Description
The motivation of Ger Dineen, (Kilnamytra, Co. Cork, Ireland) is to produce as much beef from grass as possible to minimise the cost of production and to minimise workload on the farm. The farmer does this measuring grass all year round, turning out cattle to pasture in early spring, compact spring calving system and focusing on soil fertility. By focusing on grass, the farmers minimise the threat of relying on imported feed.
The farmer measures grass using the grass- hopper (a GPS-equipped rising plate meter allowing the direct use of the data within PastureBase Ireland). The farm is walked once per week and a grass surplus/deficit is identified as a result. The farmer can then make decisions to cut surplus bales or to increase meal feeding based on grass supply.
The main aspects of management are:
- Measuring grass is important to give the farmer confidence to turn out livestock early
- Measuring grass gives the farmer confidence to cut surplus bales when growth exceeds demand
- Paddock system is essential for grazing
Main actions for the future:
- Continue to grow as much grass per hectare and maximise production of kg /beef/ha and build a reserve of silage for the farm
- Grass is the cheapest source of feed on the farm, so continue to focus on it rather than alternative feeds
- Keep using innovative management practices/grazing infrastructure to extend the grazing season and reduce costs
- Continue measuring grass to make good day-to-day decisions regarding grazing covers and to generate quality end of year reports to assess DM production, number of grazing’s and, paddocks that need to be reseeded
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