficient top weight,” he stated.

“If we do all that, we allow a good fermentation to take place. We will maximise the retention of protein and sugars, which will optimise the nutritive value of the silage at feed out.

“The sealing of the clamp is very important. It keeps oxygen out. But, more important than this, it also keeps carbon dioxide [CO2] in.

“Carbon dioxide is the additive that is available for free as it acts to reduce degradative processes within the clamp,” he concluded.

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