In part 2 of our interview with John McNamara, we find out about the grassland management on John's dairy farm.

John explains that the grazing season starts in August of the previous year. He starts extending his grazing rotation and building farm cover in August, hitting peak farm cover in later September and closing the farm from at an appropriate cover to carry grass into the spring.

He explains that the farm is heavy meaning the shoulder periods of the grazing season can be a challenge. John accepts this challenge each year by employing all the grazing technologies such as on/off grazing and back fencing.

When considering KPIs for grazing, John thinks figures like 10 grazings per paddock are really important for him and believes if you can get off to a good start during the spring rotation, you are on the right track.

Turning our attention to the Grass 10 open day on his farm in Knockainey on April 24th, John welcomes all farmers and their families to the event. On the day, we can expect to get an insight to excellence in grassland on the McNamara family farm.

For more information:

https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/national-events/events/open-day---john-mcnamara-.php