Bryn Hughes, national sheep and beef specialist at Wynnstay, says after weeks of dry, hot weather, most of the country has experienced some welcome rain, but there are still concerns around a shortage of forage and a deficit in soil moisture. Fortunately, there are some tools that farmers could use to mitigate the effects.
The record dry weather led to reduced grass growth in what should be peak grass growing months. The expected growth for this year was around 38.1kg dry matter (DM) per hectare per day. But we are only seeing growth rates of around 24.4kg DM/ha per day, leaving a deficit of over 13kg that farmers are having to make up for with additional feed. However, following the rain it is now an excellent time to spread fertiliser.
It is not only peak season for grass growing, but for many livestock farms it is a crucial time for growing lambs, dairy cows reaching peak lactation and beef calves putting on condition. Making sure all animals have enough to eat is a priority. If grass stocks are low, this can lead to unexpected costs. It could be buying in extra hay, feed, or the need to open pastures intended for other use. Additionally, large amounts of land are not available to graze on, due to reseeding of winter forage areas.
Although farmers can’t do much to change the weather, they can make plans to mitigate its effects. The first thing that farmers can do is measure the grass; this will inform how much grass is needed. This can be done by using a plate meter or a sward stick.
From here, a tool like AHDB’s feed calculator can be used to calculate how much feed is needed.
Generally milking cows need the most feed, while weaned lambs need the least. Once you have an idea of how much grass is growing and how much feed your animals need, you can then prioritise grazing on pastures for the animals which need it most. If there isn’t enough grass, you can supplement with silage or other feed stocks, or rotate animals into other pastures.
It’s also important to be aware that parasite loads on pasture can be increased. If livestock are moving more regularly, they will be exposed to more parasites, so it might be a good time to take a Pasture Larval Count Test and find out exactly what parasites are present.
When it comes to fertiliser applications, there is little point in spreading any nitrogen or urea unless there is sufficient rainfall. Both urea and nitrogen require water to be taken up by the plant.
If you put these fertilisers on in dry conditions, much of it will be wasted. Revise any fertilisation plans until more rain is on the horizon, or fertilise only in small areas where water is present.
However, it is not all bad news – dry ground and less mud can help to prevent various infections in livestock. Diseases like footrot and foul-in-the-foot can be exacerbated by muddy ground.
Both rumen fluke and liver fluke – common and economically damaging parasites – require the mud snail Galba truncatula for part of their lifecycle.
As this snail thrives in wet and muddy conditions, dry spells can help to keep infections down. Farmers should stay vigilant once rain begins to fall again, however, as the immature fluke can stay dormant for a long time and can easily reinfect a population.
Last year also saw grass growing deficits, so it is possible that this might become the norm. With that in mind, perhaps now is the best time to start implementing new strategies and management systems to keep animals healthy, even when grass growth is low.
