Why grass measuring is so important

As a result of my article last week regarding grass measuring, a number of people queried exactly why grass measuring is so important.

Thankfully most of the enquiries came from non-farming folk, but there were still questions from a few local cattle men which opened up an opportunity to measure grass for farmers in the area.

The numerous benefits of measuring grass include; enabling farmers to determine grass supplies, improving grass quality, enhancing animal performance, matching grass supply with demand, increasing stocking rate, and it also facilitates farmers in composing a fertiliser plan.

The opportunity to increase the growth of quality grass on farm while increasing the grazing period for cattle should be an adequate incentive to measure grass. After all, increasing quality grass in the diet reduces input costs, as grass is the cheapest source of animal feed here in Ireland.

At home, we have been achieving ideal post grazing sward heights of 3.5cm-4cm. From this, we can expect a higher percentage of live leaf in our next rotation.

The percentage of live leaf in the sward is correlated with the nutritive value of the grass. As the nutritive value of the grass increases, so does the average daily weight gains.

A friend, who has no agricultural background, queried what the ideal sward would look like when cattle finish grazing. The easiest explanation I could give was “it’s not a short back and sides; it’s more of a tight buzz all over”.

It is pleasing to see the interest from people outside of farming. Everyone needs farmers after all. We produce their food!

It is a regular occurrence for students to come to the Teagasc Research Centre in Trim for experience. Last week a student arrived from Brazil to enhance his knowledge of Irish beef production.

André will stay here for three months working on different projects in Grange with Teagasc. His first impression of Ireland was the top quality grass, and he’s determined to learn and understand the management skills required to produce superior grass.

André has a massive interest in agriculture and is going to learn a lot from his time here. He has plenty of questions, as expected. It is also an opportunity for me to get a feel for his culture. After a few ice-breakers, I questioned him on his sporting ability.

Although he was modest, I gathered he is fast and can score goals. Before he even completed the sentence, I had a maroon jersey on him. He is unsure of the rules of GAA, but is willing to give it a shot. Championship isn’t far away. Anyone have a GAA rulebook as Portaingéilise?