InTouch - September 2025

While the season will, no doubt, produce some unpredictable weather along the way, grazing quality, growth, and supply are reducing. The extended dry period over the last few weeks has seen some farms feed silage as they are very short on grass. This will become a more common occurrence, even if the weather changes, as farms will try to maximise intake of grass while also beginning to extend the autumn rotation. The target is to have a 30-day rotation by the beginning of September, rising to 40 by the end of the month, and build farm cover from approximately 750kg now to 1,000kg in that same period. This will ensure grass remains part of the diet for the future, with an autumn planner keeping one eye on springtime grass availability. If you have autumn calvers, the single most important target here is intake. Like in the springtime, it starts low but needs to be increased rapidly to support production, condition, and fertility later. Grass can continue to provide part of the diet, but quality, quantity, and weather are working against us, and cows need the required concentrate level for peak milk yield. Don’t be afraid to bring in a buffer feed like silage to support intakes when required. While quality will still be behind grass, the secret ingredient is dry matter (DM) percentage, as you are probably adding a 30 per cent dry matter (DM) feed to replace a 12 per cent DM feed in grazed grass, depending on weather. They need guaranteed dry matter intake every day, and sacrificing some quality, if grass is inconsistent, is required to achieve this.
Also, for those finishing bulls for beef, now is the time to get these animals housed. Grazed grass, as good as it looks, will not be sufficient for the thrive of these animals. The lifetime cost of these animals is important, and every day they are on the farm is a cost, no matter what diet they are consuming. It is important to keep them moving forward quickly, which will also take advantage of feed efficiency, as this reduces as the animal gets older. While price is excellent for beef at the moment, the same level of planning needs to be involved regardless covering health and vaccination, diet makeup, adaptation, rumen health, and minerals. Once they are on a finishing diet, it must be powerful, rumen-friendly, and focused on achieving a short, sharp finishing time.
Don’t forget to visit us at the Alltech and Keenan stand at the National Ploughing Championships this year if you have any nutrition-related questions or queries.