Grassland Management

Grassland Consultancy

Grasstec offer a Grassland Consultancy service to farmers across Ireland and the UK to optimise grassland management practices on farms.

Regular visits by our consultant to the participant’s farm will focus on achieving three key activities: grass measurement, budgeting and management. The regularity and number of visits in the year is tailored towards the expertise of the farmer at whatever productivity stage they are at.

Optimisation

Establish grazing systems for the farm to maximise the intake of highly digestible grazed grass throughout the grazing season. This will facilitate a higher level of milk solids production at lower input costs.

Establish grazing systems that will optimise grass utilisation, output per hectare and farm profit.

Provide information about the latest techniques for grassland management and facilitate knowledge transfer between the dairy farmers and research centres.

Grass Measuring Service

Grasstec offers a complete grass measuring service, we will walk your farm weekly, measuring each paddock to determine Average Farm Cover. All relevant data collected during the farm walk is inputted into PastureBase which allows us to generate a Feed Budget and a Grass Wedge.

Grazed grass is the cheapest feed available to Irish farmers, in order to manage it successfully, it needs to be measured. The main benefits of measuring grass are maximising pasture growth rates, extend the grazing period, to maintain and improve pasture quality, enhancing animal performance, matching grass supply with demand and the potential to increasing stocking rate.

Key Targets

Through the grazing year, we will identify the key targets which are set for the farm. They include;

• Opening Farm Cover
  
• Spring Rotation Plan and %’s Grazed in 1st Rotation
  
• Magic Day Farm Cover
  
• Mid-Season Farm Cover or Cover/LU & Demand
  
• Late August Farm Cover
  
• Autumn Balance Date Farm Cover
  
• Autumn Rotation Plan and %’s grazed in final rotation
  
• Closing Farm Cover
  

These targets are vital to successful grassland management.

Grassland Experts

Our grassland experts will help you make informed decisions regarding the future direction of your farm, for example, the potential for increased utilisation, optimum stocking rate and reduced concentrate inputs, optimum calving date for grass supply and growth, and reseeding strategy.

Grasstec also offers a market leading Farm Mapping Service. Grasstec will map your farm with the highest level of GPS accuracy. Our experts can advise you on the most efficient paddock and roadway design to suit your farm.