18 February 2025

John McCabe’s tips for spring grazing

John McCabe, Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme Advisor, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to cover tips on grazing in spring.

John first gives a range of scenarios that he has heard from across the country. He encourages people to get grazing if not already. For those who are, they need to manage their grazing to ensure they don’t leave themselves short of grass at the end of the first round.

John advises to get cows into the habit of grazing by grazing lower covers; this will also help get ground grazed off and growing for the second rotation. After this, move to heavier grass covers to graze it off before it starts to deteriorate in mid-March. This will also aid recovery of this type of ground.

Finally, John says that it is very important to get early nitrogen out in the right conditions ASAP. The equivalent of a bale of silage/ha is up for grabs by doing it and if you’re not in a position to do, seek the help of a contractor as you cannot afford to miss the early application of fertiliser.

Listen in below:

The Dairy Edge podcast is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com.

More episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast are available on the show page.