Grassland Management Tips for October

Grass10 Advisor, John Conroy, joins Catherine Egan with grassland management tips for the month ahead.

John discusses closing up paddocks in rotation, starting with the paddocks near the farmyard – the sheltered and the driest paddocks that will be grazed in early spring.

He outlines the targets for the month ahead to extend grazing, reduce demand to maximise days at grass and aim to have 60% of the farm closed by the first week of November.

John also reminds farmers that the deadline to declare fertiliser closing stocks is fast approaching. 

The declaration must be submitted through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s MyAgFood.ie portal, with October 15, 2026, the final date for submissions. 

Where a farmer has fertiliser remaining, the closing stock declaration must include the type of fertiliser and the quantity of each product being held. Farms with no fertiliser in stock must also submit a nil declaration. Closing Stocks are classified as any fertiliser held on hand at 23.59 on September 14 each year.

And don’t forget, October 31st is the last day for spreading farmyard manure, where weather and ground conditions allow. The closed period begins on 1 November. Farmyard manure must not be stored in fields during the closed period.

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com