TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 23rd May 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres/Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Mating start date	% submitted for breeding	First cut silage done	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	28	3.74	3.51	2.09	3.0	96	26-Apr	95%	Yes	3.64	770	212	58	86	2000
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	27.6	4.2	3.52	2.19	4.0	75	05-May	91%	Yes	3.1	616	199	53	66	1900
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	32.6	3.74	3.51	2.43	6.0	49	24-Apr	95%	Yes	4.6	582	127	69	54	1200
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	27	4.07	3.52	2.11	3.0	42	12-May	63%	Yes	3.82	635	166	65	64	1700
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	24.5	4.65	3.78	2.13	2.0	149	08-May	70%	Yes	3.24	808	249	52	59	1700
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	27	4.4	3.65	2.24	2.8	41	01-May	90%	Yes	3.49	622	178	63	73	1600
John Galvin	Ardfert	27.2	4.06	3.5	2.12	3.0	36	28-Apr	93%	Yes	3.96	591	149	55	50	1750
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	30.2	4.14	3.5	2.38	4.2	86	16-Apr	92%	Yes	3.68	632	172	59	75	1700
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	29	3.85	3.56	2.21	6.0	137	01-May	92%	Yes	3.67	559	152	51	48	1500
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	23.6	4.33	3.66	1.94	3.0	116	01-May	89%	Yes	3.02	493	163	39	42	1050
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	24	4.18	3.42	1.88	3.0	198	01-May	91%	Yes	3.49	745	213	56	65	1500
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	25.6	4.45	3.68	2.14	1.8	36	10-May	75%	Yes	3.47	724	209	62	87	1400
Average		27.2	4.15	3.57	2.16	3.5	88				3.60	648	182	57	64	1583

Farmer update: Niall Moloney, Crecora, Limerick

Grass has come under pressure with the dry weather, we increased ration to 6kgs to match the herds demand to the growth rate of grass on farm. We are hopeful of getting rain at the weekend to bring grass cover back up. We have reseeded five acres and this is set with a high pasture profit index mix.  We are spreading 23 units of nitrogen per acre. We have about 86% bred in 3 weeks and will continue to AI for three weeks before we let off the Angus bull. We will continue to AI with the bull for a period for repeats when let out with the cows. We are rotating the bulls with the heifers to ensure bulls have a break. We have silage done and will have spread 20units of protected urea to the acre on this ground. We will slurry it next week for the second cut of silage. We are walking the farm every few days to keep on top of grass covers and forecast ahead so we have enough grass. We have booked a holiday to take time off soon. Pictured are cows grazing heaviest covers left on farm.

Advisor Update: Adrian Curtin, Teagasc Kanturk.  

Breeding season on most farms is coming into week 3 or 4. Farmers should be taking stock of how the first 3 weeks has gone. Have 90% of the cows you want to breed been submitted for AI or is this number less? Some cows may not have shown any heat activity yet. Maybe these non-cycling cows needs some attention i.e. wash out, CIDR or synchronisation protocol in order to meet the 6 week submission target of 100%. These targets are to ensure compact calving season in 2026. First cut silage has been completed on a good number of farms so the focus now turns to returning some nutrients back to this ground in the form of slurry ideally and also getting this spread again for 2nd cuts

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 16th May 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Fertiliser rate Units/Acre	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	27.3	3.85	3.41	2.04	3.0	69	21 U	3.64	770	212	58	86	2000
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	27.5	3.75	3.53	2.06	2.5	78	20 U	3.41	615	180	58	65	1500
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	34	3.73	3.53	2.54	6.2	45	20 U	4.6	874	190	65	69	1700
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	27	3.86	3.5	2.05	3.0	36	23 U	3.82	635	166	65	64	1700
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	25.5	4.38	3.73	2.13	2.0	113	23 U	3.13	847	271	50	61	1600
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	26	4.12	3.68	2.09	3.0	69	20 U	3.93	641	163	71	70	1500
John Galvin	Ardfert	26.5	4.02	3.45	2.04	2.0	47	20 U	3.96	695	176	59	104	1680
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	31	3.89	3.55	2.38	4.7	98	23 U	4.36	637	146	70	98	1700
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	30	3.89	3.54	2.30	6.0	184	23 U	3.67	524	143	51	47	1450
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	22.3	4.39	3.62	1.84	3.0	109	10 U	2.61	611	234	39	53	1560
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	24.3	3.98	3.45	1.86	3.0	206	20 U	3.49	745	213	56	65	1500
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	25.9	4.45	3.57	2.14	1.8	36	25 U	3.09	574	186	56	53	1500
Average		27.3	4.03	3.55	2.12	3.4	91		3.64	681	190	58	70	1616

Farmer Update:  John Galvin, Ardfert, Kerry.

We are producing just over 2kgs of milk solids while feeding 2kgs of meal. Breeding is going well, we had scanned before we started and took actions on cows that required it. We have 93% submitted for breeding and plan to give prostaglandin to those cows not served yet. We are spreading 20 units of protected urea and grass was growing very well at my most recent grass walk. We have taken out paddocks that were gone too strong and stemmy to avoid hitting the cow’s production. We are monitoring grass growth very carefully with dry conditions. We got five acres drained and reseeded this week. We are planning to reduce nitrogen application on the paddocks we have reseeded in recent years that have a good clover content. Pictured is a clover paddock close to grazing.

Advisor Update: Aidan Buglar, Teagasc Ennis.

Grass growth continues to be strong and will exceed demand on many farms especially those on heavy soils.

Focus needs to remain on maintaining quality leafy swards so pre-grazing covers must not exceed 1400 to 1500kgsDM/ha. Walk farm twice weekly and maintain a cover of 150 to 180kgs DM/cow, where growth is at or above demand, 180-200kgs/cow if growth is falling below demand.

Adjust supplement and/or remove surplus grass as baled silage if covers exceed target and increase supplement if covers are falling especially on drier farms.

Nitrogen application of approximately 1 unit per day should continue (keep an eye on annual allowance) as if nitrogen becomes deficient grass quality will quickly deteriorate. Continue to include sulphur (3-4 units) until early July when around 20 units per acre has been applied.

Cows calved 5 to 6 weeks and have not yet cycled should be scanned if intended for breeding this year.

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 25th April 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Mating start date	Synchronisation	% Bred	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	27.75	3.8	3.47	2.07	3.0	95	26-Apr	No	60%	3.54	634	179	57	79	1600
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	28	4.2	3.61	2.25	3.5	55	05-May	No	18%	3.32	795	239	53	62	1450
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	33.4	3.8	3.53	2.53	6.6	44	24-Apr	Heifers	85%	4.6	922	200	64	89	1850
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	28	3.9	3.48	2.12	3.0	31	12-May	Heifers	0%	4	802	201	68	69	1600
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	27.2	4.4	3.79	2.31	3.0	92	08-May	No	10%	2.65	804	303	36	82	1450
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	27	4.4	3.65	2.23	3.6	51	01-May	Heifers	50%	3.49	591	169	63	69	1400
John Galvin	Ardfert	26.4	4.2	3.46	2.07	2.0	34	28-Apr	Heifers	60%	3.57	643	180	61	83	1500
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	30.5	4.2	3.53	2.42	4.2	107	16-Apr	Heifers	80%	3.97	666	168	52	70	1700
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	28.5	3.9	3.6	2.20	3.0	182	01-May	No	30%	3.67	609	166	62	60	1550
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	25.4	4.4	3.73	2.13	4.0	137	01-May	Yes	55%	2.61	805	308	39	86	1901
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	25	4.1	3.54	1.96	3.0	204	01-May	No	30%	3.49	760	218	56	56	1450
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	27.2	4.2	3.61	2.19	1.8	61	10-May	Yes	0%	3.6	746	207	65	61	150
Average		27.9	4.12	3.58	2.21	3.4	91				3.54	731	212	56	72	1467

Farmer Update:  Kieran, Declan & Eileen Murphy, Effin, Limerick

We had synchronised our heifers and bred them on the 16th April and are watching for repeats. We are breeding the cows away with Holstein Friesian, Hereford and Wagyu beef straws, we have about 80% submitted. We are feeding 4kgs of meal with cows doing 2.42 kg’s of milk solids. We are cutting out strong paddocks ahead of the cows but are watching the grass cover on farm closely to avoid cutting too tight if growth slows in the dry weather. We are currently growing grass well at 70kgs dry matter per day per hectare. We have our first cut silage done of 80 acres, we will have 60 acres for the second cut. This second cut will get 3000gallons of watery slurry/acre plus 55units of nitrogen. We are following the cows with 25 units of nitrogen with sulphur. Pictured is nine acres we reseeded on the 3rd April this has germinated and is growing but it could do with rain.

 Adviser comment: Claire McAuliffe, Teagasc Listowel

Growth rates are high, grass is getting strong ahead of cows, don’t effect milk solids by trying to graze covers that are gone too strong. Stem will be arriving into grass and will make graze outs on heavy covers challenging. Consider taking high quality bales now rather than having to correct it after the cows. Where surplus bales have been removed from paddocks try to ensure phosphorous and potassium are replaced from the off takes. For example, four to five bales to the acre will remove around six to eight units of P/ac and 40 to 50 units of K/ac. These can be replaced with 2000 gallons/acre of cattle slurry where available or else compound fertiliser. Apply sulphur now with chemical nitrogen as it aids nitrogen uptake, try to include a potassium compound if there is no phosphorous allowance on farm. Dry matters in grass are testing at 17% in Moorepark. Assess clover contents in paddocks and ensure they are at 20% or higher clover before reducing chemical nitrogen rates on good clover paddocks.

 

2nd May 2025

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 2nd May 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Mating start date	Synchronisation	Heat Detection Cows	Heat detection Heifers	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	28	3.9	3.5	2.13	3.0	90	26-Apr	No	Collars	Scratch cards	3.52	691	196	53	65	1650
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	29	4.42	3.59	2.39	5.0	82	05-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.32	679	205	46	62	1350
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	33	3.93	3.61	2.56	6.6	74	24-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	4.6	922	200	64	89	1850
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	31	4.2	3.56	2.48	4.0	71	12-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.14	735	234	47	57	1200
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	27.8	4.61	3.73	2.39	3.0	194	08-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	2.65	637	240	36	60	1550
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	30	4.31	3.73	2.48	3.6	86	01-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.34	610	183	60	63	1500
John Galvin	Ardfert	28.3	4.24	3.52	2.26	3.0	48	28-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.57	643	180	61	83	1500
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	30	4.12	3.47	2.35	5.7	85	16-Apr	Heifers	Collars	Scratch cards	3.34	0	0	50		2000
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	29.3	3.76	3.57	2.21	3.0	107	01-May	No	Tail paint	Beef bulls	3.67	680	185	62	78	1650
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	26.3	4.42	3.72	2.21	3.0	146	01-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.61	805	308	39	86	2108
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	28.3	4.14	3.62	2.26	4.0	261	01-May	No	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.47	720	207	52	71	1200
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	28	4.47	3.72	2.36	2.4	88	10-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.3	887	269	59	68	1500
Average		29.1	4.21	3.61	2.34	3.9	111					3.38	667	201	52	71	1588

Farmer Update:  Michael & Alex McCarthy, Feenagh, Limerick

Cows are on 3kgs of ration and are producing 2.13kgs of milk solids. We have started AI and submission rates for sexed semen have been good with 30 straws used to date, anything not suitable for sexed are getting beef bulls. Grass growth was 65kgs DM/Ha at my last walk but this will have increased given the heat this week. We will have surplus grass so will take out quality bales. We have 3.6 Ha out for reseed and this has started to germinate. We are following the cows with 18units of nitrogen. We took out 3.3 Ha of a paddock yesterday to make bales following a grass walk. Pictured is the grass and clover germinated on the reseed.

Advisor Update: Claire McAuliffe, Teagasc Listowel

Growth rates will be strong following the heat so there is an opportunity for surplus quality bales to be made. Try to keep covers at 1400 kgs/DM/Ha to ensure quality feed intakes by cows to maintain peak production. Assess clover paddocks for clover content to see where fertiliser can be reduced where there is 20% clover content. Target is to have 80 units of nitrogen per acre on dry soils by the first of May inclusive of slurry. The target for heavier soils is 60 units per acre inclusive of slurry. If bo sulphur is applied to date start applying 3 units per acre per rotation up to 15 units by the 1st July. A protected urea with sulphur will cover this.

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 25th April 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres/Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Mating start date	Synchronisation	Heat Detection Cows	Heat detection Heifers	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	28	3.9	3.54	2.15	5.0	65	26-Apr	No	Collars	Scratch cards	3.52	691	196	53	65	1650
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	29.5	4.29	3.57	2.39	6.0	72	05-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.1	585	189	43	49	1250
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	33.5	3.83	3.59	2.56	7.0	42	24-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	4.16	757	182	56	60	1600
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	30	4.09	3.58	2.37	5.0	40	12-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.05	624	205	46	34	1500
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	27.6	4.59	3.72	2.36	5.0	149	08-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	2.13	576	270	28	38	1500
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	31	4.09	3.65	2.47	4.0	78	01-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.11	757	243	50	48	1600
John Galvin	Ardfert	28.1	4.28	3.55	2.27	3.0	39	28-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.91	685	235	44	42	1550
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	32	4.12	3.59	2.54	5.7	102	16-Apr	Heifers	Collars	Scratch cards	3.22	846	263	45	31	1900
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	29.5	3.91	3.56	2.27	4.0	167	01-May	No	Tail paint	Beef bulls	3.59	891	248	57	53	1850
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	25.9	4.11	3.7	2.08	4.0	124	01-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.61	531	203	37	28	1512
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	28	4.32	3.71	2.32	5.0	210	01-May	No	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.06	662	216	43	30	1400
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	28	4.41	3.68	2.33	3.0	55	10-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.3	838	254	53	65	1500
Average		29.3	4.16	3.62	2.34	4.7	95					3.15	704	225	46	45	1568

Farmer Update:  John & Michael Casey, Causeway, Kerry

Cows are milking well and producing 2.47kgs of milk solids, we are feeding 4kgs of meal and plan to decrease this, and we are spreading 20 units of nitrogen per acre following the cows. We are synchronising heifers in two groups so that we can fixed time AI them to sexed semen over two days. Last year we followed the sexed semen synchronisation programme for heifers closely and got good conception rates. We use tail paint on the cows and scratch cards on the heifers to aid with heat detection. We are planning to spray off paddocks for reseeding shortly as grass is in a strong situation. We held an on farm event this week which included fertiliser spreading calibration. This showed our spreader wasn’t throwing fertiliser as far as it should so we recalibrated the spreader. The spreading trays are shown in the picture and this is a very simple exercise to complete to check correct fertiliser spreading.

Advisor Update: Adrian Bourke, Teagasc Kilmallock.

Graze outs for the last few days have been challenging due to large amounts of rainfall in parts of Munster. However cows are milking extremely well and milk solids are holding. Next week’s forecast is looking extremely well, with growth rates expecting to hit the highest this year so far. It is from now on farmers must ensure they start walking their farms twice a week to identify surplus/heavy paddocks on the farm. Once dry conditions prevail these should be baled up. This will allow farmers to get back into covers of 1300-1400 kg/DM/Ha. It is from now on farmers should aim to have the 3rd rotation at 21 days, allocating the cows 36 hr rotations. This will ensure the cow will be maximising her grass intake and will not be restricting her coming into breeding season (i.e. only having the cow working hard for one grazing). Reseeding is also a major priority at the moment, farmers need to ensure they use the correct seeds for their paddock use (silage mix or grazing mix). The timing of the post emergence spray is the most important part of reseeding and this is when the grass is at its second leaf of grass, three leaves on the clover and dock leaves are only the size of a two euro coin. It is important that farmers have now identified cows which are not cycling through pre breeding checks. These cows will need attention from the vet. Farmers must ensure they correspond with their AI technician before starting synchronisation programmes to ensure that dairy stock can be AI’d at the first three weeks of the breeding season

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 18th April 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Mating start date	Synchronisation	Heat Detection Cows	Heat detection Heifers	Stocking Rate MP	Average Farm Cover	Cover per cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Pre grazing Yield
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	28.5	3.98	3.51	2.20	4.5	64	26-Apr	No	Collars	Scratch cards	3.33	594	178	47	35	1700
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	29	4.3	3.55	2.34	6.0	74	05-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.06	575	188	37	39	1600
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	33.5	3.76	3.56	2.53	7.0	46	24-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	4.07	750	184	55	58	1400
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	30	4.14	3.56	2.38	4.0	32	12-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.14	571	182	47	54	1300
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	27.6	4.39	3.75	2.31	5.0	111	08-May	No	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	2.36	601	255	28	45	1250
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	30	4.54	3.58	2.51	5.0	59	01-May	Heifers	Tail Paint	Scratch cards	3.09	727	235	43	35	1400
John Galvin	Ardfert	27.5	4.2	3.58	2.20	2.0	68	28-Apr	Heifers	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.91	770	265	44	41	1700
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	32	4.02	3.56	2.50	6.2	73	16-Apr	Heifers	Collars	Scratch cards	3.22	846	263	45	31	1900
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	29.5	4.01	3.49	2.28	4.0	116	01-May	No	Tail paint	Beef bulls	3.4	843	248	54	35	1750
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	26.7	4.17	3.62	2.14	4.5	115	01-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.61	858	329	34	54	2052
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	27.4	4.02	3.61	2.15	5.0	180	01-May	No	Tail Paint	Tail paint	3.06	848	277	43	46	1500
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	29.7	4.42	3.59	2.45	3.0	52	10-May	Yes	Tail Paint	Tail paint	2.99	916	306	48	42	1600
Average		29.3	4.16	3.58	2.33	4.7	83					3.10	742	242	44	43	1596

Farmer Update:  Stephen McAuliffe, Loghill, Co. Limerick

Cows are milking well and are getting 5kgs of meal, we will reduce this as grass covers have improved. For breeding we want to tighten the calving spread so we metri-checked all cows to pick up any cows that hadn’t fully cleaned. We got the vet to look at these cows and treated where necessary to bring cows cycling. Some cows had cured themselves over the few days. We are following the cows with 1.5 bags of 18/6/12 on ground that got no slurry, where there was slurry spread were are putting out 20 units of Urea. We have sprayed off a paddock for reseeding that had docks, we have allowed the spray to fully work to kill the docks and will come in with a post emergence spray when the seedlings are up. Pictured is the paddock sprayed off waiting for reseeding.

 

Advisor Update: Claire McAuliffe, Teagasc Listowel

Second rotation grass in Moorepark has tested at 14% dry matter, ensure cows are getting their full allocation of dry matter. Assess the grass supply weekly throughout April and consider selecting a paddock for reseeding. Reseeding rejuvenates swards for increased grass production and new reseeds have a better response to applied nutrients. Review the clover content in paddocks and try to increase clover in low clover paddocks through over sowing or as a reseed. Carry out pre-breeding checks on any cows that had difficulties since calving if they have not been seen bulling and are over 6 weeks calved. Prepare for breeding season by ensuring straws are ordered and on route, bulls are fit to go when needed, drafting is working where available and heat detection aids are in the yard (tail paint, tail paint applicators, scratch cards etc.).

Farm Updates

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Current Farm Updates

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 4th April 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Silage Fertiliser spread	Feed Actions	% Grazed	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	28	4.33	3.35	2.21	4.0	71	No	Out full time & 1Load ZGG	2nd round	556	1300	22	17
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	27.5	4.69	3.5	2.32	6.0	128	Yes	In by night after 4 hours evening grass	80%	516	1500	24	22
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	31.7	3.92	3.48	2.42	7.6	44	Yes	Out full time	2nd round	706	1350	37	46
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	31	4.57	3.32	2.52	5.0	35	No	Out full time	75%	633	1250	35	28
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	26.9	4.51	3.56	2.24	4.0	139	Yes	Out full time	78%	582	1400	23	18
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	27.2	4.97	3.45	2.36	6.0	96	No	In by night on silage & PKE	88%	728	1800	40	41
John Galvin	Ardfert	27	4.37	3.51	2.19	5.0	74	No	Out full time & 1Load ZGG	75%	680	1600	43	35
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	32.5	4.43	3.4	2.62	7.8	82	Yes	Out full time & 1Load ZGG	90%	846	1900	45	31
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	27.5	4.38	3.28	2.17	6.0	77	Yes	Out full time	87%	878	2800	38	46
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	25.4	4.5	3.36	2.06	6.0	110	Yes	Out full time	2nd round	736	1680	17	33
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	26	4.5	3.38	2.11	6.0	91	Yes	Out full time	75%	855	1200	29	35
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	27	4.18	3.67	2.18	3.6	42	Yes	Out full time	75%	933	1500	28	72
Average		28.1	4.45	3.44	2.28	5.6	82				721	1607	32	35

*PKE=Palm Kernel Expeller *Zero Grazed Grass

Farmer Update:  Diarmuid & Sean Fitzgerald, Cratloe, Clare.

We have ten cows left to calve, hopefully these shouldn’t take much longer. We have started the second round of grazing and are mixing  with the remainder of the first round. We are taking silage out of the diet and will gradually reduce ration now that grass cover is back up. We have been selling calves away and now heifers are gradually being weaned off milk. Maiden heifers are gone to the contract rearer and are on target weight for breeding. We have spread slurry for first cut red clover silage at a rate of 3000gallons/acre and a bag of sulphate of potash. We will tail paint cows shortly, this allows us to get a pre-breeding scan on what is calved long enough, but still has tail paint on after three weeks. We have found this works well for picking up cows with any issues for breeding early on. We have sprayed off for reseeding and are putting in a high clover mix. We hope the good spring graze outs will give clover good chance this year.

Pictured is the start of the second round of grazing.

Advisor Update: John McCarthy, Teagasc Listowel.

Ideal grazing conditions have persisted this week which has resulted in a subsequent bump in milk solids compared to this time last year. Grass growth is predicted to improve to between 35-40 kg DM/HA this week so walking the farm on a regular basis to assess grass supply is important especially if grass supply is tight. Average farm cover needs to be maintained above 600 kg DM/HA to protect grass supply for the second rotation. To begin the second rotation, the first 4 to 5 paddocks must have an average grass cover greater than 800 kg DM/ HA.

The rule of thumb for a good first cut of silage would be to use 80 – 90 units/acre of Nitrogen (N), 16 units/acre of

Phosphorus (P) and 90 units/acre of Potash (K). All of the P and K and about 20 units/acre of Nitrogen can be supplied in 2.500 to 3,000 gallons of slurry/acre.

Keep feeding minerals to late calving cows to minimise any issues at calving time and check if the stock bull is ready for the breeding season. A check up from a hoof trimmer now may prevent issues down the line.

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 28th March 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	% Calved	Feed Actions	% Grazed	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Units Nitrogen
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	27	4.12	3.34	2.07	5.0	65	84%	Out by day/Silage&*ZG G at night	85%	539	1400	16	13	70 U
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	27	4.6	3.5	2.25	6.0	92	90%	Out day & 4hours evening grass		561	1500	22	8	50 U
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	31.2	3.98	3.37	2.36	8.0	35	81%	Out full time	80%	674	1700	33	24	65 U
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	29	4.69	3.42	2.42	6.0	39	91%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	40%	571	1050	19	13	40 U
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	26.2	4.58	3.68	2.23	4.0	97	83%	Out full time	57%	739	1200	20	1	35 U
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	26.5	5.07	3.53	2.35	6.0	69	90%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	69%	473	1500		5	43 U
John Galvin	Ardfert	25.8	4.36	3.53	2.10	5.0	50	88%	Out by day/ZG Grass at night	60%		1400	16		38 U
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	31.5	4.14	3.35	2.43	7.8	65	86%	Out by day	75%	664	1500	16		45 U
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	27	4.35	3.32	2.13	6.0	92	92%	Out by day	70%	760	2400	26	14	60 U
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	23.6	5.02	3.45	2.06	6.0	221	87%	Out by day	85%	682	2100	14	22	50 U
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	25	4.26	3.6	2.02	5.0	106	83%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	60%					32 U
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	24	4.24	3.64	1.95	4.2	39	78%	Out full time	60%	838	1700	22	17	60 U
Average		27.0	4.45	3.48	2.20	5.8	81	86%		67%	650	1586	20	13

*PKE=Palm Kernel Expeller *Zero Grazed Grass

Farmer Update:  William & Mary Dennehy, Currow, Kerry.

We have 60units of nitrogen out between chemical and slurry with 60% of the farm grazed. We are feeding 4.2kgs of ration with average grass cover across farm at 838Kg DM/Ha. We are happy to hold grass cover until heat comes. We put in a new spur roadway to give greater access to grass pictured on the right. Heifers were weighed at 12months, group averaged 285Kgs this is 15kgs above target for their maintenance. We have picked our bull team and also picked the grass varieties we will use for reseeding planned for April. We will use high DBI bulls again this year as we are happy with the calves we have got from last years bulls. Last year we used high DBI Angus, Limousine, Charolais which calved with no issues and produced quality calves, such as the limousine and angus pictured.

Advisor Update: Claire McAuliffe, Teagasc Listowel.

Where grass is tight keep demand matched with growth or below to allow the farm cover to recover. Grass growth is predicted to range from 20-27 kg DM/Ha which is slightly below 5 year average. Check the regrowth on first grazed paddocks for the next 2-3 weeks to monitor 2nd round grass. Average covers on farm dropping below 600 kg DM/ha need to react by reducing grass demand. Book a milk recording to access the dry cow therapy results and identify any high SCC cows from the start. If using a synchronisation programme for breeding contact the AI technician to book in the date of AI. Take time to pick out dairy bulls for breeding replacement heifers and high DBI bulls for producing quality beef calves.

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 21st March 2025
Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	% Calved	Feed Actions	% Grazed	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Units Nitrogen
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	27	4.26	3.22	2.08	5.5	59	82%	Out by day	73%	539	1400	16	13	70 U
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	27	4.83	3.58	2.34	6.0	95	83%	Out full time & silage while milking	20%	540	1150	22	1	32 U
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	30	4.13	3.34	2.31	7.0	33	80%	Out day & 3hours of evening grass	64%	711	1650	23	23	60 U
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	29	4.91	3.52	2.52	6.0	52	83%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	26%	601	1800	28	6	40 U
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	24.5	5.04	3.72	2.21	4.0	228	83%	Out full time & silage while milking	39%	739	1200	20	1	35 U
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	23	5.13	3.58	2.06	5.0	117	83%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	58%					43 U
John Galvin	Ardfert	22.8	4.42	3.35	1.82	4.0	49	78%	Out by day	35%	865	1350	16	11	38 U
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	33	4.32	3.55	2.68	7.4	98	83%	Out by day	65%	664	1500	16		45 U
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	27	4.43	3.35	2.16	6.0	70	91%	Out full time+4 KG of silage	58%	760	2400	26	14	60 U
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	24	4.66	3.81	2.09	6.0	149	81%	Out by day	79%	675	1550	28	23	50 U
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	25	4.48	3.68	2.10	5.0	124	77%	Out full time	40%					23 U
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	24	4.32	3.7	1.98	4.2	68	70%	Out full time	44%	972	1675	22	17	60 U
Average		26.4	4.58	3.53	2.20	5.5	95	81%		50%	707	1568	22	12

*PKE=Palm Kernel Expeller

Farmer Update:  Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon, Tarbert, Kerry

Cows are milking well and SCC is going good at 52, we have done our first milk recording and waiting on results. We did a good bit of selective dry cow therapy last year and are happy with how SCC had been going so far this year. It has also made it easier while milking not having to watch as many cows for antibiotics. Grass is tight on farm and growth has been slow on the grazed paddocks so cows are housed by night on silage and palm kernel. I have 40 units spread between slurry and fertiliser and plan to follow the cows with 2500 gallons of slurry to the acre. We spread using a quad and fertiliser spreader and travelled land well. Calves are reared on milk for four to five days before they are trained to the calf feeder.

Pictured are cows grazing Tuesday with palm kernel at the feed barrier for night time.

Advisor Update: Claire McAuliffe, Teagasc Listowel

Grass growth is predicted to be above 25 for next week so this will boost grass amounts on farm. Where grass is tight keep demand matched with growth or below it to allow the farm cover to recover. Grass dry matter is testing at 22% so cows should be getting a good fill from grass allocations while also grazing out the paddocks as ground conditions have been favourable. Complete a farm cover and allocate out what ground is left to graze for the first round. If grass is getting tight slow down the rotation by housing at night. Where fertiliser is being ordered for the coming weeks or silage ground consider sulphur as part of your mix. Target 60 units of nitrogen spread for early April, second applications on ground where no slurry was spread should try to use a compound such as 18-6-12+S. If slurry was applied then a N+S product should be applied. Take action where SCC is increasing by booking a milk recording to identify cows that are high. Cows that did not cure their high SCC across the winter should be culled to avoid spreading to younger cows.

14th March 2025

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	% Calved	Feed Actions	% Grazed	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha	Units Nitrogen
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	27	4.56	3.27	2.18	5.0	83	78%	Out day/Silage&ZG*grass at night	62%	539	1400	16	13	70 U
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	26	4.92	3.38	2.22	6.0	78	78%	Out day & 3hours of evening grass	5%	540	1150	22	1	32 U
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	31.3	4.11	3.23	2.37	7.0	26	78%	Out day & 3hours of evening grass	58%	682	1550	19	12	60 U
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	26	5.15	3.58	2.34	6.0	90	83%	Out day /Silage & PKE at night	20%	615	1400	28	2	40 U
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	21	5.02	3.7	1.89	4.5	292	83%	Out full time	25%	739	1200	20	11	35U on 90%
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	25	5.39	3.66	2.33	5.0	72	79%	Out by day	42%					30 U
John Galvin	Ardfert	21	4.55	3.35	1.71	4.5	87	66%	Out by day	21%	865	1350	16	11	38 U
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	27	4.49	3.29	2.16	6.0	133	90%	Out full time+3 hours of silage evening	55%	859	2200	24	15	60 U
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	32	4.63	3.34	2.63	7.0	66	82%	Out day&6kg ZG grass at night	56%	664	1500	16		45 U
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	21.8	4.95	3.78	1.96	6.0	155	76%	Out by day	72%	675	1550	28	23	50 U
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	24	4.61	3.65	2.04	5.0	120	68%	Out full time +2kg Silage	25%					23 U
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	24	4.54	3.67	2.03	4.2	46	62%	Out full time	34%	982	1650	18	30	60 U
Average		25.5	4.74	3.49	2.15	5.5	104	77%		40%	716	1495	21	13

*ZG=Zero Grazed *PKE=Palm Kernal Expeller

Farmer Update:  Joe Carroll, Ballyheigue, Kerry

Cows are 83% calved, they are on 4.5kg of meal and are at grass full time. I had one case of mastitis this week which pushed SCC up. I have 25% grazed and average cover is 739Kg DM/Ha.  The farm cover had dropped after the storms. I have 35 units of nitrogen spread on 90% of the milking platform. Calves are being fed 4 days of milk before being trained to the calf feeder and on milk replacer then.  I started work on a new roadway this week to give greater access to long paddock. I will put the two water troughs out into the centre way of this field and will fence along the passage to have multiple access options off the passage.  I plan to do reseeding on the silage ground this year and plan to use a red clover silage mixture to get high quality silage cuts off this ground.

Advisor Update: Denis Brassill Tralee Office.

Current ground conditions are as good as they have been around St. Patrick’s Day for many years take this opportunity to get fertiliser applications up to date, target for moderate to highly stocked farms is to have 60 units of N(slurry and Chemical) applied by early April. Many farms have a lower than planned Average farm cover of grass, it is important therefore to walk the farm weekly from now on and make decisions to ensure farms don’t run out of grass in mid to late April as this would have a negative effect on breeding and production for the year. If not already done order your AI straws for the coming breeding season especially if using sexed semen. Getting a milk recording completed shortly is another important task which can help the farm get on top of SCC early and also helps review how the dry period went on your farm.

6th March 2025

Farmer	Location	Fat    %	Prot %	Meal kg	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Growth Rate/Ha	Chemical Nitrogen	% Calved	% Grazed
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	4.59	3.41	4.0	757	1300	10	50 Units	75%	52%
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	4.82	3.55	7.0	540	1150	1	32 Units on 50%	74%	0%
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	4.31	3.43	6.4	682	1550	12	45 Units	76%	35%
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	4.81	3.66	6.0	615	1400	2	23 Units	74%	10%
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	5.63	3.9	4.5	836	1200	6	0	64%	10%
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	4.83	3.62	5.0	617	1100	2	35 Units	65%	18%
John Galvin	Ardfert	4.71	3.43	4.0	817	1200	4	20Units on 33%	61%	7%
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	4.72	3.43	6.8				45 Units on 95%	78%	45%
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	4.62	3.5	6.0	1011	2200	9	30Units on 85%	85%	40%
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	5.03	3.8	5.0	692	1600	13	55 Units	67%	51%
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	4.57	3.77	6.0	684	1200	3	23 Units on 25%	61%	8%
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	4.54	3.64	4.8	903	1500	5	25Units on 70%	51%	16%
Average		4.77	3.60	5.5	741	1400	6		69%	24%

Farmer Update: Andrew & Bernadette Killeen, Doonbeg, Co. Clare.

We have not been able to start grazing yet with ground conditions, but are hoping to start this weekend. We are being mindful of cubicle cleanliness with cows indoors so are liming twice a day with lime and straw chip. We are disinfecting cubicles once a week. This has helped keep SCC at about 75. We had kept the best quality of silage for the spring and are now using the red clover silage for the milking cows. The crude protein is 15% in this silage and cows are milking well off it.

We plan to weigh maiden heifers this week to see if they are on target weight for breeding.

We spread 32 units of protected urea this week using the quad on the milking block and slurry was spread on the out block.

We plan to rear 70 calves, they are on milk for 10 days before moving to milk replacer on the calf feeder. Pictured are a selection of calves in the purpose built shed.

We have been working on the bull team for AI this year. We plan to use sexed semen on the cows only with the bull team being positive for milk, +0.3 for Fat% and +0.2 for protein %, maintenance over €12, a strong health figure and a TB figure of below 8%.

Advisor Update: Claire Mc Auliffe, Listowel, Kerry.

Try to get grazing and get grazing back on track on farms. Complete a farm cover to see where your farm is at, as many farms have lower covers after the winter. Use the Teagasc PBI grass calculator to allocate out grass and predict covers on your farm to avoid a pinch in late March. For ground that has received no chemical nitrogen or slurry spread to date apply 35 units to the acre. For early ground that has nitrogen bring this up to 60untis by early April. You can apply dilute slurry at 2000 gallons/acre to grazed ground to aid with this. Good access through gaps, spur roadways etc. can prove vital for getting cows out at this time of year when ground conditions can be challenging. Assess your farm now to see where possible access routes could be improved to help with getting cows to grass. March is a crucial time to get SCC under control for the year, book in your first milk recording before St. Patrick’s day to see how the dry period went for curing cows and identify any cows off to a bad start.

TEAGASC/KERRY MONITOR FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 28th February 2025
Farmer	Location	Fat    %	Prot %	Meal kg	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Growth Rate/Ha	Nitrogen	Slurry	% Calved	%         Grazed
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	4.56	3.39	4.0	757	1300	10	23Units on 50%	2000gallons on 40%	66%	30%
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	4.72	3.69	6.0	540	1150	1	0		62%	0%
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	4.03	3.27	6.4	708	1450	7	25Units on 90%	2000gallons on 30%	72%	21%
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	4.86	3.81	4.0	615	1400	2	0	3000gallons on 40%	62%	0%
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	6.06	4.04	3.5	836	1200	6	0	2500gallons on 48%	41%	5%
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	4.66	3.64	5.0	617	1100	2	0	2000gallons on 20%	53%	5%
John Galvin	Ardfert	4.57	3.48	5.0	817	1200	4	0	2000gallons on 30%	55%	0%
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	4.71	3.43	5.8				23Units on 90%	2500gallons on 19%	73%	26%
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	5.18	3.51	4.0	1011	2200	9	30Units on 85%	2000gallons on 30%	71%	25%
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	4.72	3.75	5.0	692	1600	13	20Units on 70%	2500gallons on 30%	54%	25%
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	4.67	3.77	6.0	684	1200	3	23 Units on 10%		42%	0%
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	4.37	3.75	4.8	771	1400	4	25Units on 70%	2000galloons on 54%	41%	4%
Average		4.76	3.63	5.0	732	1382	6			58%	12%

Farmer Update: John Galvin, Ardfert, Kerry

I have just over 50% calved at the moment and has been going well. Cows are in full time as ground is sticky with surface water. I walked the farm Thursday and should get grazing in a few days the average farm cover is just over 800 Kg/DM/Ha which includes the silage block as I plan to zero graze this in. They are getting 5kgs of ration. I have slurry spread and plan to follow the cows with slurry. I have protected urea and 29-0-14 in the yard and will spread 20untis as soon as possible. I have picked my bull team for both dairy and beef AI. My dairy team averages €332 EBI with €12 health 39.7kgs of Fat + Protein and 0.36% Fat and 0.23% protein. Pictured  are cows indoors on Thursday.

Advisor Update: Kevin Stagg, Killarney, Kerry.

This is a high risk period for SCC infection spreading with your herd. With a lot of cows calved on farms and not too much grazing taking place – good hygiene in the cubicle house and milking parlour are more important than ever. Run the scrapers at least once every 4 hours and clean down and lime the cubicles twice per day. To kill any bugs on the cubicle bed use disinfectant lime once or twice a week. Until things settle down a bit – disinfect the teats before and after milking for now – this is to stop infection spreading from infected cows to clean cows. Later calving cows are highest risk of getting milk fever at calving time – continue to feed a good precalving mineral to these cows right up to calving and monitor their condition so they don’t get too fat. As we speak the weather forecast for the next week is good. Remember cows that are calved at least 3-4 weeks and still inside full time are losing body condition and in negative energy balance. This simply means they are giving out more energy in milk production than they are taking in. If this goes on too long and cows lose too much body condition – it will affect their ability to go back in calf. Getting cows for a few hours grass each day is worth at least €2.80 per cow per day. Walk your driest paddocks and if you haven’t started grazing already – see can you make a start.

TEAGASC/KERRY DEMONSTRATION FARM UPDATE WEEK ENDING 21st February 2025
Farmer	Location	Opening Farm Cover KG DM/Ha	Overwinter Growth rate KG/Ha	% Calved	%         Grazed	Nitrogen	Slurry	Fat    %	Prot %
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	800	4	50.0%	18%	23Units on 50%	2000gallons on 40%	4.81	3.77
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg			38.0%	0	0%	0
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	728	6	65.0%	17%	25Units on 90%	2000gallons on 30%	4.52	3.47
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	615	2	30.0%	0	0%	3000gallons on 40%
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	836	6	18.0%	0	0%	2500gallons on 48%
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	617	2	36.0%	8%	0%	2000gallons on 20%
John Galvin	Ardfert	746	2	35.0%	0	0%	2000gallons on 30%	5.01	3.64
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	1166	7	50.0%	12%	30Units on 85%	2000gallons on 30%	4.98	4.00
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin			65.0%	19%	23Units on 90%	2500gallons on 19%	5.08	3.76
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	846	4	30.0%	10%	20Units on 70%	2000gallons on 30%	4.12	3.49
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	684	3	20.0%	0	0%	0
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	771	4	18.0%	4%	25Units on 69%	2000galloons on 54%
Average		780.90	4.00	37.9%	7.3%			4.75	3.69

Farmer Update: Diarmuid Fitzgerald, Cratloe, Co. Clare

We have slurry spread on 30% of the milking platform about 2000 gallons per acre. We have 20 units of protected urea spread on 70% of the milking platform. We have about 30% of the herd calved. We are grazing day and night with cows being fed 5kgs of ration and have access to quality red clover silage at milking time. We have bought silage bales to stretch what silage we have. We have left out weanling heifers to grass and have fed ration to these across the winter to get them to target weights. We plan to synchronise these heifers. We have picked out the bull team for the coming breeding season and are planning to use sexed semen, conventional and have also picked high DBI beef bulls. Pictured are cows out on Monday.

Adviser Update: Claire Mc Auliffe, Listowel, Kerry.

Heavy rainfall is making grazing conditions challenging, try to get cows to grass for a few hours where possible using on-off grazing techniques. Target one grazing per day and ensure silage has been restricted prior to cows being let out to paddocks so they will be keen to graze. Try to start cows off grazing covers of about 800 or so kg DM/ha to encourage good clean outs. Complete a farm cover to see where grass is at on your farm and try to keep the average cover on the farm above 600 kg DM/ha. When weather and ground conditions allow chemical fertiliser should be targeted at paddocks that have not got slurry. Spread nitrogen at a rate of 20 units per acre of a urea based product. Try to spend time picking what bulls you will use for AI inthe coming breeding season and order straws early.

1st November 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Lime Spread Tonnes	% Farm Closed	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	16.8	4.6	4.17	1.52	4.0	134	11	13%		50	55	1.92	681	1450	29	36
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	15	5.09	4.24	1.44	4.0	89	10	8% overall	Cows have 3 Hours at grass	125	80	2.72	417	1100	22	22
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	15.9	4.8	3.99	1.44	4.4	201	14		Cows in at night	75	60	3.40	678	1350	54	42
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	16	4.81	4.16	1.48	4.0	118	10	12% Heifers Only	Cows in at night	150	70	2.91	661	1600	41	24
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	14.5	5.59	4.35	1.48	4.0	160	10		Cows in at night	40	50	3.01	597	1200	33	35
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	13	5.94	4.68	1.42	4.0	179	10	8% Overall	Cows in at night	65	73	2.84		2500	48
John Galvin	Ardfert	15.7	4.99	4.11	1.47	4.0	118	11	8% Overall	Cows in at night	20	70	2.77	804	1600	42	39
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	17.4	4.99	4.23	1.65	6.0	112	13	6% Overall	3kgs PKE + Zerograzed grass 2 loads	25	65	3.07	623	1200	31	32
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	18.7	4.95	4.22	1.77	4.5	73	11			50	50
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	13.4	5.65	4.58	1.41	3.5	112	11	6% Heifers only	2kg Silage	140	45	2.45	675	1800	35	27
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	14.25	5.14	4.17	1.37	3.5	130	10	13% overall	Cows in at night	125	80	2.30	754	1500	37	28
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	12.6	5.09	4.48	1.24	4.0	90	9	10% Heifers only		60	59	2.59	955	2000	44	35
Average		15.3	5.14	4.28	1.47	4.2	126	11			77	63	2.73	685	1573	38	32

Farmer Update: Michael Kavanagh, Lispole, Kerry.

We have 12 days at grass left on farm, cows are in at night since last Thursday. Ground conditions are good even after all the rain. Cow’s milk yield has come well back since the weather changed and cows went in at night. Cows are on 4.5kgs of meal, 7kgs of silage and remainder grass. We have about 60% of the milking block closed at this stage. We have 9 empty cows to be culled and we culled two cows for SCC issues, these will be sold in mid-December.

Heifers will stay grazing to about the 25th November. Weanlings are on target, after a recent weighing the group averaged 240Kgs, the smallest 14 have been housed with the larger 11 staying at grass for longer. Our fodder budget shows we should have enough silage for almost a six month winter and the longer grazing in November is helping this further.

We will use blanket dry cow therapy for drying off to try reduce SCC for next year. We have frozen two samples to get a culture and sensitivity test done. We will milk record shortly and take more samples from the quarters of the high cows to get a culture and sensitivity reading to help determine which dry cow therapy tube to use.

Adviser Update: Claire Mc Auliffe, Listowel, Kerry.

Aim to keep grass in the diet, by day at least if possible, this will lower costs and keep milk protein % up for dairy farms. Review the percentage of your farm grazed by completing an average farm cover (AFC) on pasturebase. Calculate how much of your farm is closed and compare to the “picking your paddocks” infographic beside this to see where you are at versus the 1st November targets. Grass growth is now significantly lower than herd demand, therefore the management of AFC becomes more critical. Remaining paddocks to target for grazing should be the clover paddocks and some paddocks that need early slurry application.

If weanling heifers are being housed its an ideal time to weigh them and see where they are at in terms of growth and plan for winter feeding if required.

With a 12-week dry period recommended for first lactation cows, early-calved first calvers that are due around February 1 again in 2025 need to finish their 2024 lactation in late October/early November. Consequently, teat sealers and the right dry cow antibiotic (where required) will need to be prescribed and bought in time. Milk culturing is a process whereby a lab grows the bacteria in the samples you have submitted and assesses the colonies that form to identify the causative agents (Staph. aureus, Strep. uberis or Strep. agalactiae, etc.). Sensitivity analysis, which examines the resistance or susceptibility of the cultured bacteria to a list of antibiotics is the final step to help identify the appropriate treatment for your cows that require antibiotic treatment.

 

25th October 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Lime Spread Tonnes	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	18.2	4.57	4.11	1.63	4.0	120	11	13%		50	1.92	681	1450	29	36
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	17	5.23	4.34	1.68	4.0	130	10	8% overall	Cows in at night	125	2.72	463	1100	31	38
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	21.1	4.5	4.13	1.88	6.0	165	14		Cows in at night	75	3.50	980	2050	56
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	17	4.89	4.24	1.60	4.0	105	10	12% Heifers Only	Silage at milking	150	2.91	661	1600	41	24
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	14.5	5.51	4.61	1.51	4.0	187	10		Cows in at night	40	3.01	597	1200	33	35
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	13.4	6.05	4.57	1.47	3.0	120	10	8% Overall		65	2.84	911	2300	48	28
John Galvin	Ardfert	17.2	5.1	4.11	1.63	4.0	70	11	8% Overall		20	2.77	804	1600	42	39
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	18	4.77	4.35	1.69	6.0	100	13	6% Overall	3kgs PKE being fed	25	3.07	642	1200	31	38
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	18.4	4.99	4.15	1.73	4.5	94	11		Cows on Zerograzed grass at night	50
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	12.1	6	4.73	1.34	3.5	142	11	6% Heifers only	Silage at milking	140	2.45	711	1750	35	24
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	14.5	5.13	4.36	1.42	3.5	117	10	13% overall	Silage at milking	125	2.30	754	1500	37	28
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	13.2	5.23	4.43	1.31	3.6	78	9	10% Heifers only		60	2.59	1044	2300	44	32
Average		16.2	5.16	4.34	1.57	4.2	119	11			77	2.73	750	1641	39	32

Farmer Update: Alex Mc Carthy, Feenagh, Limerick

Ground conditions are good on farm at the moment and we are grazing day and night. We will get one more week out full time then cows will go in at night on silage to stretch grass by day grazing until late November. We hope to carry a lighter average farm cover across the winter as we know the farm grows well across the winter. We have a good clover content on paddocks and want to ensure these do not get shaded by heavier covers. We have closed off the paddocks we plan to graze first in the spring, these paddocks have good access. We are following the cows grazing with soiled water. We have sold some cull cows and will milk the remaining culls until dried and fatten them across the winter. We will continue with selective dry cow therapy on low SCC cows. From the current milk recording there are 88 cows eligible for teat sealer only. We will do another milk recording in early November and decide on the teat sealer only cows from this. We have done a fodder budget and have a surplus on farm, we have also tested out silage cuts and are planning feeding based on quality results. Pictured is graze out  on my farm on Thursday.

Adviser Update: Michael O’Connor, Kilrush, Co. Clare

As we approach the end of October 60% to 75% of your paddocks should be closed depending on your stocking rate, as this will ensure you have grass next spring. On heavy farms if you have any heavy covers you should aim to graze them now while conditions still allow. It’s important to keep some grass in the diet over the next few weeks as it is still cheap, good quality feed. If not done already farmers should Body Condition Score all of the cows now and any thin cows <2.75 could be milked OAD or dried off a few weeks earlier than the main herd. Continue to monitor the condition of all the cows and separate accordingly over the dry period. Now would be a good time to weigh your replacement heifer calves to see if they are on target (note: focus on each heifer individually rather than as a group average). Heifers should be at 40% of their mature weight at housing (230 kg if mature weight is 575 Kg). If heifer calves are behind target there is still time to supplement them to achieve a better ADG and get them back on target.  There is a strong association between first calving liveweight and total milk solids yield during the first 3 lactations. It is also good practice to test your silage to see what quality you have in the yard and feed accordingly (milking cows should be getting 72 DMD silage). You should regularly update your fodder budget as you feed silage to keep track on the amount you have left. 

18th October 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Lime Spread Tonnes	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	19.5	4.51	4.13	1.74	4.5	141	11	13%		50	1.92	654	1400	341	29	29
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	17.23	5.12	4.23	1.66	4.0	80	10	0% Heifers only	1.5 Load zero grazed grass/day	125	2.72	463	1100	170	31	38
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	21.2	4.65	4.06	1.90	5.0	289	14			75	3.50	980	2050	280	56
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	16.5	5.45	4.18	1.64	4.0	112	10	12% Heifers Only	Red clover silage at milking	150	2.91	661	1600	227	41	24
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	16.5	5.45	4.18	1.64	4.0	139	10		Red clover silage at milking	40	3.01	597	1200	198	33	35
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	15	5.6	4.54	1.57	3.0	84	10	8% Overall	PKE being fed at milking	65	2.84	911	2300	321	48	28
John Galvin	Ardfert	18.7	5.11	4.07	1.77	4.0	58	11	8% Overall		20	2.77	804	1600	290	42	39
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	19.6	4.87	4.2	1.83	6.0	99	13	6% Overall	PKE 3kgs being fed	25	2.13	699	2000	328	32	29
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	17.7	5.03	4.26	1.69	4.5	77	11			50	3.07	509	1100	166	31	30
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	12.5	5.92	4.65	1.36	3.0	158	11	6% Heifers only		140	2.45	711	1750	290	35	24
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.2	4.89	4.31	1.54	2.0	208	10	13%		125	2.30	754	1500	328	37	28
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	12.8	5.32	4.43	1.29	3.6	75	9	10% Heifers only		60	2.59	1162	2200	449	44	48
Average		17.0	5.16	4.27	1.63	4.0	127	11			77	2.68	742	1650	282	38	32

Farmer Update:  John Casey, Causeway, Kerry

Ground conditions are good on the farm at the moment allowing for heavier ground to be grazed off. There is about 48% of the farm planned to be closed at this stage with the February paddocks cleaned off. These are paddocks I hope to graze at the start of the season as they are drier and have good access in and out of them. I will spread dirty water on these paddocks. Regrowth has been very good so I will reassess the closing plan as the month goes on, I do not want to carry a high cover on paddocks with good clover content. This will let light down to the clover over the winter and give it a good chance of survival into next spring. I have about a week of palm kernel left in the shed so will continue to feed this at milking.  I am hoping to spread lime next week if ground conditions are still favourable.

I have been getting on well with selecting cows for teat sealer only and I am planning to dry off some first lactation cows this coming week as their yield has dropped below 10 Litres. I am hoping to put these out on a bare paddock after drying off. I will do teat sealer only on about 50 animals, these will be selected from my recent milk recording and some will be depending on the results from my final milk recording due in early November. I will put tape on their tails to help quickly identify them in the parlour in the spring. I will use dry cow therapy on the cows that had higher SCC or cases of mastitis during the year. The picture shows graze outs on my farm from Wednesday.

Advisor Update: Claire McAuliffe

All farms should have begun closing paddocks at this stage. Plan out the grazing order for your final rotation, which paddock will you go to first in the spring, this paddocks need to have good access in and out of the paddock. These early paddocks should be closed now to ensure they have a cover of grass back on them to allow you to start grazing if favourable ground conditions come in February. To get good clean outs on paddocks continue to use the strip wire, back fence and multiple gaps to reduce damage to paddocks. The target is to keep grass in the cow’s diets for as long as possible, allocate out how many grazing you have left and introduce silage into the cows diet if you need to stretch out the remaining days at grass.

Farms should also assess where their herd SCC is at. The cows with continuously high SCC should be culled out of the herd. A culture and sensitivity test should be done to determine the bugs that are causing the SCC on your farm and also help determine what dry cow therapy should be used to get an effective cure for your herd. Cows with an average SCC who will remain in the herd should be given a long dry period to allow the udder time to recover and repair itself for the next milking season. Selective dry cow (teat sealer only) should only be don where a herd is milk recording all year and has recorded cases of mastitis.

11th October 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	19.4	4.56	4.05	1.72	3.5	153	11	13%		1.92	772	1900	402	31	33
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	17	5.19	4.22	1.65	4.0	78	10	0% Heifers only	2.5 Bales per day	2.72	551	1400	203	31	40
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	20.7	4.61	4.1	1.86	5.0	257	14			3.50	980	2050	280	56
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	5.02	4.09	1.69	3.5		10	12% Heifers Only	PKE during milking	2.91	725	2000	249	49	39
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	16.0	5.82	4.42	1.69	4.0	139	10		Silage for 1 hour at milking	3.01	571	1200	190	42	40
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	16.3	5.87	4.42	1.73	3.0	73	10	8% Overall		2.92	1045	2000	358	50	35
John Galvin	Ardfert	19.8	4.05	4.06	1.65	5.0	80	11	8% Overall		2.77	772	1700	279	36	48
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	19.0	5.11	4.2	1.82	6.0	140	13	6% Overall	PKE 3kgs being fed	3.09	529	1100	171	31	25
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	19.0	4.96	4.11	1.77	4.5	78	11
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	14.0	5.65	4.51	1.47	3.5	93	11	6% Heifers only		2.34	856	2100	366	34	34
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.4	4.84	4.15	1.52	2.0	160	10	13%		2.30	754	1500	328	37	28
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	14.5	5.09	4.33	1.41	3.0	71	9	10% Heifers only		2.59	1231	2300	475	44	39
Average		17.5	5.06	4.22	1.66	3.9	120	11			2.73	799	1750	300	40	36

Farmer Update:  William Dennehy

The average farm cover is high so I will have to get through the heavy covers while grazing conditions are good at the moment. I will dung sample the cows to see if they need to be dosed as the bulk tank has climbed in the last test results for the health screen. I plan to do my last milk recording on the 1st November to aid drying off decisions. I plan to dry first calvers by the 11th November to allow plenty of growth and recovery before calving. I will do selective dry cow therapy on about 25 cows that have a SCC of below 50. This will be decided from milk recordings across the year. Heifers will be out until Mid-November or until grass runs out, we will teat seal heifers early December and they will be fed 1Kg ration when housed. Heifer calves when housed first will get 2kg ration until I weigh them and decide what ration is needed then depending on weight. I will weigh them each month to ensure they are on target for breeding next May. I recently got my cattle scales calibrated as it was out, I would recommend farmers to weigh their heifers to ensure they will be fit for breeding.   

Advisor Update: Shane O’Hanlon

The two objectives on farm are to keep grass in diet of the grazing animal and to close up the farm to have grass available in spring. AFC is starting to fall on farms so the introduction of silage in the diet will be required on some farms. This will maintain AFC and allow animals to stay out grazing for longer. As we enter October, it is important make a plan for closing paddocks on your farm.

On farms where spring grass supply is a priority, farmers should aim for a farm cover of >700 kg DM/ha on the 1st December. Every week delay in closing reduces spring grass supply over 100 kg DM/ha. Paddock choice during closing is critical to set up the farm for spring time.

While closing-off is influenced by ground conditions, paddock choice during closing is critical. To start grazing next spring, some of the drier paddocks that have good grazing infrastructure with roadways and plenty of access/exit points will need to be targeted. So these paddocks will need to be closed mid-October to ensure medium covers of 800-1200 kg DM/ha to start grazing next spring. 

There is still an opportunity to apply K & lime with the current excellent ground conditions on farm.

Soiled water/collecting yard tank should be spread as paddocks are grazed from October 1st.

4th October 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Comments	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	20.4	4.47	3.99	1.78	3.5	138	11	13%		1.92	772	1900	402	31	33
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	18	4.86	4.18	1.68	4.0	78	10	8%	5 kg silage/day	2.72	539	1350	198	31	50
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	21.3	4.3	4.06	1.83	5.0	219	14	Cows 13%
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	4.92	4.06	1.66	3.0	143	10	12% Heifers Only	PKE during milking	2.91	725	2000	249	49	39
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	16.8	5.65	4.43	1.74	5.0	117	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.17	541	1100	171	44	33
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	17.7	5.8	4.42	1.86	2.0	147	10	8% Overall	Feeding PKE	2.92	1045	2000	358	50	35
John Galvin	Ardfert	20.7	4.93	3.98	1.90	6.0	70	11	8% Overall	Zero grazing	2.77	695	1500	251	36	36
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	20.5	4.9	4.12	1.90	6.0	88	13	6% Overall	3Kg PKE	3.09	528	1150	171	31	30
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	19.7	4.6	4.1	1.77	5.0	62	11		Zero grazing
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	14.6	5.4	4.31	1.46	2.0	80	11	Cows 13%		2.34	856	2100	366	34	34
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.3	4.85	4.18	1.52	2.0	159	10			2.40	966	1500	403	31	42
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	14.8	5.07	4.44	1.45	3.0	97	9	10% Heifers only		2.59	1313	2300	507	44	68

Farmer Update: Patrick & Paula O’Hanlon

Grass is growing very well the last fortnight.  Cows are grazing covers between 1800/2000, ground conditions are helping a lot hopefully conditions stay good.  We are currently feeding 3.5 kg of ration and some palm kernel left over from earlier in the year just as the cows leave the parlour.  Once covers start dropping in the next fortnight we intend to stretch grass by adding round bale silage to the diet.  We are grazing heavier ground now in order to potentially lengthen the grazing season with the drier ground in late October.

We will scan cows in the next two weeks and cull empty cows straight away in order to keep silage reserves.

We plan to teat seal heifers again this year, as since we started this 4 years ago no heifer has calved down with mastitis.  It’s a job well worth doing for peace of mind and looking at the long term future of the heifer in the herd.

We milk record 6 times a year and plan to complete our last milk recording in 3 weeks time.  We will use this last milk recording in consultation with our vet to pick cows that will get teat sealer only and which cows get sealer and antibiotic.  Our criteria to use sealer only would be 4 lactations or less, no cases of mastitis in the year, all 4 quarters milking and no physical issues with teat ends and 100.000 or less for all milk recordings in the year.

Advisor Update: Mark Treacy

October is an important month for setting up our grassland for next spring.  Between 60 and 70% of the farm area should be closed by the end of the month, where it is expected that grazing will be possible in November.  Where the average farm cover is lower than planned this autumn, supplement with concentrate/silage to stretch the grass supply.  Delaying closing will result in less grass available next spring, with research showing about 15 kgDM/ha less in the spring opening cover for every day the start of closing is delayed.  Paddocks which you expect to graze first next spring should be grazed towards the end of October to ensure they have a moderate cover on them at turnout next spring.  Select a number of paddocks which are particularly good for grazing in tricky conditions (drier ground/square shaped paddocks/multple gaps/farm roadway on multiple sides).  Wetter ground should be grazed whenever conditions are good enough.

Silage stocks are tight on many farms this autumn.  Complete a winter fodder budget immediately if not completed already and put a realistic plan in place to deal with any potential shortfall.

Photos:

Kerry Teagasc Joint Programme farm walk on the farm of John Galvin last Thursday, 3rd October.

 

27th September 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Comments	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	20.3	4.33	3.91	1.72	4.0	115	11	13%		2.27	760	1700	335	36	52
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	19	5.03	4.13	1.79	4.0	70	10	8%	5 kg silage/day	2.72	536	1350	197	45	50
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	20.7	4.32	4.08	1.79	5.0	230	14	Cows 13%
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	17.0	4.95	4.05	1.58	2.5	158	10	12% Heifers Only	PKE during milking	2.91	872	1800	300	49	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	18.9	5.45	4.34	1.91	5.0	161	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.17	668	1400	211	44	45
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	18.0	5.55	4.33	1.83	3.0	82	10	8% Overall	Feeding PKE	2.92	990	1825	339	50	28
John Galvin	Ardfert	20.8	4.89	3.91	1.89	6.0	89	11	8% Overall	Zero grazing	2.77	695	1500	251	36	36
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.5	4.49	4.02	1.88	6.0	114	13	6% Overall	3Kg PKE	3.09	528	1150	171	31	30
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	20.8	4.51	3.89	1.80	4.7	58	11		Zero grazing	2.13	699	2000	328	32	29
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	14.5	5.58	4.35	1.48	1.5	129	11	Cows 13%		2.45	985	2300	402	35	61
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.9	4.67	4.12	1.53	2.0	170	10			2.45	936	1500	382	42	70
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	14.5	4.87	4.21	1.36	3.0	56	9	10% Heifers only		2.59	1228	2100	474	44	63
Average		18.6	4.89	4.11	1.71	3.9	119	11			2.68	809	1693	308	40	47

Farmer Update: John Galvin

This has been a very challenging year for grass growth on our farm due to weather conditions, however I am still happy that we have sufficient fodder in the yard for a normal winter, and have a 4th cut still to complete on the outside block which will act as our buffer.  Farm cover is slightly behind where we would like so we are zero grazing from the outside block to supplement the diet.  Cows are still milking well and are doing 1.9 kgMS/day, although ration levels are high at 6kg.  Scanning is complete with 8% of cows and 1 out of 20 heifers not in calf.  We will milk on NIC cows for now, and will review again later in the autumn depending on fodder and slurry storage supply.   We are looking forward to hosting the Joint Programme farm walk on Thursday, 3rd of October.

Advisor Update: Jerry O’Brien

Grass growth on farms has improved slightly over the past week. Now heading for October we are continuing the building phase on grass for next spring.  Continue to focus on keeping 15-20 kg DM/ha/day difference between growth and demand to build AFC.  The farm must be set up for a minimum of a 30 day rotation.  It is important to fill the feed gap with meal and/or silage to hold this rotation at 30 days. 30 ha farm – 1 ha per day grazing.  It is important to assess where you are in terms of the autumn grazing targets.  For farmers stocked at 3.0 LU/ha, the target is 300-330 kg DM/LU with a 30 day rotation.  Farms should be walked weekly to allow for decisions.  Farms that are behind on this target should take action now by introducing additional supplement like silage, soya hulls or palm kernel to reduce demand.  Problem cows or poor performers, identified by a most recent milk recording, along with empty cows, should be removed from the grazing platform to reduce demand to make more grass available.  All farmers should create a feed budget for the remainder of the grazing season on PastureBase Ireland to help plan out your grazings and help you hit the closing cover target (>700 kg DM/ha) that you set out for your farm as planning begins now.

There is still an opportunity to apply K & lime with the good ground conditions on farm.  Soiled water/collecting yard tank should be spread as paddocks are grazed from October 1st.

Photo:

Kerry Teagasc Joint Programme farm walk on the farm of Andrew & Bernadette Killeen last Tuesday, 24th September.

20th September 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	20.3	4.33	3.91	1.72	4.5	121	11	13%	Dry affecting growth	2.27	760	1700	335	36	52
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	18	5.03	4.13	1.70	4.0	72	10	0% Heifers only	Silage out of diet this week	2.72	559	1250	206	45	49
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	22.0	4.09	3.91	1.81	5.0	172	14			2.87	881	2000	307	46	57
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	4.54	4.08	1.60	2.5	181	10	12% Heifers Only		2.91	913	2000	314	49	60
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	19.7	5.09	4.28	1.90	5.0	141	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.17	673	1400	212	44	51
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	19.3	5.3	4.33	1.91	3.0	106	10	8% Overall	PKE	3.03	1032	1775	341	52	42
John Galvin	Ardfert	22.2	4.69	3.84	1.95	6.0	61	11	8% Overall	1 bale silage per day	2.77	713	1400	257	36	43
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.6	4.66	3.9	1.90	6.0	101	13	6% Overall	3Kg PKE	3.21	555	1200	173	32	26
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	21.8	4.46	3.88	1.87	5.0	63	11			2.13	699	2000	328	32	29
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	14.4	5.34	4.23	1.42	0.5	143	11	6% Heifers only		2.45	871	1700	356	35	61
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.4	4.71	4.05	1.48	2.0	201	10	0		2.45	936	1500	382	42	70
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	15.1	4.82	4.2	1.40	3.0	60	9	10% Heifers only		2.59	1126	1900	435	44	122
Average		19.1	4.76	4.06	1.72	3.9	119	11			2.71	810	1652	304	41	55

Advisor Update: John Conway

Over the past week with good sunshine grass growth has ranged between 40 – 70 kgs/DM/ha/day in the region which should give some  farmers scope to build grass to reach somewhere near target covers.  Soil moisture deficits are still holding back growth in some areas and options such as feeding silage or other feeds needs to be used to stretch the rotation.  Fertiliser closing date was Saturday 14th September so it is important all farmers declare closing stock in the yard even if there is zero closing stock.

With majority of farmers having scanned herds in recent weeks it’s time to look at the % of the herd that is empty.  As milk price is relatively high at the moment some farmers may be reluctant to cull cows that scan empty.  Farmers should ask themselves whether it justifies financially to milk on these empty cows.  Farmers need also assess aspects such as fodder situation, nitrates, labour ability and facilities such as slurry storage.  If one or more of these situations becomes under pressure post assessment, then it can be hard to justify keeping on low or even moderate yielding cows.

Photos:

Reseeds ready for post emergence weed spray on the farm of Stephen McAuliffe on Tuesday 17th September.

 

6th September 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Feed Actions	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	22.5	4.29	3.79	1.87	4.0	97	11	13%	See Comment Below	2.27	745	1500	328	36	53
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	19	4.7	4.02	1.71	3.2	72	10	0% Heifers only	Silage Bales introduced	2.72	565	1200	208	38	55
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	23.3	4.19	3.83	1.92	5.0	211	14			3.40
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	4.6	3.89	1.57	2.5	81	10	12% Heifers Only	Aftergrass back in	2.91	713	1500	245	49	86
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	19.7	5.15	4.3	1.92	5.0	122	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.21	625	1500	195	42	45
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	20.0	5.43	4.23	1.99	5.0	137	10	8% Overall	PKE + 2 Bales at Barrier	3.25	854	1400	263	39	38
John Galvin	Ardfert	23.6	4.63	3.7	2.02	6.0	149	11	8% Overall	1/2 Load Zero grazed/day	2.77	610	1100	220	36	53
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.0	4.36	3.84	1.77	6.0	90	13	6% Overall	Load Zero grazed /day	3.37	628	1200	186	27	61
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	22.5	4.26	3.82	1.87	6.0	52	11		Load Zero grazed /day	2.51	772	2500	308	25	51
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	16.0	5.19	4.09	1.53	2.0	100	11	6% Heifers only	Meal increased to 2kgs	2.41	662	1450	275	39	56
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	17.5	4.65	3.98	1.56	2.0	143	10		Reseeds to come back in	2.53	752	1400	297	43	59
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	14.9	5	4.06	1.39	2.4	56	9	10% Heifers only	On Target	2.99	980	1850	328	51	62
Average		19.8	4.70	3.96	1.76	4.1	109	11			2.86	719	1509	259	39	56

Farmer Update:  Alex and Michael McCarthy

As we put our figures together for this week our average farm cover has started to rise and the farm has started to kick on after the recent rain. Part of the farm is of a heavier nature and this was the first to start growing, in recent days the drier more exposed parts of the farm which have struggled in recent months have greened and are actively growing for the first time in months. Our cows are milking 22.5L/cow/day at 4.29% Butterfat and 3.79% Protein giving 1.87Kg’s of MS/cow/day.

All this is shrouded by our recent TB test where we had 10 reactors. Many farms locally have had reactors in recent months and having spoken to many of these over the past few days they have opted to get the herd blood tested and try to get to the root of it as quickly as possible. We have opted to get our herd blood tested also. The reactors have now gone and this has reduced demand on the milking platform to 2.27LU/ha. All the reactors were on the home block so at least the young stock are clean for now.

We had scanned all stock prior to the TB Test and we had a number of cows who we had decided not to breed this spring our empty rate was 13% including about 5% of a selective cull.

We had our winter fodder budget already done prior to the cows lost to TB and we were in a good position thankfully. We have some beef stock on the farm which we normally finish to the factory anyway so at least this won’t be affected.

I have a few paddocks which are getting their final application of fertiliser we are using a protected Urea product with some K in it 29-0-14 as we have some ground which needs K, this will also help growth as we come out of the recent dry conditions.

(picture shows Niall and Gerry Moloney’s Zero grazed redclover buffering the milking cows.)

Advisor Update: John William Ryan Listowel Office

Grass growth on farms has improved slightly over the past week. Farmers that applied a blanket application of 30 units of chemical nitrogen are starting to see a response.

Now in September, we are starting our building phase on grass for next spring. Farms should be walked weekly and a cover of 300-340 per cow should be aimed. Farms that are behind on this target should talk to their advisor about remaining fertiliser allowances and apply chemical nitrogen accordingly. Problem cows or poor performers, identified by a most recent milk recording, along with empty cows, should be removed from the grazing platform to reduce demand to make more grass available.

While out on farms, I’m noticing fields reseeded in the last few weeks are germinating well. These should be topped up with 15-20 units of nitrogen per acre 3-4 weeks after reseeding. Seedling docks should be monitored closely and sprayed 5-6 weeks after seeding, when the dock is the size of a 2 euro coin. Aim to complete the first & second grazing of these fields at a low cover to allow seeds to thicken out.

Derogation farmers should check in on their Pasturebase checking completed covers for the year, 20 covers. A grass cover can be completed every 5 days.

30th August 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Actions to Build Autumn Cover	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	22.6	4.28	3.77	1.87	5.0	92	11	13%	Meal Increased	2.49	576	1300	231	37	50
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	19.9	4.6	3.85	1.73	3.2	68	10	0% Heifers only	On Target for heavy soils	2.75	527	1100	192	45	57
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	23.5	4.02	3.92	1.92	5.0	325	14		After grass+ reseed to come into platform	3.40	745	1450	219	54	67
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	4.6	3.86	1.57	2.5	118	10	12% Heifers Only	Aftergrass to come in	3.34	603	1450	181	47	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	19.9	4.77	4.1	1.82	5.0	126	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.21	645	1500	201	45	52
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	20.0	5.49	4.07	1.97	5.0	128	10	8% Overall	See Update below	3.25	856	1600	263	39	45
John Galvin	Ardfert	22.3	4.45	3.68	1.87	6.0	192	11	8% Overall	1 Load zero grazed per day or 2 bales	2.77	519	1200	187	36	40
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.6	4.27	3.71	1.78	6.0	102	13	6% Overall	Meal increased + 1 load zero grazed/day	3.47	439	1000	127	28	44
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	22.6	4.21	3.76	1.86	6.0	55	11		Meal increased + 1 load zero grazed/day	3.25	615	1200	189	32	58
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	17.2	5.17	4.11	1.64	0.5	93	11		Farm cover Building nicely	2.45	642	1450	262	35	79
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	16.7	4.69	3.94	1.48	2.0	200	10		On Target	2.53	752	1400	297	43	59
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	15.9	4.95	3.98	1.46	2.4	48	9		On Target	3.07	923	2000	301	51	53
Average		20.0	4.63	3.90	1.75	4.1	129	11			3.00	654	1388	221	41	55

Farmer Update: John Casey

There are currently 2.8ha of reseed to come back into the milking platform. My cows are currently milking 20l/cow/day at 5.49% Butterfat and 4.07% Protein giving 1.97kgs of Milk solids per cow per day which I’m very happy with. However I’m behind target on my autumn average farm cover (AFC), we have been behind all month and haven’t been able to build cover sufficiently despite feeding heavily since mid-July. We are currently feeding 2kg’s of Dairy nut in the parlour, we are feeding PKE and 2 bales of silage a day along the head rail of the cubicle house to reduce demand to allow AFC build. The rain of the past two weeks has greened the farm but growth is still behind what I had hoped for.

We scanned the cows the week before last and had 10 of the 134 empty (7.5% empty) which I was very happy with, the in calf heifers was not as good but overall empty rate was 8% which I’m happy with after a 10 week breeding season. We will sell the empty cows over the next two weeks to try to preserve grass for the in calf cows. Hopefully reducing the stocking rate by selling the culls and getting the reseeds back into grazing platform will help get me closer to my target cover and hopefully I can stop feeding silage in a week or so to preserve my winter stocks. 

I took the opportunity when we were dosing calves two weeks ago to weight my weanling heifers. My Maintenance figure from the ICBF EBI Report for my weanlings is €19 which would suggest that these animals would have an average weight of 550kgs in July of their 3rd lactation. The target weight for these animals in mid-August is 174Kgs and my heifers averaged 175kgs, I separated out the 9 heifers that were below target weight and these will get preferential treatment and be reweighted at housing. These heifers will get the best of the grass on the outside block and they will get 2kgs of ration per head per day while at grass. The heavier bunch are getting 1 kg per head per day. 

I’m following the cows with a bag/acre of 29-0-14 now that we have gotten some rain i find this a very good fertiliser as it allows me to get some K onto my farm as well.

I have some third cut silage growing at the moment on another out block and I hope to harvest this mid-September and the in calf heifers will graze this ground before they are housed.

Advisor Update: Denis Brassil

As discussed last week ground conditions across the catchment vary greatly from east Limerick where growth is still restricted from the dry weather to parts of west Kerry and west Clare where cows had to be housed by night last weekend due to over 70mm of rain in 4 days. This brings home the importance of tailoring your plan to your farm conditions over the next few months.

The data required on farm when making this plan are a winter fodder budget, an in calf scan complete and a recent milk recording can help to give a complete picture. There may be no silver bullet solution but several steps may be taken to help the farm. High SCC or problem cows removed now can have a big influence on keeping scc under control heading into the Autumn and aid cashflow. Poor performing or empty cows removed can give all the other cows in the herd more grass in the paddock and minimise the drop in the bulk tank. Talk to your advisor and make a plan, this can help to reduce the stress for the months ahead.

Fertiliser allowances need to be reviewed and where allowances allow 30 units spread now can have a much bigger influence on total growth than waiting for the 14th of September to blanket spread the farm.

Following the cows with some slurry now gives some extra P and K for growth and helps to have tanks empty in advance of closed period (1st of October).  The longer rotation makes a good opportunity to lime or spread some muriate of potash if required.

23rd August 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Scan Empty Results	Actions to Build Autumn Cover	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	24	4.16	3.73	1.95	4.5	100	11	13%	Meal Increased	2.47	569	1300	230	37	46
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	20.8	4.65	3.81	1.81	3.2	74	10	0% Heifers only	On Target for heavy soils	2.94	579	1500	197	49	48
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	21.9	4.27	3.73	1.80	5.0	254	14		After grass+ reseed to come into platform	3.40	745	1450	219	54	67
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	19.0	4.58	3.85	1.65	2.5	113	10	12% Heifers Only	Aftergrass to come in	3.40	603	1450	181	47	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	20.0	5.07	4.08	1.88	5.0	135	10		PKE 1hr before miking	3.29	581	1400	181	45	45
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	18.5	5.62	4.12	1.86	5.0	123	10	8% overall	2kgs conc in Parlour + PKE ad lib	3.25	702	1500	216	39	37
John Galvin	Ardfert	23.2	4.34	3.73	1.93	4.0	66	11		Zero grazed to be added in next week	2.77	489	1200	177	36	45
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	22.0	4.17	3.75	1.79	6.0	96	13		Meal increased + 1 load zero grazed/day	3.47	448	1000	129	28	39
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	23.0	4.29	3.69	1.89	6.0	71	11		Meal increased + 1 load zero grazed/day	3.25	528	1150	162	32	34
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	17.0	4.92	3.95	1.55	2.0	178	11		Aftergrass to come in	2.45	566	1550	231	35	51
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	18.2	4.47	3.81	1.55	2.0	134	10		On Target	2.47	630	1300	255	42	42
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	16.0	4.6	3.85	1.39	2.4	41	9		On Target	3.07	951	1900	310	53	88
Average		20.3	4.60	3.84	1.76	4.0	115	11			3.02	616	1392	207	41	50

Farmer Update: Kieran Murphy

On the Milking platform there are currently 3 ha of reseeds set just over 3 weeks all the seeds are up and germinated but like the rest of the farm these need rain. I hope to get this grazed in early September and two more light grazing’s thereafter. We have put some additional roadways on the farm to get better access to a number of paddocks also this summer. I have a winter fodder budget done and I have 5.2 months of silage in the yard for all current stock.

Like many farms in east limerick we are well behind target on building covers and have only managed to maintain average farm cover across the last two weeks by increasing meal and taking 1 zero grazed load per day. We got some rain on Monday night and again last night and the farm is looking green. We have fertilised at 30 units of 18-5-12after the cows as we had held some of our P allowance for this rotation hoping that each forecast rainfall would come. Hopefully we get the kick from this weekend onwards.

We have forty acres of ground fertilised for 4th cut silage at present, this is a mixture of Red clover silage ground and ryegrass ground (see picture), we are now looking at zero grazing the vast majority of this, but we will make decisions on a week by week basis. Our plan for this week is the meal is at 6kg’s and 1 load of Zero grazed grass is about 6kg’s of DM/ cow this is reducing our demand to about 33Kg’s of DM/ha/day. We will try to create a gap of 20 between growth and demand over the next few weeks to try to get average farm cover to around 1000-1050 by mid-September we’ll keep an eye on it each week and if growth picks up we will bale some of this area before mid-September.

There are a few cows coming around every 3 weeks and we have had the odd cow repeat after 60-80 days which is disappointing we’ll scan later on and the plan would be to sell late-calvers next spring as we have the winter fodder.

Advisor Update: Denis Brassil

We have now entered the last days of August and many farms are behind on autumn grazing targets as growth rates for the past several weeks have been lower than normal. The rain in the past few days has made heavy farms tricky and is gratefully received in many other parts. Each farm should be working to their own autumn cover targets based on stocking rate and soil type. If stocked at 3 Cows/ha on the milking platform on dry land the aim is to have an AFC of 1000kg’s of Dm/ha on 1st of September. If behind on this target we need to try to close the gap on this figure as quickly as possible. The reality is many farms will be behind on the figures but this can be dealt with if a plan is in place.

The data required on farm when making these decisions is a winter fodder budget, an in calf scan complete and a recent milk recording can help to give a complete picture. There may be no silver bullet solution but several steps may be taken to help the farm. High SCC or problem cows removed now can have a big influence on keeping scc under control heading into the Autumn. Poor performing or empty cows removed can give all the other cows in the herd more grass in the paddock and minimise the drop in the bulk tank.

Fertiliser allowances need to be reviewed and where allowances allow 30 units spread now can have a much bigger influence on total growth than waiting for the 14th of September to blanket spread the farm.

Following the cows with some slurry now gives some extra P and K for growth and helps to have tanks empty in advance of closed period (1st of October).  The longer rotation makes a good opportunity to lime or spread some muriate of potash if required.

16th August 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Weeks Breeding	Actions to Build Autumn Cover	Milking Platform SR	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	23.5	4.03	3.7	1.87	5.0	85	11	Meal Increased	2.62	477	1250	182	39	45
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	20.2	4.75	3.81	1.78	3.2	80	10	On Target	2.94	577	1450	196	49	56
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	23.4	4.15	3.73	1.90	4.0	262	14	On Target	3.57	780	1450	218	61	93
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	18.0	4.36	3.78	1.51	2.5	168	10	Aftergrass to come in	3.54	644	1300	182	50	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	21.6	4.65	4.04	1.93	6.0	86	10	PKE 1hr before miking	3.29	568	1300	173	46	52
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	19.6	5.34	4	1.89	6.0	166	10	2kgs conc in Parlour + PKE ad lib	3.28	704	1500	215	52	42
John Galvin	Ardfert	22.6	4.36	3.66	1.87	4.0	60	11	Zero grazed to be added in 2 weeks	3.19	515	1100	148	49	36
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.8	4.22	3.63	1.76	6.0	104	13	Meal increased may add zero grazed	3.47	537	1350	160	47	55
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	22.8	4.19	3.75	1.86	6.0	103	11	Meal increased + 1 load zero grazed/day	3.36	518	1300	154	54	60
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	16.5	5.05	3.94	1.53	0.5	90	11	Farm in surplus making bales	2.45	895	1450	365	35	80
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	17.5	4.5	3.68	1.47	2.0	204	10	On Target	2.81	634	1400	226	48	60
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	17.0	4.56	3.73	1.45	2.4	41	9	On Target	3.21	901	1500	281	57	84
Average		20.4	4.51	3.79	1.74	4.0	121	11		3.14	646	1363	208	49	60

Farmer Update: Andrew Killeen

During the month of July we completed some reseeding on both the milking platform and one of the out blocks as well. Due to the lie of the land here reseeding is never as simple as spray off, disc and reseed there is always some other work to be carried out, this time we had some new drainage to be put in, we moved water troughs to the middle of the paddocks and we put in spur roadways to help with access in difficult conditions. We plan to spray post emergence on these seeds in the coming week and then to graze once we observe the spray do not graze label requirement. I’m quite happy with the take on both grass and clover and the seedling docks are about the size of a €2 coin.

We are currently on target for building autumn covers and I may need to take one paddock out towards the end of next week if growth keeps up. The key on our farm is to not build AFC over 900Kg’s of DM/ha as covers over 2000KG’s of DM/ha are too difficult to graze on our soil type. We are using 20units of Pro Urea behind the cows and normally find that this is enough as we can get shut down by the weather quickly enough and we probably won’t get more than 2 additional rotations per paddock. 

We scanned our heifers on Thursday and all are in calf, the heifers based on their genetics were split for beef and sexed Dairy. I’m a little disappointed that Just 8 of 20 held to sexed Dairy, fortunately most of these held to conventional Dairy on the repeats and the bull got the last few. The conventional beef semen got 12 out of 14 on first service. I’m very happy with how these heifers have grown over the summer and I hope to have some of these for sale once the cows are scanned.

Advisor Update: Fabian McCarthy Tralee Office

Grass growth rates have improved a lot in the last few weeks. For the month of August farmers should continue to walk their farm weekly to assess where grass covers are on the farm. August is an important month with the focus on building some grass covers to take some August grass into September and September grass through into October. Follow your target grass cover taking stocking rate and land type into account. Build peak farm cover in early September 300 to 330 kg DM/LU.

If you are finding that you are ahead of target now identify paddocks to take out, they should be removed immediately so they aren’t slow to regrow into September.  Equally if behind target and trying to build you need to take action immediately as growth rates tend to drop off quickly when we get into September. Take any surplus stock off the platform, increase grazing area by bring in silage ground/reseed ground and Supplement with meal and/or silage. It also important to ensure Slurry tanks are emptied before the end of September deadline. Spreading this slurry now can help to maximise autumn grass growth and also an opportunity with longer rotations to get a  lime application for your farm.

 

9th August 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Breeding Start Date	Breeding End Date	Weeks Breeding	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	22.8	4.15	3.68	1.84	2.0	95	27th April	11th July	11	495	1400	180	48	53
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	21.5	4.45	3.75	1.82	3.2	90	6th May	15th july	10	522	1300	171	51	54
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	24.6	4.02	3.68	1.95	4.0	213	24th April	1st August	14	621	1500	174	80	61
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	19.0	4.25	3.71	1.56	3.0	90	10th May	22nd July	10	723	1600	230	44	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	20.0	4.83	3.9	1.80	6.0	86	9th May	20th July	10	551	1300	167	46	52
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	20.0	5.24	4.04	1.91	6.0	73	1st May	11th July	10	614	1200	187	52	42
John Galvin	Ardfert	25.0	4.06	3.73	2.01	4.0	135	27th April	11th July	11	631	1400	192	49	58
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	22.6	4.07	3.74	1.82	4.0	102	1st May	1st August	13	696	1400	203	55	72
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	22.0	3.96	3.67	1.73	4.0	63	27th April	12th July	11	518	1300	154	54	60
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	18.2	4.69	3.91	1.61	0.5	183	3rd May	17th May	11	765	1500	320	42	84
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	17.8	4.42	3.78	1.50	2.0	146	6th May	15th July	10	611	1350	204	51	47
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	17.1	4.56	3.79	1.47	2.4	40	13th May	11th July	9	796	1800	248	57	45
Average		20.9	4.39	3.78	1.75	3.4	110			11	629	1421	203	52	57

Farmer Update: William Dennehy

We have our second cut pitted and all this ground got 3000 gallons of slurry, so we have very little slurry left on farm now just Dairy washings that we produce daily. We updated our winter fodder budget allowing for the pit to settle and we have 6 months fodder in the yard. I had planned to close 19 acres for third cut but unfortunately I had TB reactors in my annual test so the 29 weanlings cannot now go to the contract rearer’s farm, so they will get a paddock at home and then one of the 9 acre out blocks once after grass returns.

I plan to graze my June reseed tomorrow it’s well fit to graze but I was delayed with my post emergence spray. The paddock I have over sown clover into this year was scored with 12% clover content recently so I’m happy with that but grass quality is poor so I’m going to bale this off as soon as it hits 1500 Kg’s of DM this time this should help with letting light down to the base of the sward. I’m slightly ahead of my autumn cover building target so taking this paddock out for bales and grazing a paddock with the weanlings brings me back on track.

 I also plan to put in a new pathway into a paddock on farm which I found difficult to get to the back off in the spring, I have removed a lot of the permanent wires on the home farm across the summer to make the paddocks more suitable to 36hr grazing blocks for the herd number now. I have also identified two of the existing pathways to extend straight away before the autumn, I found these invaluable this spring for getting cows to grass. 

Breeding has finished since the 11th of July which was just over 9 weeks, I’m not seeing too much activity so hopefully things have gone according to plan.

All the low K paddocks on the farm got ½ Bag of Muriate of Potash at the end of July and hopefully I’ll see the benefit in the soil samples later in the year.

Advisor Update: Anthony O’Connor Killarney Office

With recent rainfall growth has picked up on farm. Grass quality is still an issue on some farms so when a surplus appears, take paddocks out for bales. If no surplus appears, mow post grazing. We have a short period left to correct grass quality before we start building covers for the autumn. If quality isn’t corrected, and we build covers on these paddocks, it will negatively impact production and body condition on cows. Your rotation should be extended out to 30 days by the first of September. We want to be hitting peak farm cover mid to late September.

Review your Fertiliser strategy for the following 4 weeks. If there is an allowance, it would be better to front load this allowance now instead of waiting until the middle of September. The response you get from N application in August is far greater than the response in September. For any reseeds, seeds should be in the ground no later than the middle of August.

26th July 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Breeding Start Date	Breeding End Date	Weeks Breeding	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	24.8	3.85	3.66	1.92	2.0	68	27th April	11th July	11	578	1400	213	49	71
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	23	4.55	3.78	1.97	3.3	70	6th May	15th july	10	548	1300	173	52	61
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	26.5	3.78	3.74	2.05	4.6	153	24th April	1st August	14	722	1300	166	71	72
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	20.0	4.26	3.63	1.63	3.5	75	10th May	22nd July	10	608	1200	193	44	53
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	21.8	4.45	3.93	1.88	6.0	87	9th May	20th July	10	604	1200	184	43	61
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	23.1	5.16	3.97	2.17	4.0	73	1st May	11th July	10	634	1250	193	52	39
John Galvin	Ardfert	24.2	4.17	3.7	1.96	6.0	110	27th April	11th July	11	607	1500	185	46	57
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	21.6	3.97	3.57	1.68	4.0	91	1st May	1st August	13	653	1300	190	48	66
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	22.5	4.24	3.66	1.83	3.5	54	27th April	12th July	11	544	1400	162	57	64
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	18.0	4.91	3.89	1.63	0.5	125	3rd May	17th May	11	779	2000	283	39	73
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	18.0	4.25	3.62	1.46	2.5	134	6th May	15th July	10	591	1200	201	47	52
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	17.5	4.29	3.69	1.44	2.4	38	13th May	11th July	9	787	1500	251	53	60
Average		21.8	4.32	3.74	1.80	3.5	90			11	638	1379	200	50	61

Farmer Update: Stephen McAuliffe

We cut our second cut today Friday and will be picking it up tomorrow morning all going well. When recently completing my winter fodder budget I was on target to have sufficient fodder for the six month winter we plan for here. 2nd cut had filled out a lot here in the past 10 days so we wanted to get it in before quality deteriorated. I have some Red clover silage on the heifer block and this has worked well as a feed for the heifers last winter with good growth rates over the winter so i plan to continue the same for this winter.

On the milking platform I have two paddocks out to reseed one of these blocks required some digger work which I had to complete on it so hopefully we will get these completed and seeds in the ground asap. I had some topping done in a few paddocks to control weeds and to help correct quality in parts of paddocks. The farm here is a mix of soil types with a mix in most paddocks. The rain over the past few weeks has helped growth recover and with 2nd cut complete i will have more ground available to the cows once after-grass comes back in the next few weeks. Getting my reseeds in is now a priority so that I can get an opportunity in early September to get my post emergence spray on in time to allow a couple of grazing’s to help the grass plants tiller sufficiently before the winter.

Breeding has finished since the 15th of July which was 10 weeks, this normally allows us a break between calving cows and start of breeding each April/May, a chance to recharge the batteries normally even though this spring was challenging. I’m not seeing too much activity so hopefully things have gone according to plan.

Picture: Kerry/Teagasc Demonstration farmers Group trip to Farm of Kevin Moran, Galway

Advisor Update: Denis Brassil

With the recent favourable weather many 2nd cuts have been completed on farm, all farms should now have a winter fodder budget complete and if short need to have a plan in place over the next while to maximise grass grown on all parts of the farm to help minimise the shortage. 3rd cuts require about 60 units of N which can be achieved with 2500 gallons of slurry/acre applied by trailing shoe/dribble bar plus a bag of protected urea per acre.

Care also needs to be taken not to build autumn covers too early on lighter stocked farms, the importance of walking the farm and continue to cut out surplus’s over the next 2-3 weeks is key. Discuss your autumn grass cover targets with you advisor as all farms vary depending on soil type and stocking rate.

Liming costs have increased along with most farm costs but the return on correct soil PH is still well worth the investment.

19th July 2024

Farmer	Location	Litres   /Cow	Fat    %	Prot %	kg MS /Cow	Meal kg	SCC	Breeding Start Date	Breeding End Date	Weeks Breeding	Average Farm Cover	Pre grazing Yield	Cover/ Cow	Demand	Growth Rate/Ha
Micheal & Alex McCarthy	Feenagh	25.5	3.7	3.69	1.94	3.0	70	27th April	11th July	11	505	1800	186	46	52
Andrew & Bernadette Killeen	Doonbeg	23	4.2	3.71	1.87	3.3	120	6th May	15th july	10	549	1300	174	52	48
Dermot & Michael Kavanagh	Lispole	27.0	3.52	3.7	2.01	4.6	178	24th April	1st August	14	691	1550	159	71	83
Patrick and Paula O’Hanlon	Tarbert	22.0	4.17	3.69	1.78	3.5	87	10th May	22nd July	10	578	2000	159	44	39
Joe Carroll	Ballyheigue	22.2	4.46	3.89	1.91	3.0	77	9th May	20th July	10	485	1400	147	53	41
John & Micheal Casey	Causeway	23.0	4.74	3.91	2.05	4.0	89	1st May	11th July	10	611	1500	186	52	35
John Galvin	Ardfert	24.5	4.35	3.51	1.98	6.0	365	27th April	11th July	11	580	1300	177	43	43
Niall &Gerry Moloney	Crecora	23.7	3.94	3.71	1.87	4.0	99	1st May	1st August	13	578	1200	171	54	51
Kieran, Eileen &Declan Murphy	Effin	23.5	3.95	3.68	1.85	3.0	60	27th April	12th July	11	537	1400	155	59	58
Diarmuid and Sean Fitzgerald	Cratloe	18.1	4.92	3.9	1.64	3.0	78	3rd May	17th May	11	597	1600	208	41	55
Stephen McAuliffe	Loghill	19.8	4.15	3.69	1.60	3.0	177	6th May	15th July	10	621	1500	196	41	46
William & Mary Dennehy	Currow	18.5	4.27	3.71	1.52	3.0	42	13th May	11th July	9	675	1300	202	56	49
Average		22.6	4.20	3.73	1.84	3.6	120			11	584	1488	177	51	50

Farmer Update: Niall and Gerry Moloney

We cut our second cut of Red clover silage on Wednesday this week see picture below and I hope to cut this again in 7-8 weeks’ time. I have kept the red clover silage in a separate pit so we can use it when we need to. Like many farms around us second cuts are lighter than we would like as the dry cold weather has affected growth.

On the milking platform we need rain to help growth, we have been matching demand to growth to keep cover/cow at around 170Kg’s of Dm/ha but we have more meal feed than I would like and we have zero grazed more ground than I would like. On a positive note the reseed  was grazed on the 12th and is flying back. We will reassess winter fodder stocks after the grass 2nd cut silage is pitted in early August.

Grass quality has been frustrating to say the least we have on several occasions had to jump into paddocks with lighter covers to try to control quality and we have had to top paddocks again in July that were topped in May due to grass heading out at lighter covers.We find it critical to correct quality in July before trying to build covers in August. 

Breeding will finish on the 1st of August which is 13 weeks, we normally get to sell later calving cows once we have our number calved. Two of the three week cycles seem to have gone quite well with a few more repeats in the other week than I would like to see but I’m happy enough so far.

Advisor Update: Adrian Curtin, Kanturk Advisory Office

Grass supply looks to improve slightly this week as the weather isn’t giving as cold at night time and higher day time temperatures. In an effort to maintain grass supply and build some extra silage/ grass on farm aim to use up your fertiliser allowance and if possible increase the amount of chemical fertiliser being spread per round and better growth is being found when this is combined with slurry.

Silage stocks look lower than normal in yards. This should be addressed now and changes should be made to help sort this issue out. The selling of cows not in calf or poor performing should be looked at. 6 cull cows will eat the equivalent of 55 bales on a 5 month winter or 50 tonne of silage.

Now is also a good time start to applying potassium to any fields that require extra Potassium to build soil fertility. Increasing the potassium levels in soil has a benefit in silage crop yields. This time of year is a good opportunity to replenish the soil potassium levels after the silage crop has removed. Using fertiliser like 29-0-15 is a good way to apply Potassium and also some nitrogen with it.

Silage fields after 2nd cut has been completed also gives a good opportunity to apply lime. Slurry first, lime second.