18. Grazing done.docx

Grazing & Grassland Management Livestock Unit (LU) A livestock unit (LU) is a measurement of livestock grazing. 1 LU = 1 dairy cow or 1 suckler cow. It is used to determine the amount of grass or winter fodder needed on a farm. Animal Livestock Unit 1 Dairy/ Suckler Cow 1 Cattle 1 – 2 years 0.6...

Grazing & Grassland Management Livestock Unit (LU) A livestock unit (LU) is a measurement of livestock grazing. 1 LU = 1 dairy cow or 1 suckler cow. It is used to determine the amount of grass or winter fodder needed on a farm. Animal Livestock Unit 1 Dairy/ Suckler Cow 1 Cattle 1 – 2 years 0.6 Cattle < 1 year 0.4 Sheep 0.15 Methods of Grazing there are many of the following methods of a rotational grazing system where animals are moved around several different grazing fields. Paddock Grazing is when land divided into paddocks of equal size. The herd grazes a new paddock every day. Grazed paddocks are fertilised and allowed to recover for at least three weeks. Paddock advantages and disadvantages: Advantage Disadvantage Fresh, leafy grass each day Expensive to set up – roadways, etc. No grass wasted Fencing and water supply needed in each paddock Strip Grazing has a moveable electric fence is used to divide a field. A fresh strip of Grass is given to the livestock each day. It requires more labour than paddock but ensures no grass is wasted Block Grazing consists of dividing up large fields into smaller blocks. Livestock graze a block for about one week. Livestock return to a block after three weeks. Zero Grazing is when cattle are housed all year round. Grass or other forage crops are cut and brought indoors & fed to the livestock. - Cattle do not graze the land. Topping is Mowing grasst to encourage tillering and can be use to contorl weeds. Leader-follower System allows the young animals (calves) graze ahead of older stock. Young animals get the freshest, leafiest, most digestible grass. There is less chance of the young animals picking up disease and parasite from the grass or older animals. Mixed Grazing allows Cattle & sheep to graze together in the same field. Tillering is increased, since sheep graze close to the ground. This also reduces the need for topping. Fertilisation of grassland Nitrogen application on grassland where there is no clover, nitrogen should be applied to maintain the quality of the grass. The most used nitrogen fertilisers are CAN, Urea and 18-6-12 Nitrogen should be applied in accordance with the Nitrates Directive. Artificial fertiliser cannot be spread in Ireland from mid-September to mid-January. Quantity and time of application are determined by whether the land is used for grazing or silage. .