Understanding soil saturation and supplement requirements in the current conditions

On this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge, James Humphreys and Brian Garry join Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss the different aspects of dairy management – from soil saturation to supplement requirements - following the heavy rainfall.

James explains what soil saturation readings mean. 60% of soils are made up of sand, silt and clay. The remaining 40% is made up of air pockets. Saturation occurs when the air pockets fill with water in the event of rainfall and flooding.

James explains that where grazing conditions are difficult and damage occurs in paddocks in the first rotation, it is important that this is not repeated in the subsequent round.

Brian reviews the supplement requirements for dairy cows depending on the level of grazed grass in the diet, explaining the limiting nutrients and also the crude protein requirements.

He explains that where cows are out for 3 hours after each milking, whether they require feeding indoors once they are removed from paddocks is highly dependent on whether they have achieved sufficient intake at grass.

Brian also recommends that farmers increase the allocation of grass and monitor post grazing residuals to assess whether the cows have a greater appetite to eat more than expected based on stage of lactation.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/