Reduce feed and cattle housing costs with grass

He says this can be achieved by improved grassland management through late summer and into autumn, which can shift the date of housing, influence the timing of turnout and improve the quality of spring grass.

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With no time like the present, he says the whole process can begin in the run-up to autumn, when average grass covers on livestock farms should be building up to 2600kg dry matter per hectare by mid-September, ready for the final grazing round to begin in October.

“Too high a cover will not fare well over winter, when it will be susceptible to snow and frost damage and die off at the base,” he says.

“The resulting long and stemmy sward will not only be of reduced nutritional value, but it will be easily trampled by stock at turnout, so not utilised well.

“However, too short a cover will have insufficient leaf area to photosynthesise adequately and struggle to make the growth needed in early spring,” he says.

So, hitting the optimum 2600kg by the middle of this month is key to establishing the final grazing round, and is most precisely assessed with a plate meter.

However, he added that no one should let the lack of a plate meter get in the way of measuring swards, when everyday objects can act as visual props to help make this judgement.

“A grass cover of 2500-2800kg DM/ha is 8-10cm in the autumn or roughly the height of a coke can whereas a sward grazed down to 1500kg DM/ha is 4cm high, or roughly the height of a golf ball,” he says.

Just 30-40kg/ha can give swards a boost and add more potential late-season growth.

Achieving continued growth through October and November will require the input of nitrogen but there’s only a matter of days left for its application for growers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones where the cut off date is September 15.

Even just 30 or 40kg/ha can give swards a boost and really make more of the potential late-season growth.”

The target for most farms is to begin the last grazing round on October 7, although this could be later when only sheep are grazing and could also be brought forward in the north of Scotland under less favourable conditions.

The final round should continue such that 60% of the farm’s grassland is grazed by the end of October and the final 40% by mid-November, when stock should be housed or moved to wintering.

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“I’d generally try to stick to this plan as if you keep on grazing after mid-November you will have no grass for spring,” he says.

By the time the last grazing round is complete, target average farm cover should be around 2200kg DM/ha; some paddocks will be as much as 2800kg DM/ha while those most recently grazed should be 1500kg DM/ha.

“It’s all about building a wedge of grass for spring at this stage – in other words, having grass at different heights so it can be used in sequence and does not get out of control after turnout,” he says. “The first paddock grazed in October should be the first grazed the following spring.”

Dairy beef at 18months of age at grass

Mitigating measures

Pressures on the system may make these targets difficult to hit, but mitigating measures should be used to help keep to optimal covers and dates.

“Feed silage to allow the current rotations to last longer if needed, or if it’s wet, use on-off grazing,” he says. “You should have started to sell your lambs and finished cattle, but this time of year should also be used to sell culls or any stock you don’t need to keep, so taking pressure off the swards by reducing stocking rate.

“Farmers know their own land and conditions and will need to adapt to these, but it’s important that grassland is rested over winter,” he says.

Once mid-November is reached he says it’s best to move stock away, either to housing, on tack, on to kale or fodder beet or perhaps on to some shallow, well-drained hills.

“Anything which avoids housing will save the cost of bedding, manure disposal and machinery, and the key to achieving this at this stage is to extend the grazing season,” he says.

How much can be saved?

If autumn grazing can be extended until mid-November and turnout achieved in February or early March, a saving of roughly £1 per head can be achieved for every day a suckler cow is not housed.

“It costs roughly 70p/day to keep a suckler cow at grass but increases to £1.70 if she is housed,” he says. “So, if we can get and extra few weeks’ grazing at the shoulders of the season, it can save a business a substantial sum.”

For example, 50 suckler cows grazing for roughly a month longer than usual at each end of the season will save a business a £3,000 – and that’s before youngstock are considered.

Looked at another way, grazed grass costs 6p/kg of dry matter intake whereas silage costs 12p/kg DMI.

“If you can get another month’s grazing at each end of the season it will save any farm a worthwhile sum,” he says.

Preparing for autumn closing

Step 1: Fertilise pasture before 15 Sept (in NVZ) or ASAP

Step 2: Target an average farm cover of 2600kg DM/ha by mid-September

Step 3: Begin final grazing round on 7 October (average across most farms)

Step 4: Aim for a 35-40 day final grazing round if conditions permit

Step 5: Use on-off grazing, cut stocking rate and supplement with silage if needed

Step 6: Close paddocks by removing stock to housing, tack or a catch crop in mid-Nov

Step 7: Swards should be ready for early turnout in Feb or March (farm dependent)