Forage Watch

NWF Weekly Grass Watch – 29th July 2022

29th July 2022

This week average grass growth across GB has fallen to 28.1kg DM/ha/day, however a considerable range was seen from a 46kg DM/ha/day average in Scotland and 16kg DM/ha/day average in the East Midlands and Southeast. With continued dry weather forecast for most over the coming week, grass growth rates are likely to decline further where rain fall is limited.

NWF Weekly Grass Watch – 22nd July 2022

22nd July 2022

Following last week’s extreme heatwave, average grass growth across GB has fallen significantly with the country average at 32.4kg DM/ha/day. Many regions saw a drop in grass growth, with the West Midlands falling by 21kg DM/ha/day to the lowest average across the country of 16kg DM/ha/day. With varied rainfall forecast across the country, grass growth recovery will differ significantly on individual farms, making it hugely important to carefully manage the grass to help improve the quality and future grazing availability.

NWF Weekly Grass Watch – 15th July 2022

15th July 2022

As expected with the extremely hot weather and limited rainfall, average grass growth across GB has declined over the last week to 40.6kg DM/ha/day and continues to be below levels recorded for the last 3 years. With the continued hot and dry weather forecast for much of the country, grass growth will likely remain significantly below averages for the next week. With available grass becoming a potentially limiting factor on intakes it is important to target the best quality forage to the most productive cattle and supplement other fibre sources where needed. It is also important to adjust concentrate supplementation to the forage that is available, reducing expectations of performance from forage where applicable.