Dairy cows grazing in the rain near Calliaghstown, Co Meath. \ Ramona Farrelly The rain earlier this week was a big help to many farmers around the country who were supplementing cows and cattle in order to reduce demand and stop the average farm cover (AFC) falling too low. The cold, dry weather over the last month had a big effect on grazed ground and regrowths have been poor. In some areas, rainfall was low and there is very little rain forecast over the next seven days. It is very important not to let AFC fall below 550kg DM/ha or you risk running into a grass shortage.