In recent weeks, slow growth has been the common factor noted across the regions, with much of the focus devoted to balancing grass availability and maintaining quality.

Where grass growth is slow, wasting grass must be avoided. Residuals of 3.5-4cm must be achieved in order to create high-quality covers for the next rotation when growth rates will hopefully rectify themselves. Grass walks should be undertaken at least once weekly but ideally twice weekly where grass is tight.

Milk output must also be monitored; average milk yield decline should be no greater than 2.5% per week at this point in the lactation.

Where volume or solids are falling quicker than this, quality and quantity of grass needs to be revised. Where quality is low, or silage is reintroduced into the diet, ensure the cows’ energy requirements are being met accordingly. Increased supplementation may be required.

Reduced energy density in the diet will result in decreased milk protein % and reduced milk output. Once growth has increased and quality has been rectified (with breeding also concluding), feeding rates can be reduced.

Looking ahead to the winter, now is a good time to assess how much fodder is on farm with first cuts completed, while some early 2^nd cuts and surplus bales have been taken.

With forage stocks depleted due to the late spring, it’s important to plan for the forthcoming winter while noting how much subsequent forage remains unharvested.

At this point, 2024 Spring-born calves should have smoothly transitioned to grazing.

Weighing scales remain one of the most underutilised management tools on farm and should be used to gauge where we are at regarding target weights ~ 200kg by mid-September (33% of mature cow weight) or 0.7-0.8kg/hd/day.

Parasite burdens can also have a huge impact on youngstock performance over the 1^st grazing season and should be discussed on a herd-by-herd basis with your veterinary practitioner.

For more information contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor or visit www.agritech.ie

Pre-weaning the overall aim was to have doubled our calves birth weight at the point of weaning, and to be ~100 kg at 11-12 weeks before being turned out to grass.

Another target weight to keep in mind with February and early born March calves is to weigh 180 – 190 kgs by the 1st of September, equating to an average daily gain of 0.7-0.8kg/head/day.

In an ideal world calves would be weighed regularly over their first season at grass to track average daily gains. This will allow for informed decision making regarding decreasing concentrate feeding rates at grass. 2kg of a low protein (<16%), high fibre concentrate should be offered while grazing for the first 3-4 weeks of grazing and only considered to be reduced thereafter, to approx. 1 kg. Where early born (Late Jan/Feb born) calves are on target and adjusted to grazing well, supplementation can be reduced further or removed – but this should not happen until late June; supplementation will need to be reintroduced when grass quality declines (late summer) and/or if targets are not being met.

Within groups, there will always be outliers that should be prioritized, calves failing to achieve the above outlined weights (especially younger born March calves). This lighter group needs to be offered a higher rate of supplementation, supplemented for later into the summer and prioritised for grass availability.

Replacement heifers struggling to achieve target weights in the first season at grass, typically results in a heifer too light at housing, and if not fed appropriately and returned to grass early, results in a heifer too light at the point of bulling – negatively effecting her longevity within the herd as a mature cow. With calf-to-beef situations a poor first season at grass will result in prolonged days to slaughter at a significant cost.

Parasite control

Stomach worms and lungworms (hoose) are the most common parasites of calves at grass – with burdens typically building during May-July (weather dependant). Although burdens may be building, clinical signs/symptoms are not experienced or seen typically until mid-summer onwards and this is when action will be required.

Warm humid conditions followed by heavy rainfall can result in rapid multiplication and a close eye will need to be kept on youngstock at grass over the next number of weeks. A dosing protocol should be discussed on a herd-by-herd basis with your veterinary practitioner, as conditions/grazing management & resistance in herds will vary hugely. Dung sampling is also advised to pinpoint issues. Stomach worms will typically present as scouring, and poor thrive while lungworm will need to be dealt with where husky coughing occurs (especially when being moved). Where poor thrive and loose dung is an issue, dung sampling to rule out coccidiosis is also required. It is important that poor thrive caused by parasites is not to be wrongly self- diagnosed as summer scour syndrome.

For further information, contact your local sales advisor

After a tumultuous start to the grazing season, the focus regarding nutrition at this point in the year should be simply centred around always having high quality grass available to the main grazing herd. Quality in grass this time of year can often be a struggle, with a constant balancing act between having enough, taking out surplus and holding quality in paddocks ahead of cows.

Assessing grass availability on the platform as often as possible (weekly at a minimum) to make well informed, timely decisions around taking out surplus grass to maintain quality and pre-grazing yields at 1,200 -1,400 kg DM/ha. Where pre-grazing yields are higher, it will be extremely difficult to graze out these paddocks to target residuals (3.5-4cm), resulting in poor grass utilisation and negatively affecting quality in the subsequent rotation. When grazing heavy covers of grass, it is worthwhile to also remember that for every 4% reduction in grass digestibility, milk solids yield will consequently reduce by approximately 5%.

Concentrate feeding rates for the summer months can often be a topic of debate. However, before pulling back feeding rates a few factors must be taken into consideration. Grass availability and quality should be the first dictating factor, as well as condition of the main herd/current point in the breeding season, coupled with their current milk output.

At this point crude protein requirements of the cow are being well matched by grazed grass, and low protein concentrates (≤15%) should be used. A 1% reduction in concentrate crude protein % during the grazing season could potentially result in a 5% reduction in GHG and ammonia emissions.

Typical feeding rates at grass, depending on milk output and grazing conditions/grass quality:

Due to the late spring, reseeding plans in many cases had been delayed/postponed. However, it is imperative that when the opportunity arises to proceed with reseeding plans – The target being to reseed 10% of the grazing platform annually.

For more information, contact your local Sales Advisor. 

Prevention of metabolic disorders next spring will hinge around management decisions that will be made in the coming weeks. When costs associated with clinical cases are assessed alongside the time and labour involved in such cases, prevention is always better than cure.

It remains best practice to dry off cows at, or very close to the same condition that they should calve down in (target BCS 3.0-3.25). Nutrition over the dry period targeting maintenance – with thin cows ideally dried off early to permit BCS recouperation –typically equates to 68-70% DMD silage in an adlib silage feeding scenario. However, one should always be mindful that over conditioned cows at calving are troublesome and can be linked with several metabolic issues.

Dry Cow Mineral Provision

Feeding a dry cow mineral throughout the dry period is essential to build up mineral reserves and allows the cow to calve down comfortably. High Potassium (K) levels in silages is very common, which requires dilution of K levels in the diet and/or a high level of soluble Magnesium (Mg) to counter the increased risk of milk fever. High levels of K limits Mg absorption, delaying the release of Calcium (Ca) and increases the incidence of milk fever. Grass silage with greater than 1.8% K can cause issues.

Sub-clinical cases of milk fever are being estimated to cost greater than €100 with approximately six sub-clinical cases going undetected for every single clinical case seen. This typically presents through slow calving and/or retained afterbirths. Where this has proven an issue, a silage mineral analysis establishes K% in the dry cow silage being offered. A preventative plan can then be put in place to preclude reoccurrences.

Feed Facilities

When there’s limited feed space for dry cows, and where minerals are being dusted on top of silage, some cows may not be benefiting from the advised feed rate. Minerals can be offered via diet feeder or alternatively where top-dressing minerals at the barrier and space is limited, offer minerals twice daily (half rate AM/half rate PM) to ensure all cows receive the correct amount.

Learn more about our Welmin Dry Cow Mineral Range.

For more information, contact your local Sales Advisor. 

Silage harvesting is a major cost on Irish farms, therefore it is most important that the desired level of quality is achieved.

Dry Matter Digestibility (DMD) indicates the feeding value of a forage crop. In grass silage, it refers to the percentage of grass dry matter that an animal can digest to support their feed requirements. To make high DMD silage, the grass sward needs to contain a high leaf content. DMD is also linked to harvest date, with research showing that a crop harvested on June 2nd versus a harvest date of May 20^th, resulted in a DMD drop of as much as 5%.

Key considerations
Weather will be the main dictating factor with silage harvesting. However, during periods of broken weather, where a window of opportunity appears, avoid delaying harvest. Delaying first cut will cause a large drop in quality and reduce second cut yields significantly.

Grass sugars are the main consideration for crop preservation (Sugar being the food required for fermentation bacteria). The target for good preservation is 3%. Cutting time (early afternoon) and cutting conditions will have the greatest impact on sugar content in grass.

Grass nitrates can affect preservation by increasing buffering capacity. A grass crop will on average use up 2 units of N per day for first cut. Nonetheless, this is only a general rule and should not delay cutting date. Wilting silage to approximately ˃28% will help decrease nitrates.

Wilting is very beneficial to silage preservation where sugars are marginal and/or nitrates remain elevated. The aim should be to increase crop dry matter to 25-30% with pit silage and 30-35% with baled silage. Over wilting can cause issues when feeding out silage, such as heat loss/secondary fermentation.

Using a silage additive

The application of a proven silage additive, such as Agritech’s GrasZyme Sugarboost, at ensiling is a very important part of securing as much of the quality in the winter forage as possible – speeding up preservation and retaining more of the feed value within the pit, alongside less waste/losses.

From a total of 19 independent trials, GrasZyme Sugarboost has proven to deliver:

• + 1 litre of milk per cow per day and .09% milk protein increase
• + 110g daily live-weight gain in beef animals
• 1% reduction in dry matter losses

For further information, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor.  

The freshly calved cow is genetically programmed to produce high levels of milk, however, to ensure maximum performance, it is essential to implement a feeding and management strategy.

The first number of weeks before, and after calving, are the most critical periods in the production cycle of the modern dairy cow. The consequences of failing to feed freshly calved cows adequately during this period can be significant and can lead to costs such as lower production, slower returns to heat cyclicity, and subsequent poorer fertility. Lower peak yields will also mean a lower milk performance for the rest of the lactation.

To keep your freshly calved cows healthy and productive during their lactation, follow our step-by-step management guide below:

Key Areas to Monitor:

1. Body Condition Scores (BCS): Are your cows holding their pre-calving BCS? If your cows are losing condition in the weeks post calving, it must be addressed promptly by seeking professional advice.
2. Milk Yield: Are your cows milking to their potential? Lower yields will mean a lower milk performance for the rest of the lactation.
3. Milk Fat to Protein Ratio: The ratio of fat:protein is an excellent indicator of cow health and feed efficiency. The ideal butterfat:protein ratio is circa 1.27:1. Where the ratio goes above 1.5:1, strict attention should be paid to cow health as there is a strong possibility of ketosis in the affected animals. Where the ratio drops below 1.2:1, a possible link to rumen acidosis exists.
4. Dung Consistency: Dung that appears firm indicates that the cow’s diet may be too low in protein and too high in fibre. A loose and thin consistency suggests excess protein/carbohydrates or low fibre, which may possibly lead to acidosis.

Key Tips:

1. Maximise dry matter intake (DMI) through a well-balanced diet formulation and continuous assessment of rations fed to cows.
2. Supplement with adequate concentrates to allow your cows to perform in line with the forage they are currently consuming and not the amount they received in recent years when grass was a contributor to their diet.
3. Ensure that there is a minimum of 600-800 mm feed space per cow, along with clean drinking water and ample drinking points.
4. Introduce concentrates slowly over a five to ten-day period post-calving. Adding concentrates too quickly, in an attempt to provide energy is a recipe for Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis. Introducing a high quality rumen buffer such as Rumicare from Agritech will help counteract rumen and intestinal acidity and has the added benefit of providing much needed calcium, magnesium and sodium for the early lactating dairy cow.
5. Continue to analyse your cow’s BCS on a regular basis. It is vitally important to maintain adequate BCS to ensure that the cow quickly returns to cyclicity in advance of the breeding season.
6. Supplementation of post-calving minerals is a much-neglected area, as many dairy farmers assume there are enough minerals in the purchased concentrate. However, unless there are very high levels being fed, this is rarely the case. The post-calving diet needs to be carefully monitored to ensure that the cow receives adequate levels of macro and trace minerals at this important time. Take a look at our Welmin Mineral Range brochure here, which features a number of products suitable to help you get the most from your freshly calved cow.
7. Introduce grazed grass into the diet as soon as possible.

Our team are available to help you ensure maximum performance from your freshly calved cow. To find out more, contact your local Agritech distributor or click here.

Key Areas to Monitor:

1. Body Condition Scores (BCS): Are your cows holding their pre-calving BCS? If your cows are losing condition in the weeks post calving, it must be addressed promptly by seeking professional advice.
2. Dung Consistency: Dung that appears firm indicates that the cow’s diet may be too low in protein and too high in fibre. A loose and thin consistency suggests excess protein/carbohydrates or low fibre, which may possibly lead to acidosis.
3. Milk Fat to Protein Ratio: The ratio of fat:protein is an excellent indicator of cow health and feed efficiency. The ideal butterfat:protein ratio is circa 1.27:1. Where the ratio goes above 1.5:1, strict attention should be paid to cow health as there is a strong possibility of Ketosis in the affected animals. Where the ratio drops below 1.2:1, a possible link to Rumen Acidosis exists.

Key Tips:

1. Maximise dry matter intake (DMI) through a well-balanced diet formulation and continuous assessment of rations fed to cows.
2. Ensure that there is a minimum of 600-800 mm feed space per cow, along with ample drinking points.
3. Introduce concentrates slowly over a five to ten day period post calving. Adding concentrates too quickly in an attempt to provide energy is a recipe for Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis. Introducing a high quality rumen buffer such as Rumicare from Agritech will help counteract rumen and intestinal acidity and has the added benefit of providing much needed calcium, magnesium and sodium for the early lactating dairy cow.
4. Continue to analyse you cow’s BCS on a regular basis. It is vitally important to maintain adequate BCS to ensure that the cow quickly returns to cyclicity in advance of the breeding season.
5. Supplementation of post calving minerals is a much neglected area as many dairy farmers assume there are enough minerals in the purchased concentrate. However, unless there are very high levels being fed, this is rarely the case. The post calving diet needs to be carefully monitored to ensure that the cow receives adequate levels of macro and trace minerals at this important time.Take a look at our new 2019 Welmin Mineral Range brochure here, which features a number of products suitable to help you get the most from your freshly calved cow.
6. Introduce grazed grass in to the diet. It is important to align the indoor ration to match up with the grazed grass level being fed in order to optimise cow performance and health.

For further advice, contact your local Agritech distributor.