As we approach St. Patrick's Day, grazing continues to be a challenge on the majority of farms given the recent weather.

Farmers have always been told they should be targeting a 60% graze out on the milking platform by St. Patrick's Day.

This year the target has pushed to 30% grazed by the same day, however a huge amount of cows are still waiting to see grass in 2026.

That means a lot of farms will be a mile off these targets - and that is ok: they are only targets after all.

But it is important to remember why the targets are there.

They help us achieve the high quality feed we want in front of the herd at all times, which in turn drives production.

The targets also help to get paddocks ready for a smooth second rotation as well as silage.

When we are well off target, grass walks need to be consistent, allowing farmers to make calculated decisions on what paddocks should be grazed out first.

Grass growth is nearing 20kg dry matter (DM)/ha, which means there is plenty of grass there, which needs to be managed well before getting too strong.

Grassland management

As it stands, the situation is still very much so 'graze what you can, when you can' for a lot of farms.

These farms need to continue to identify areas that are suitable, and focus on getting these areas grazed between the showers and when under foot conditions are suitable.

This should be done through on/off grazing, as two to three hours grazing in the morning when hungry after milking will be sufficient to get grass in the diet and leave a good clean out.

At the end of the day, it is mid-March and optimism needs to be used to make the best of every grazing opportunity.

DM intakes will be around the 17kg mark for a cow that calved in the first week of February, so it is important to continue adjusting grass allocations to optimise grazing.

Continue to bridge any deficits in DM intakes with high quality silage, as well as concentrates in the parlour.

We will not feel it until breeding season is upon us, so cows need to be in the right condition or else you may face issues with infertility.

Dry farms that do have cows at grass consistently must continue to carry out farm walks, and refer to grass budgets and wedges.

Despite spring grazing being so stunted, with such a volume of cows calved down, they will not be long mowing through grass, leaving the possibility of shortages in April.