‘See what works on your farm – if you can gain 10 or 15 days a year, it’s worth doing’

WHILE the benefits of extending the grazing season are seen in the spring and autumn, much of the work involved in making it happen takes place over the summer months.

“Lads come to us or go to farm walks in the spring where cows are out, and they are trying to figure out how the hell are they doing this,” says Donal Patton.

“But it’s only partly to do what’s happening in February and March. It’s more to do with what went on in June and July.”

Donal has six key tips for farmers looking to extend their grazing season:

Join a discussion group

“Farmers might say ‘well that’s okay for an ag college it’s different when I go home’ and that’s why seeing local farmers do it too can give them great confidence. Identify a farmer locally that is doing it and make contact,” he says.

Grass measuring

Donal stresses the importance of grass measuring to farmers trying to get cows out early in the spring.

“One of the big fears is running out of grass in the spring,” he says.

“It takes 2-3 seasons to fully get your head around it, particularly in the spring and autumn. There are courses running at the moment.”

Infrastructure

Good grazing infrastructure, particularly farm roadways, are essential to extending the grazing season.

“We have a very good network of farm roadways in the college that we built up over a period of 10-12 years,” says Donal.

“Often in June and July, farmers forget the issues of early spring in terms of accessing land. So that day in March when you’re saying to yourself ‘I need a roadway here or there’, put it into you’re diary to get it done over the summer.”

Soil fertility

Donal has seen farmers try to emulate the system in Ballyhaise on land with poor fertility. The results have been bad.

“A lot of farmers would have seen paddocks that they have poached not recover. A lot of that could be down to soil fertility,” he says.

“On top of that, the grass they graze in early spring doesn’t recover and they run short. If you don’t know the status of the farm get it tested. Soil fertility is vital.”

On/off grazing

The importance of this practice cannot be overstated.

“Of those 60 extra days we got in the trial, I would say half of them were on/ off grazing,” Donal says.

Patience

Donal advises farmers not try to move too fast in trying to get cows out earlier.

“Don’t push turnout from Paddy’s Day to early February all of a sudden. See what works on your farm.

“If a farm can gain 10-15 days a year it’s worth doing,” he says.