The Grass Measuring Thread

RobinBanks

Farm cover 944
Cover / LU 231
Growth 52
Demand 59
Days ahead 16
LU/Ha 4.08
Rotation length 21 days
Pre grazing yield 1375

2nd week measuring now. Waiting for teagasc to get back to me to help interpret grass wedge.

Cattle out yesterday into a huge cover of 1800. I prob should have took out for bales?

Panch18

yewtree wrote: »

Your 'wise man' is dead right, the worst farms I have been on are the idiots who grass measure or try to manage grass. The lads who set stock and do the same thing every year are really getting on around here. From my experience the less effort you put in to something the better the results.

you know there is more than 1 way to skin a cat.

Certainly in a beef scenario it could be more profitable to cut back on fertiliser, and grow a little bit less grass for a while then spend money on fertiliser to grow grass which then costs money to cut as round bales which you might not need.

The thing about grass measuring is that its great to get you to grow more more more, but is it more profit is the real question - certainly not in every scenario

stretch film

Has everyone made the move to pasturebsase .

Kept with agrinet here cos I use the app more than desktop.
Phone reception doesn't always allow for going on the pbi website which its what they're suggesting as an alternative to app.

Discussion group are pushing to get everyone on one system.

Bass Reeves

I am thinking of buying a plate meter is this one any good

https://www.grasstecgroup.com/agri-services/product/manual-folding-plate-meter/

Wildsurfer

stretch film wrote: »

Has everyone made the move to pasturebsase .

Kept with agrinet here cos I use the app more than desktop.
Phone reception doesn't always allow for going on the pbi website which its what they're suggesting as an alternative to app.

Discussion group are pushing to get everyone on one system.

But I thought agrinet will cease as a separate package once they move everyone to the new system, seen as they are involved with Pasture Base?

einn32

Wildsurfer wrote: »

But I thought agrinet will cease as a separate package once they move everyone to the new system, seen as they are involved with Pasture Base?

Yes it will be redundant. I'd switch now as pasture base is better system I find.

stretch film

Wildsurfer wrote: »

But I thought agrinet will cease as a separate package once they move everyone to the new system, seen as they are involved with Pasture Base?

Still going strong atm anyway.
No mobile version of note with oasturebase.
I can upload onto phone at home and work offline on farm.

mahoney_j

No need for Agrinet or pasturebase the most important thing is to walk farm regurally and react to what’s in front of you .i use neither and couldn’t be arsed ,I don’t actually put a figure on covers in paddocks either a lot of time .paddocks walked 2/3 times a week and decisions made based on that

charolais0153

mahoney_j wrote: »

No need for Agrinet or pasturebase the most important thing is to walk farm regurally and react to what’s in front of you .i use neither and couldn’t be arsed ,I don’t actually put a figure on covers in paddocks either a lot of time .paddocks walked 2/3 times a week and decisions made based on that

How do u know if youre at 140 then? Estimation?

mahoney_j

charolais0153 wrote: »

How do u know if youre at 140 then? Estimation?

Actually did cover cut/weighed every paddock do it now and again to train eye more than anything .id of taken more or less paddocks out by just walking thru paddocks and not physically cutting/weighing and doing up farm cover

einn32

I do my covers on to the phone as I go around. There is no way I could remember the grazing plan without the app. Too much going on in my head so a lot of information is transferred to apps.

stretch film

mahoney_j wrote: »

Actually did cover cut/weighed every paddock do it now and again to train eye more than anything .id of taken more or less paddocks out by just walking thru paddocks and not physically cutting/weighing and doing up farm cover

You went the long way around calculating the cover per cow if you didn't use either program

mahoney_j

stretch film wrote: »

You went the long way around calculating the cover per cow if you didn't use either program

Took all of 5 minutes

leg wax

will probably be scolded for this but, i see grass measuring as a tool for farmers that have people working for them,and not for the 1 man operators , put it up on paper in black and white so the fool knows what paddock is next and what paddock to tell the contractor to cut when he comes,as i am the owner and cant be arsed to be around. bigger and bigger operations need more measuring as it can really get out of control if the owner is not around.;):rolleyes:

Keepgrowing

leg wax wrote: »

will probably be scolded for this but, i see grass measuring as a tool for farmers that have people working for them,and not for the 1 man operators , put it up on paper in black and white so the fool knows what paddock is next and what paddock to tell the contractor to cut when he comes,as i am the owner and cant be arsed to be around. bigger and bigger operations need more measuring as it can really get out of control if the owner is not around.;):rolleyes:

Lol, perhaps in some cases. For us
1. Ensuring cows are fully fed
2. Getting the maximum from the Ha
3. Identifying poor performing paddocks
4. Ensuring meal not displacing grass
5. Ensuring highest solids/price we can
6. Grazing plan is simplified
7. Identifying surplus (in time)
8. Early indicator of deficit
9. Ensures 300 days grazing
10. Total control

That's the first 10 off the top of my head. There are many more reasons. Guys not doing it and just firing in nut for litres are forgetting that grass based farmers aren't producing milk but growing a crop that's then converted to milk. It's the greatest protein crop we can grow and we simply employ cows to convert it into the most complete food I know of.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that feeding high rates of meal is wrong, it's just another way of converting energy and protein with massive air miles into a somewhat similar complete food.

einn32

leg wax wrote: »

will probably be scolded for this but, i see grass measuring as a tool for farmers that have people working for them,and not for the 1 man operators , put it up on paper in black and white so the fool knows what paddock is next and what paddock to tell the contractor to cut when he comes,as i am the owner and cant be arsed to be around. bigger and bigger operations need more measuring as it can really get out of control if the owner is not around.;):rolleyes:

So farm workers are fools? No wonder people don't want to work on farms here! I do it because I know it makes the farm more profit.

White Clover

leg wax wrote: »

will probably be scolded for this but, i see grass measuring as a tool for farmers that have people working for them,and not for the 1 man operators , put it up on paper in black and white so the fool knows what paddock is next and what paddock to tell the contractor to cut when he comes,as i am the owner and cant be arsed to be around. bigger and bigger operations need more measuring as it can really get out of control if the owner is not around.;):rolleyes:

God, aren't you of a superior race!

leg wax

call me old fashioned , :P

charolais0153

Growth of 110
180/lu.
Will probably have to take out a few paddocks but ground is still a touch wet for going maling bales. Hopefully make a few end of the week

Wildsurfer

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Lol, perhaps in some cases. For us
1. Ensuring cows are fully fed
2. Getting the maximum from the Ha
3. Identifying poor performing paddocks
4. Ensuring meal not displacing grass
5. Ensuring highest solids/price we can
6. Grazing plan is simplified
7. Identifying surplus (in time)
8. Early indicator of deficit
9. Ensures 300 days grazing
10. Total control

That's the first 10 off the top of my head. There are many more reasons. Guys not doing it and just firing in nut for litres are forgetting that grass based farmers aren't producing milk but growing a crop that's then converted to milk. It's the greatest protein crop we can grow and we simply employ cows to convert it into the most complete food I know of.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that feeding high rates of meal is wrong, it's just another way of converting energy and protein with massive air miles into a somewhat similar complete food.

Just remember not everyone is on a dry farm like yours. I could have measured it every day ten times a day this year but I still couldn't get the cows out to grass. I actually stopped doing walks as it was getting so depressing trudging through waterlogged fields. Grass budgeting is high on our discussion group agenda but I need a different template to the one being promoted by Moorepark/Teagasc. I got cows out in February trying to achieve my grazing targets, did some poaching hoping it would be dry for start of second round. Those paddocks are still holding water now, and I'm poaching them for the third time.

Timmaay

Finally bothered to do a grass cover today, 1st one this year! Growth definitely 80+, if not hitting 100, will hopefully be a serious amount of grass grown next 2wks, which is the most critical time here on this farm which can dry up anytime from June on. About 1/3 the milking block closed up for silage at the sec, most will go in the pit late may but might remove some as leafy bales before then. Sr 4.33 on the rest, CC 192, afc 830, demand 70.

Keepgrowing

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Just remember not everyone is on a dry farm like yours. I could have measured it every day ten times a day this year but I still couldn't get the cows out to grass. I actually stopped doing walks as it was getting so depressing trudging through waterlogged fields. Grass budgeting is high on our discussion group agenda but I need a different template to the one being promoted by Moorepark/Teagasc. I got cows out in February trying to achieve my grazing targets, did some poaching hoping it would be dry for start of second round. Those paddocks are still holding water now, and I'm poaching them for the third time.

,” i see grass measuring as a tool for farmers that have people working for them” quote from Leg wax

It’s that specific quote I was replying to, not making any other point.

Btw I’ve land reseeded last September that I’ve not opened the gap to since be that to spray for weeds or fertilise and I still value grass measuring.

yewtree

Would always walk the farm here and put figures on it. I have reclaimed ground that would be very wet floating is probably a better description.
It's the things you pick up form the constant measurement that I find the most beneficial. I find you notice things quicker and gives me a push to improve things.

_Brian

How’s grass growth compared to other years ??
We’re nowhere near measuring but grass is definitely way behind here in Cavan.

Muckit

No there isn't the same amount of grass. No big spring flush yet. Cattle are out but summer isn't here yet. Never as glad to have cut back on stock. Nothing worse than wondering where they are going to get their next mouthful.

RobinBanks

What I have noticed this year is regrowth is slow. I have grass built up from last year but anywhere that was grazed over a week ago is still fairly bare even though I spread CAN after

Mooooo

Late fert and ground not grazed would have less growth. Paddocks I managed to graze early now coming in for the third grazing have the same cover as ground only been grazed for the Second time

mahoney_j

Grass exploding out of ground here ,took surplus out Sunday ,will be mowing again Friday

Dakota Dan

_Brian wrote: »

How’s grass growth compared to other years ??
We’re nowhere near measuring but grass is definitely way behind here in Cavan.

Silage being cut in Cork over the last 2 days, growth came in 2 spurts over a couple of weeks.

charolais0153

12 days ahead
87 growth
190/lu

charolais0153

18 days ahead.
2.82Lu/ha
Afc 765
Growth 52
Demand 43
271kg/Lu
First measure in about 2 weeks...slurry 10 days ago greened the place up no end....no regrowths coming on lighter land but thats to be expected...
Huge difference between covers at low end of field compared to high spots

mengele

Anyone who measures have what tonne has grown this year up as far as now versus the same period last year.

Henwin

being a farmers wife i love taking an interest in all aspects of farming, i wud be fairly well up on most things but what i have very little clue about is grass measurement and budgeting. i would love to get a better grasp of it. my husband doesnt grass measure. we had very strong paddocks grazed this year, our solids are very poor and i think doing proper grass budgeting would improve them. we are over stocked, 65 cows on bout 38 acres milking platform.
Is there courses or good youtube videos that we could access to learn more about it?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Henwin wrote: »

being a farmers wife i love taking an interest in all aspects of farming, i wud be fairly well up on most things but what i have very little clue about is grass measurement and budgeting. i would love to get a better grasp of it. my husband doesnt grass measure. we had very strong paddocks grazed this year, our solids are very poor and i think doing proper grass budgeting would improve them. we are over stocked, 65 cows on bout 38 acres milking platform.
Is there courses or good youtube videos that we could access to learn more about it?

There's plenty on youtube, just search grass or grass measuring with Teagasc or Pasturebase.

whelan2

If you know some one who measures grass on their farm, go and walk with them or ask them to do a few walks on your farm with you . They would also give you a few tips on grass management

freedominacup

Henwin wrote: »

being a farmers wife i love taking an interest in all aspects of farming, i wud be fairly well up on most things but what i have very little clue about is grass measurement and budgeting. i would love to get a better grasp of it. my husband doesnt grass measure. we had very strong paddocks grazed this year, our solids are very poor and i think doing proper grass budgeting would improve them. we are over stocked, 65 cows on bout 38 acres milking platform.
Is there courses or good youtube videos that we could access to learn more about it?

Join a discussion group. Grass measuring part of most meetings and grass budgeting of every meeting during grazing season. Husband doesn't have to go but I doubt if ye had been participating in one that ye would have grazed those heavy covers and nit baled them and moved on with rotation. 65 cows on 38 acres from April to August would not be considered high on good ground.

Henwin

great, thanks for the replies

older by the day

Henwin wrote: »

being a farmers wife i love taking an interest in all aspects of farming, i wud be fairly well up on most things but what i have very little clue about is grass measurement and budgeting. i would love to get a better grasp of it. my husband doesnt grass measure. we had very strong paddocks grazed this year, our solids are very poor and i think doing proper grass budgeting would improve them. we are over stocked, 65 cows on bout 38 acres milking platform.
Is there courses or good youtube videos that we could access to learn more about it?

Like most things the woman of the house has to do it. Or just leave him and find a farmer who loves measuring his grass

Keepgrowing

Henwin wrote: »

being a farmers wife i love taking an interest in all aspects of farming, i wud be fairly well up on most things but what i have very little clue about is grass measurement and budgeting. i would love to get a better grasp of it. my husband doesnt grass measure. we had very strong paddocks grazed this year, our solids are very poor and i think doing proper grass budgeting would improve them. we are over stocked, 65 cows on bout 38 acres milking platform.
Is there courses or good youtube videos that we could access to learn more about it?

If you’re anywhere near KK/Ls we’d be glad to help set you up

Mooooo

Anyone measure grass protein since the rain arrived?

GrasstoMilk

Grass starting to move here now. Gr of 30 for the last 5 days. Practically 0 up till then. I'd say it will double now that there is a bit of a cover of grass there. Should be on full grass diet in another 5 days hopefully

yewtree

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Grass starting to move here now. Gr of 30 for the last 5 days. Practically 0 up till then. I'd say it will double now that there is a bit of a cover of grass there. Should be on full grass diet in another 5 days hopefully

Glad it's turning for you, very growthy around here at the moment.

C4d78

Things have started to green up a lot in last few days. Growth should kick on in next week or so. While we did get a few days rain down south a lot of it was light and there has to be still a soil moisture deficit.
I know it’s farm specific but what are lads predictions on growth rates if we don’t see rain for few weeks. How long will this bounce last with out further rain is what I’m wondering??
Looking at forecast very little or predicted for next fortnight.

freedominacup

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Grass starting to move here now. Gr of 30 for the last 5 days. Practically 0 up till then. I'd say it will double now that there is a bit of a cover of grass there. Should be on full grass diet in another 5 days hopefully

5kg dm silage gone out of cows diet since yesterday. I'll be feeding less cows from here on. Leave the tmr buffer mix the same just for a lower number of cows.

freedominacup

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Grass starting to move here now. Gr of 30 for the last 5 days. Practically 0 up till then. I'd say it will double now that there is a bit of a cover of grass there. Should be on full grass diet in another 5 days hopefully

Might be average of 30 but I'd say it went more like 2-5-10-20-40-80.

GrasstoMilk

freedominacup wrote: »

Might be average of 30 but I'd say it went more like 2-5-10-20-40-80.

Yeah hopefully freedom. You'd see the difference even this evening walking the cows in.
Up in the combine with our tillage neighbour here that we're getting a lot of straw off, he sells the nitrofert for most of Wexford. Can't keep it out. Mostly 18 6 12
We went with 18 6 12 here on Monday and I definitely think that is what's growing the grass.

mahoney_j

Growth rate of 52 from last Saturday today ,surprised at that but gladly take it ,buffer will be reduced from Monday .parlour feed averaging 5.1 kg average fty .wont change fty but buffer will be out within a week .cows in super nick and still pumping milk and solids 2.04 kgms daily

Keepgrowing

Cover per cow 150
AFC 600
Growth 80+ and rising

Silage halved, hulls halved 4kg in parlour won’t change.

1.94 kg ms

Will be off buffer by Tues/weds

freedominacup

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Cover per cow 150
AFC 600
Growth 80+ and rising

Silage halved, hulls halved 4kg in parlour won’t change.

1.94 kg ms

Will be off buffer by Tues/weds

The problem with the afc of 600 is that it's virtually every paddock. Maybe not a problem per say but another week and the balers will need to be moving as there will be a week plus of covers passing 1200.

mahoney_j

freedominacup wrote: »

The problem with the afc of 600 is that it's virtually every paddock. Maybe not a problem per say but another week and the balers will need to be moving as there will be a week plus of covers passing 1200.

An absolutely super problem to have!!!,moving along cautiously here and letting covers rise ,growth strong for now but fear it could be short lived unless more rain arrives soon