Don’t let the incorrect pre-grazing yield hit protein
Previous Teagasc research has shown the impact sward quality has on animal performance in a dairy herd, particularly on the protein percentage. This week, through its weekly newsletter, the Teagasc Grass10 team delved further into the reasons why dairy farmers should focus on pre-grazing yield to optimise protein percentage.
According to the Grass10 team, performance is maximised when the pre-grazing yield is between 1300-1400 kg DM/ha on an 18 -21 day rotation as grass has a higher proportion of leaf (between 2-3 leaves), resulting in a higher Organic Matter Digestibility (OMD). This means the grass in front of the cows is highly digestible, which maximises dry matter intake and provides the required energy in the rumen.
A protein drop occurs going into higher pre-grazing yields (1,600+ kg DM/ha) as the cow’s rumen is filled with slower to digest, lower energy stemmy material. As we move further into May, the Grass10 team outlines, grass composition is changing and the difference in quality of a 1300 kg DM/ha vs 1600 kg DM/ha pre-grazing yield will become more pronounced. Additionally, there will be more stem and dead material in the 1600 kg DM/ha.
It is important to note that paddocks that suffered from challenging graze outs in spring will have poorer quality and therefore it’s important to graze to 4cm this round.
Grass10 tips on correct pre-grazing yield on farm:
- Walk the farm and establish grass supply
- Optimal would be every 4-5 days
- Target an AFC of 650 kg DM/ha and a cover/LU of between 160-180 kg DM/LU
- Act on surplus grass in the system
- 52% of farmers currently are above target
- Increase demand on the farm by:
- Replacing other feeds going into the diet with the correct quality grass
- Convert surplus grass into silage (long or short term)
- Set aside land for reseeding
- Utilise tools available on PastureBase Ireland to make decisions on farm
- Grass wedge allows you to change the paddock status (grass, silage – cut now/cut later, reseed) and get an idea of the change to AFC and Cover/LU as a result of these decisions before implementing on farm
- Use the predicted wedge to help inform decisions over the next 7 days
For further tips and advice from the Grass10 team, sign up to its weekly newsletter here.