Tom Malleson (Sherborne)

The drought has broken and those who have looked after their pastures through a challenging time (fcgagric.com/2022/08/09/lessons-from-2018-dry-weather-revisited/) will be seeing a “second spring” – with high growth rates and excellent quality.  This is one of the most valuable resources on your farm, and we have the tools to manage this to best effect, to:

Current grass quality is suitable for all breeds, yield levels and stages of lactation if managed correctly:

The key to this is regular measurement to determine covers and growth rates.  From this we can formulate an autumn grass budget.  Those using packages such as Agrinet may already be familiar with this process.  For those not using such software, we can provide a template and advice to carry out this plan.  By inputting grass covers, predicted growth rates and target intakes for animals, we can project average farm cover and alter management to make best use of your grass. This will also form part of your overall forage budget, informing buying decisions and winter planning.

Measure, Plan and Act with the help of an independent eye who can help you capitalise on the value of autumn grazing and help recoup some of the high feeding costs of the last three months.

Contact Tom at tommalleson@fcgagric.com or your local FCG Office.