John Maher’s tips for maintaining grass quality

With an increase in grass growth in the past few weeks the challenge now on farms is to maintain quality in the sward. On this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast, Teagasc Grass 10 Manager John Maher gives top tips in relation to managing grass quality. John highlights the two main ways to manage grass at the moment. Firstly, it involves targeting ideal covers to graze of 8-10 cm and that may lead to paddocks being skipped or let grow on to bulk up as silage. Secondly, the mechanical method of topping or pre-mowing and although this will lead to some grass wastage it will ensure quality in the next grazing. John advises that fertiliser applied on farm at the moment will largely depend on stocking rate. Phosphorus and potassium are essential to be applied to improve any damaged paddocks from earlier in the spring. Nitrogen application can be decided upon based on the amount of grass on the farm and demand. For further information visit: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/ You can also view the latest Grass 10 Newsletter here: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-newsletter/ For more episodes and information covered on the Beef Edge, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com