A cold air mass covering the UK this Bank Holiday weekend will bring a dip in temperatures with some sharp night frosts likely.
Despite solid growth rates so far this year, researchers on a UK-wide grass measuring project warn the colder temperatures will cause grass growth to dip below the long-term average.
Weather forecast
With high pressure to the west of the UK, western areas will see mostly settled conditions, whereas eastern areas, particularly the North East, will see more in the way of sunshine and showers.
Saturday will see a cold and frosty start for many with plenty of sunshine in the west, but windy and showery conditions in the east.
There is a risk of heavy showers for the Midlands and South East, with a risk of hail, and some of the showers could be wintry over higher ground in the north.
Sunday will be generally dry away from the far North East where showers are expected to continue, and these are likely to spread southwards introducing more of a spilt by Monday, with showers in the North East and settled, dry weather in the South West.
Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “After cold, frosty starts and cool days for many across the Bank Holiday weekend, daytime temperatures will gradually recover early next week; however, they will not come near the high values we saw over the Easter weekend.”
After the Bank Holiday weekend, the weather is expected to become more unsettled, perhaps with spells of wet and windy weather across southern and central areas at times.
Brighter conditions could remain in the far north, but there is still some uncertainty about exact locations and durations.
Temperatures are expected to slowly increase to more typical values for the time of year, although it is likely to remain rather cold in the north for most of the coming week.
Grass forecast
The drop in air temperature over the next two weeks is has forced GrassCheck researchers to set growth predictions below average for this time of year.
In Northern Ireland, GrassCheck data shows grass growth rates have continued to improve this past week, supported by high soil temperatures.
Samples taken on farms showed grass quality remained and now is a good time to review potential maintenance plus values for grass.
Image source: GrassCheck
Good growth on silage paddocks in recent weeks means many farms are considering taking first cut ahead of schedule. However, farmers are advised to make sure to test grass ensilability before cutting.
Over the next two weeks, researchers forecast average growth rates of 70kg DM/ha/day.
In GB, the project showed Following a warm and sunny Easter weekend, growth has risen sharply across the country, averaging 62.5 kg DM/ha/day across all GrassCheck GB farms, and significantly above average for this time of year.
Image source: GrassCheck GB
Grass quality has been variable for crude protein, likely reflecting the timings of nitrogen application.
However, on average grass sugar content has increased to 21.2% (DM) and energy to 11.2 MJ/kg DM, providing good energy nutrition for animal performance.
With growth rates expected to remain strong, be aware of covers growing in excess of the target pre-grazing residual (2,800-3,000kg DM/ha) and take action to remove these paddocks from the rotation for silage.
