Pollinator activity
- Irish Pollinator Monitoring Scheme results 2022
- Most visited plant species
- Species of conservation interest found
Kay O’Sullivan September/October Update 2024
- Bullocks were castrated under 6 months of age, using a local anaesthetic
- All weanlings will be vaccinated and weighed in September
- Castration & vaccination will be carried out well in advance of weaning
Latest update
- Fodder budget update
- Finishing cattle may be sold earlier than January
- Building grass covers – latest wedge
Grass & fodder situation
Biodiversity
Kay is farming 52ha of grassland in Mourneabbey, Mallow, Co. Cork. She operates an organic suckler to beef system of 25 spring calving cows and also lambs 30 organic ewes.
She is partaking in the Irish Pollinator Monitoring Scheme since 2022 which was set up to monitor the status, trends and distribution of pollinators across different habitats throughout the years. This involves a trained surveyor visiting the farm once per month from April to August, amounting to 5 days in total. They monitor what is going on in the fields and along field boundaries such as the hedges and field margins.
Figure 1: Pan trapping is one recording method used
The 2022 preliminary findings were recently analysed and show the following pollinator groups on Kay farm:
- 39% solitary bees
- 27% hoverfly
- 23% bumble bees
- 8% butterfly
- 3% honey bees
The pollinator group with the highest number of species recorded were solitary bees followed closely by hoverflies.
Bramble and dandelion received the majority of visits from insects, followed by white clover, creeping buttercup and creeping thistle.
Species of conservation interest that were discovered include the small fleckled mining bee (vulnerable), groove-faced mining bee (vulnerable) and the humming syrphus whose larvae prey on aphids.
Figure 2: A south-facing bank where some solitary bees are nesting
Four recording methods are used to track the pollinators on Kay’s farm:
- Pan trapping – these are wooden posts with brightly coloured bowls. Three are set up in fields and two in the field boundaries on the southern or/and eastern side. They are setup in the morning and collected after six hours;
- 1km fixed walk – 500m along the boundary and 500m in the field to get an estimate of pollinator numbers and to see what plants they are visiting or if they are looking for nesting sites;
- Floral surveys – 2m radius to see what plants are flowering at the time on the farm;
- Flower insect timed (FIT) counts – 50cm x 50cm observation plot to count how many insects visit a particular plant species in that plot within 10 minutes. An app is available for this so all people can partake even if not involved in monitoring scheme.
Three steps that Dr. Michelle Larkin from the National Biodiversity Data Centre recommends taking to help pollinators are to:
- Avoid cutting hedges annually – cutting on a three-year rotation, but don’t cut them all at once either to ensure there are always some flowers available to pollinators;
- Don’t remove dandelions – allow them to bloom as they are one of the best sources of food for insect pollinators, especially as they are one of the first wildflowers to emerge. They are an important food source for the first pollinators like bumblebee queens that emerge in the spring;
- Avoid using pesticides along field margins where possible and allow some patch of wildflowers like bramble to bloom if they are not causing an issue.
Kay follows all of these actions and has a mix of multi species, permanent pasture, red clover and grass with white clover/bird’s foot trefoil on the farm. She also has well established hedges, field margins and a riparian buffer zone which help to create different habitats on her farm.
Animal Health
No major health issues have occurred since the last visit.
Eight out of ten bullocks were castrated on 21st of August. As per the organic regulations, paperwork must also be completed by the vet and Kay to obtain a derogation before carrying out the practice. The calves must be under 6 months of age and receive a local anaesthetic from the vet to retain their organic status. The two youngest May born calves will be castrated in October.
All the calves will be weighed and vaccinated in September. Kay vaccinates them against IBR, RSV and Pi3 to help prevent any respiratory disease outbreaks over the winter period. She has planned her calf management so that castration, vaccination and weaning will take place at least 2 weeks apart to avoid stressing the calves. They have also received their clostridial vaccine and will get a booster 4 weeks later.
Figure 3: Suckler cows and calves grazing multi species paddock
Animal Nutrition
Kay has 390 bales of silage currently in the yard. She expects to make a further 90 bales of grass silage and 90 bales of red clover silage to provide enough feed for the winter. According to her fodder budget she will need 550 bales of silage in total for a 6 month winter, but she also has redstart which is growing well and will be used to outwinter the finishing and weanling cattle.
Figure 4: Redstart is growing well
Figure 5: Red clover silage will be cut when weather allows
The finishing cattle were booked into the factory for January but they are continuing to grow well and are already laying down fat cover so Kay has booked them in for 11th December instead. The reseeded fields are continuing to grow well and this is helping to build her farm cover for the autumn.
The farm cover was at 1181 kg DM/ha on 22nd August. The growth for the previous week was 45 kg DM/ha/day and demand was 24 kg DM/ha/day. This gives Kay 49 days of grass ahead so she will have the option to take out heavy paddocks for silage. The target days ahead for September is over 25 days with a farm cover of 1100-1200 kg DM/ha.
Figure 6: Grass wedge 22nd August 2024