The Greenfield stocking rate remains at 4.9cows/ha (demand 68kg/ha) with the last recorded growth rate on Friday 10 May at 52kg/day. This growth rate is down slightly from the 61kg/day and 85kg/day recorded the week before. Grass cover across the farm is now tightened up well and is down to 660kg or 135kg per livestock unit (LU). This figure was at 154kg/LU last week.

Grass

Now remember to maintain adequate grazing covers in front of the herd when you take farm cover down this tight you need top-class grazing management and good varieties that are well fertilised.

The swards in Kilkenny are a very nice mix of perennial ryegrass and clover. The grass wedge shows all paddocks a shade under the line with three paddocks over 1,400kg, three paddocks at 1,000kg and three at 800kg. These paddocks will effectively form the bulk of the grazing for the next week to ten days. Only by going into covers of 1,200 to 1,400kg can you clean out paddocks well at this time of the year.

Trainee farm managers visited the Greenfield Farm Kilkenny on Friday 10 May 2019.

Grazing conditions are excellent and growth conditions are also good, so maintaining these covers at this relatively tight level is possible. The herd is going into covers of about 1,400kg and taking them down to between 200 and 300kg. Silage ground remains closed (42% of farm area) and fertilised with 80kgN/ha, 125kgK/ha and 12kgS/ha.

The herd last two somatic cell counts (SCC) are a shade over 200,000 cells/ml at 222,000 and 214,000 cells/ml. Protein has come back a shade with the last three tests of the bulk tank at 3.65%, 3.63% and 3.66% protein. The last three fat tests this week were 4.64%, 4.45% and 4.47%.

A group of 25 trainee farm managers visited the farm on Friday 10 May and went through various exercises with Teagasc and farm staff. Local TD Andrew Doyle made a visit to the farm also this week with members of the Irish Farm Managers Assocation Jim Treacy, Gerry Twomey and Dermot Tobin.

Local farmer and TD Andrew Doyle on the Greenfield Farm with members of the Irish Farm Managers Association Jim Treacy , Gerry Toomey and Dermot Tobin.\ Patrick Browne

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