Where has all the grass gone?

[GTB]

...and when will it start growing again? We had enough grass a month ago and could almost have turned the cattle all out. Fast forward four weeks and the place looks like a desert. Spring calving cows have been out for three weeks and are still eating silage. We have had some rain but not much. The main problem is that it's very cold still and the wind has been from the north or east for a while now. Couldn't even consider shutting off silage fields yet as the sheep need every possible acre.

What's it like around the country?

 

[Davy_g]

Same here, cows out during the day but in getting silage at night. Plenty of silage so not a problem. Too cold and dry for decent growth.
Silage growth stalling too but will be ok if we get rain soon.

 

[GTB]

We never get much rain while the wind is from north/east. No doubt once the weather pattern changes it will rain all summer...

 

[exmoor dave]

...and when will it start growing again? We had enough grass a month ago and could almost have turned the cattle all out. Fast forward four weeks and the place looks like a desert. Spring calving cows have been out for three weeks and are still eating silage. We have had some rain but not much. The main problem is that it's very cold still and the wind has been from the north or east for a while now. Couldn't even consider shutting off silage fields yet as the sheep need every possible acre.

What's it like around the country?

Exactly the same here!
Seem to be chasing a nibble of grass around the farm.

Had a unusual amount of grass in mid march, but no rain and constant cool wind since have stopped the regrowth.

Shed cows are still in.
Fert is still in the shed!

In this last week the Feb born lambs have really starting hitting the creep feed, up till then they'd be fairly restrained.

Hill cows in off the moor are on silage but that's fairly normal as the fields on top the cliffs don't really get going til may when the sea warms up.




Ruddy lambs still getting scald though!

 

[ladycrofter]

Ross shire, same here. Cows went out a few weeks ago on good grass, now as with you, cold east/northeast wind. Sun is out quite a bit but no heat in it with the wind. Still eating haylage at about half the rate of winter .

Ground is dry enough to put out the fertiliser on the haylage fields, but what use until the temperature gets better? The cutting fields have been shut off since the beginning of April, can't see that anything is growing. Fortunately the Shetlands don't need much grazing to keep them happy, may put them behind the shed this week to do some mowing.

At least it isn't bucketing rain everyday!

 

[Mutch]

It's going to rain all day today then warm up next week and we will have too much grass to cope with!!

 

[hilux]

@GTB . Get your fert on now.... Rain later and they've said an increase in temp towards the end of the week. Well that's what I've done . It is bare down here as well.

 

[exmoor dave]

It's going to rain all day today then warm up next week and we will have too much grass to cope with!!

Haha! Trouble is we farm in a tiny micro climate where we can regularly watch the forecast rain pass within a mile.

Watching the forecast is self inflicted cruelty sometimes

 

[hilux]

Haha! Trouble is we farm in a tiny micro climate where we can regularly watch the forecast rain pass within a mile.

Watching the forecast is self inflicted cruelty sometimes

Give the forecasters a break ,they might get it right

 

[Jim75]

Ross shire, same here. Cows went out a few weeks ago on good grass, now as with you, cold east/northeast wind. Sun is out quite a bit but no heat in it with the wind. Still eating haylage at about half the rate of winter .

Ground is dry enough to put out the fertiliser on the haylage fields, but what use until the temperature gets better? The cutting fields have been shut off since the beginning of April, can't see that anything is growing. Fortunately the Shetlands don't need much grazing to keep them happy, may put them behind the shed this week to do some mowing.

At least it isn't bucketing rain everyday!

Can't believe a bit further south of Perth they're shouting for rain. Fields we spread some fertiliser on a month ago had a good response and fields done in the last few weeks are responding. Most of these are 650ft with the odd few at 50ft above sea.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

If the fields got a good covering early on they're growing well but anything that was bared off has stopped due to these cold drying northern winds

 

[Jerry]

Haha! Trouble is we farm in a tiny micro climate where we can regularly watch the forecast rain pass within a mile.

Watching the forecast is self inflicted cruelty sometimes

I just been watching the rain radar as no rain here yet today, I bet a mile to the west its been rainng since 7am...Grass has slowed here, not cut the grass in the caravan site for 10 days and its hardly grown in that time.

 

[exmoor dave]

Give the forecasters a break ,they might get it right

There's a old boy retired farmer lives down the road and walks up here every morning.

Got chatting about rain records one day (he's recorded them for decades)....... few days later he turns up in the yard with a rain gauge for me........ I notice the gauge doesn't have a mark called "fudge all"

Once bought a weather station for dad, auto rain fall recorder on top one of the sheds...... its seized up through lack of use

 

[ladycrofter]

Forecast temperatures are still dire. IIRC the soil temp needs to be 10C for grass growth, never mind the air temperature isn't there yet. Still, may put it out this week since its dry. THankfully neoghbour made extra haylage so not having to go far for extra forage.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Farmers turn out to early .grass grows grass. never cast a clout till May be out

 

[GTB]

We spread our ferts over the whole farm in march and had a good response then. It should be growing of it's own accord by now though. Only ferts left to go out here in for silage ground when we shut the fields off.

 

[nails]

Can't believe a bit further south of Perth they're shouting for rain. Fields we spread some fertiliser on a month ago had a good response and fields done in the last few weeks are responding. Most of these are 650ft with the odd few at 50ft above sea.

My sister is 50 miles north of Inverness and the weather is often quite different up there. Seems to have its own little climate.

 

[GTB]

Went for a drive to the lleyn peninsula yesterday. It was very green up there but not much grass. It's noted as being a very early area and there were some cracking lambs about, by far the best I've seen this year. Didn't see a single lleyn ewe though. Plenty of suff X mules there with stonking big char X and tex X lambs. I was green with envy.

 

[Jackson4]

Soon as its bitten down it soon drys out with this cold wind. Ground is as hard as concrete like walking/driving over cobbles and any shower there is the wind and sun dries out before it even heals the cracks up. If there is a heavy shower it can just run off when its this hard, just needs a good soaking to get in... whereupon! the fert will get washed in and i'll be complaining i've too much grass all at once like last year!

 

[An Gof]

I just been watching the rain radar as no rain here yet today, I bet a mile to the west its been rainng since 7am...Grass has slowed here, not cut the grass in the caravan site for 10 days and its hardly grown in that time.

Been cutting the lawns twice a week here