Henry Walsh: Mini droughts do tremendous good to all soils in the west

Henry Walsh says annual grass growth is slightly up on last year

Henry Walsh

July 23 2021 07:03 AM

We are enjoying an incredible spell of glorious sunshine and high temperatures.

It almost sounds like the weather our parents told us about when they were growing up, saving the hay wearing straw hats, the tar melting on the roads and drawing water every day.

Everything we expect while on a sun holiday abroad has been at our fingertips here at home over the last few weeks, from outdoor dining to garden BBQs, sunbathing and staycations. We all benefit from the sun and, in general, the more it shines, the better for our physical and mental well-being.

Farm update on grass and milk production

On the July 22, the cows had delivered 282kg/ms, slightly ahead of last year (15kg) with fat and protein percentage also both slightly ahead by (.03) from 440kg of meal fed similar to 2020.

Annual grass growth here on the milking platform is also up slightly on last year at 7.8 tonnes.

This is a slight surprise because, in general, the earlier part of the year was drier and colder than normal, but also confirms my observations during the year that while we were tight on grass, by trusting our grass measurements and holding our nerve, we got through the pinch points and the rain or heat came just in time.

Farm cover today is 616 or 144 per cow, which is too low, with growth showing 60 but reducing, and demand at 64. Milk production is currently 20.2 litres at 4.6 fat and 3.75 protein, giving 1.74ms/day on 2kg and scc averaging 105.

We are doing our third DIY milk recording of 2021 this evening and this information will add to our decision making as we look to improve our herd for the future by taking out the lowest 10pc and only breeding dairy Ai to the best cows in the herd.

The twin objective is to improve profitability while reducing our carbon footprint per litre of milk produced.

Drought, clover and optimising resources

We are heading into another pinch point now with this incredible heat, so next week will see us looking for rain.

Even though we may have to supplement in the short term, I always welcome the sunshine because I believe mini droughts do tremendous good to all soils here in the west by assisting drainage and reducing compaction, which brings massive benefits to soil structure and health.

It also brings the added financial benefit of releasing free background nitrogen from the soil and nearly always results in a longer growing season at the back end.

We have reduced our overall farm stocking rate this year by keeping only enough replacements for ourselves, based on normal scanning results.

This allowed us to reduce nitrogen by a further five per cent again on top of last year’s reductions on the milking platform, and an even greater reduction on the outfarms, with none of the grazing ground getting N since May and old sward’s (30 years plus) showing clover gaining ground.

The EPA are now placing such a focus on nitrogen and phosphorus testing in our rivers and lakes that it is critically important we are aware of the soil nutrient status on our farms, as well as the weather forecast and current ground conditions, including soil temperature when applying fertiliser.

It is imperative we maximise the utilisation of nutrients already on farms, e.g. slurry, so that additional purchases do not lead to losses into our groundwater, which can be, quite literally, money down the river.

The new reseeds from last year are very clearly populated with clover and the next step will be to manage them so they are fixing nitrogen, allowing us to reduce nitrogen applications for the rest of the summer and hopefully many summers to come.

There is a huge amount of trial/research work done on clover in Solohead and Clonakilty on how to maximise its productivity and longevity.

Grazing practices are slightly different in some ways, but other things like PH, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) must be maintained at optimal level to maximise its ability to fix nitrogen, therefore grow large volumes of grass.

One of the management practices is to apply (front load) the nitrogen until mid-May, then the clover should (kick in) be fixing as temperatures rise.

Henry and Patricia Walsh farm in Oranmore, Co Galway, along with their son Enda and neighbour and outfarm owner John Moran.