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Excessive forage utilisation over winter, resulting in short residual sward heights (SH), may compromise spring production of native Campos grasslands. To assess the relationship between end-of-winter SH and subsequent spring dry matter (DM) on offer, an experiment was carried out in 2020 and 2021 to describe forage dynamics for swards clipped at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm as winter residual SH during five sampling dates throughout spring. Each year, 150 homogeneous plots (0.2 x 0.5 m) were arranged in a complete random block design experiment with six replicates (blocks). In both years, residual end-of-winter SH affected spring forage DM on offer but only had a small effect on net DM accumulation. The magnitude and extent of this response differed between years (interaction year* treatment, p<0.001). The main climatic difference between years was less rain in 2021 compared to 2020, yet, there was a greater DM on offer and greater net increase in DM accumulation in 2021. Average minimum temperature was greater in 2 021 and may account for these year effects. There was little effect of low residual SH at the end of winter on subsequent spring DM production, but the extra DM within the system, by planning to have a greater SH at the end of winter, provided a buffer to render the whole system more weather-resilient.