Spring 2026: 5 forage actions to consider after a slow start

A wet beginning to 2026 left most farms behind on a spring grazing target of 66% by St Patrick’s Day.  Because the ground was too soft to withstand stock, swards couldn’t be cleaned out, leading to grass becoming stemmy and unpalatable, causing poor utilisation.

Other pressures impacting farm businesses are increasing costs and tight supplies on fertiliser and fuel caused by the Middle East conflict.

To support your forage production in the months ahead, grassland expert Pat Delaney has identified several grassland actions.

Optimise grazing management

Oil price instability is already impacting silage production. The Irish Farmers Journal (IFJ) estimates a cost increase of €1.20 per bale due to rising prices for diesel and wrapping.

While silage reserves need to be restored for later in the year, it’s worth looking for efficiency gains in other parts of your grassland system.

Where conditions allow, it’s essential to clean out paddocks and get areas grazed to create a wedge for the second round. For farms behind on their targets, getting other priority stock out now will help get through the grazing area.

With improving grass growth, preparing a forage budget will help you plan ahead. Assessing your farm now to ensure grass is maintained in the diet is vital to maintain animal performance. Prepare a new grazing plan and start the second rotation at a target of around 650kg DM/ha.

Achieving a good post-grazing residual will improve sward quality for upcoming grazings. By early to mid-April, the target is to have 60 units of nitrogen per acre applied on farms that are aiming to start the second rotation by the second week.

Target your reseeding efforts

Reseeded swards are higher yielding and 25% more responsive to nitrogen, and you can recoup the costs of a reseed within two years, according to Teagasc research.

So, it’s worth reseeding the lowest performing fields on your farm, or those with a high percentage of grass weeds to improve yields and sward quality.

Reseeding with high-quality grasses will ensure that you drive performance. Aber High Sugar Grasses are available exclusively from Germinal and bred to deliver up to 6% more milk yield per cow and up to 20% higher daily liveweight gain. This is achieved while also reducing emissions – find out more here.

Clover brings business resilience

With the current fertiliser situation, it’s worth refocusing on white clover. While clover needs time to start fixing nitrogen (N), it can naturally fix around 150kg N per hectare per year. This offers the dual benefit of reducing your reliance on expensive fertiliser and improving the resilience of your farm.

While supporting sustainability, clover can also lift milk and meat production. In a four-year trial by Germinal Horizon, swards with perennial ryegrass and white clover outperformed perennial ryegrass-only swards for biomass yield by 24.7%.

Forage crop options

With higher silage costs, there are several crops to consider for building forage reserves for later in the year. Starting in April, you can sow arable silage, harvesting at 10-12 weeks with 13-16% crude protein and 30% dry matter. Arable silage can also be a nurse crop for a grass reseed.

Brassicas are also effective, with each option offering different benefits. Maris Kestrel kale can be sown in May or June to produce up to 12 tonnes of dry matter per hectare (t DM/ha), with 16-18% crude protein, and can be utilised from October to February.

For an earlier option, Redstart hybrid brassica can be utilised from June if sown at the start of May. While Redstart produces up to 8t DM/ha, it can peak higher for crude protein at 20%.

Expert grassland advice

From unpredictable weather to world politics, grassland challenges can emerge with little warning. But expert forage support is always available – connect with your regional Germinal expert here.