Grass Growth Projection In Ireland: An Expected Information, From The Farmer To The Government

Thanks to an agricultural surface composed of more than 80% of grassland and a temperate climate, grazing represents the major economic advantage of the Irish dairy industry. The value-creation of grass per hectare thanks to a rigorous and anticipated grazing management is the most discriminating factor in the changes of profits observed between farms. Predicting grass growth at the farm level is a major issue that allows farmers to better anticipate grass surpluses or deficits. Since 2018, the MoSt GG grass growth model has been used to predict grass growth on Irish farms spread across the country. Forecasts are sent to farmers, advisors and government departments every Tuesday. Since August 2020, these forecasts have also been shown every Sunday on national television (RTE One) during the Farmer Forecast. Using the decision support tool, PastureBase Ireland, the previous week's growth in each Irish county can be compared to the growth in previous years (7 years), enabling the deviation from normal to be assessed. The growth forecasts can then be used to predict the evolution of this trend in the coming week. The uptake of this information by dairy farmers is high and initial survey feedback has shown that farmers involved in these forecasting networks take it into account when making grazing management decisions.