Grass shortage (or not!)

[Grassman]

Round my area in the north midlands grass is desperately scarce. The rain seems to of been to the east or west, south or north and missed out the midlands.
Second cut for haylage is looking hopeless.
Yet I read on here that the drought is over and grass is growing in ok in some areas.
Just trying to get an idea of the true picture.
So how is it with you?

 

[Princess Pooper]

Same as you - severely short I'm afraid (NE Leics)! We did get a second cut silage end of June but down about 20% and regrowth is minimal, more seedheads than leaf! We normally take about half the silage acreage onto a third cut too, so even if we do get something later it is not a 'bonus' it is what we always need. The chance of rain for this weekend seems to be disappearing so we will probably have to bite the bullet and graze it rather than hoping to take a light cut from it if we had some rain to bulk it out. We start calving shortly and there is basically nothing to graze for fresh calvers so our silage consumption will rocket (they are normally in at night on silage when fresh but graze in the day). <15mm rain since end of May.

 

[neilo]

The rain all missed here too, so drought is most definitely not over. Ewes are now weaned and stocked tight on hay, to let the lambs scavenge what they can.
Catch crops that were DD’ed before the promised ‘deluge’ of ten days ago are slowly germinating, and then withering up.

We were in the same, or worse condition at this time last year, then it rained and we caught up. It’ll rain eventually, it always does.....

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Still very short here though rain 10 days ago did green up some fields. It will need continued rain for that to translate into decent growth to get us out of trouble however. Feeding 2/3 of the sucklers and will be the rest when they've finished the field they're in. Little bit of bite to wean lambs into now for a week or 2 but ewes will have next to nothing.

 

[Henarar]

we had 35mm but its not done much but it has greened a bit in some fields though, need some more to keep it going

 

[Spartacus]

Started growing around here about 3 weeks ago, nice gentle rain every few days set it back to green and has kept it coming every week since so it is growing nicely now. Meant to tip it down over the weekend as well. Second cut will be later than I'd of liked but it was the end of August last year due to the rain and it was good stuff so we've time to catch up yet. 180 bales first cut rather than 370 we've had last two years though so we will need it all!

 

[jondear]

Definitely still drought here in Devon only had 7mm last week .Just finished this field was second cut cows grazing dead seed heads . Perhaps it will self seed as pounds of grass seed on floor!

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Definitely still drought here in Devon only had 7mm last week .Just finished this field was second cut cows grazing dead seed heads . Perhaps it will self seed as pounds of grass seed on floor!View attachment 702228

Wow

 

[Henarar]

Definitely still drought here in Devon only had 7mm last week .Just finished this field was second cut cows grazing dead seed heads . Perhaps it will self seed as pounds of grass seed on floor!View attachment 702228

you must be on some dry land ?

 

[Pasty]

Personally I think this is going to be a pattern which increases in years to come. I think we are going to have to think much harder about inputs, soil OM, water retention and stock intensity.

That said it will probably start raining tonight and not stop until April '19.

 

[puppet]

Drought over here with over 4 inches in 2 weeks and silage has shot up everywhere

 

[Goweresque]

I would say a grass shortage (in all forms, fodder and grazing) is pretty much baked into the system now, given the last 3 dry months. Yes some areas are getting much needed rain now, and that may ease the pressure there, but there will be no fodder surplus from those areas to be shifted to others that still are very dry (and look like continuing to be for a while yet). In recent years when one part of the country has been very dry, another has been wet or had at least normal rainfall, allowing for fodder to be traded around, this will not be possible this year I suspect, even if it started to rain constantly tomorrow. When you lose 3 or 4 growing months, you don't get them back later in the year, the grass stops growing once winter arrives regardless.

And that winter could quite conceivably arrive earlier than normal - the dry summer has been caused by a blocking high centred over Scandinavia, the same pattern in March produced the Beast from the East. So if the weather gods give us more of the same we could go from a hot dry summer/autumn to an early cold winter. There is absolutely no guarantee that a dry hot summer will be balanced out by a wet mild autumn/early winter.

 

[jondear]

you must be on some dry land ?

No pretty heavy clay .Two inch cracks some places no stone .You can put a measure down 20 inches.

 

[sticky]

No grass here the cattle are on silage and concentrate and the sheep are on silage as well. Went and looked at 40 acres of pp that was cut 7 weeks ago and it's not even worth taking any there, 14 acres of kale has failed. We had 17mm of rain 9 days ago and it has done nothing, I redrilled the 14 acres a week ago and nothing has emerged. I don't think we will make the season up at all the only saving grace for me is i have enough straw and fodder.

 

[Still Farming]

Dry as a cork here but odd mist or shower greens fields a bit .
Think farmers with too much stock and cut everything to the soil are scratching their heads but "if you want the penny and the bun "?that's what happens.

 

[Yale]

The rain we had a couple of weeks ago perked things up however things are going backwards and need a good shower this weekend if we get it.

Have just ploughed and seeded a field in hope of a damper spell.

 

[jondear]

I think once clay drys out it takes alot of rain to soak to grass roots .Then when you've had to much it's fooked!

 

[Spartacus]

The rain we had a couple of weeks ago perked things up however things are going backwards and need a good shower this weekend if we get it.

Have just ploughed and seeded a field in hope of a damper spell.

Isnt the forecast for the weekend to wash everything away?!

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Dry as a cork here but odd mist or shower greens fields a bit .
Think farmers with too much stock and cut everything to the soil are scratching their heads but "if you want the penny and the bun "?that's what happens.

If it's properly dry, even where there is grass, it disappears .
I left a field I was going to mow. Put the cows in there a couple weeks ago, but the leaf has shrivelled to nothing, just leaving stemmy stuff.
@jondear 's pic above shows good cover left, but I wouldn't think he's expecting much growth for a bit.

 

[jondear]

Drought over here with over 4 inches in 2 weeks and silage has shot up everywhere

We have only had 2.5 inches in 3 half months .