Farmers urged to plan grazing
Southland dry stock farmer Ben Walling says most farmers put a lot of effort into minimising runoff from rain on their farms, because it’s their topsoil and fertiliser that’s at stake.
Cows in mud on Southland farms were a feature of headlines last year, but Walling said it was a ‘‘horrific rain event’’, and not typical.
‘‘The creeks weren’t overflowing, but they were getting pretty close. Once they overflow there’s not much you can do. Mother nature will do what she wants.’’
Moving stock in that situation can cause more damage than leaving them where they are, he said.
‘‘If you take them out of a crop paddock that is already pugged up and put them on a grass paddock which is instantly ground to mud then you have no spring grass. It’s just part of farming.’’
However, if possible during bad weather he moved his stock two or three times a day to maximise the amount they could eat and minimise damage to the paddock.
Beef and Lamb New Zealand was urging farmers to be proactive in their approach to winter grazing this year.
Last year an environmental campaign highlighted poor grazing practices by some farmers raising concerns over both animal welfare and sediment runoff into waterways.
As a result Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor set up a task force which reviewed current practices and made recommendations to be taken forward by the Winter Grazing Action Group, a cross-sector initiative.
Beef and Lamb general manager North Island Matt Ward said the actions of a few farmers were not representative of how winter grazing was done by most farmers but said there were
Lindsay Burton
Winter Grazing Action Group opportunities to refine practices in line with new science.
The yearly Beef and Lamb winter grazing campaign would build on the recommendations of the task force and had a particular focus on animal welfare, he said.
‘‘It is important stock are provided with loafing areas when they are on winter feed crops. This might mean a runoff block or standoff pad or even a headland with straw provided as bedding.’’
Forage crops, like fodderbeet or kale were important for farm systems in colder parts of the country where grass didn’t grow over winter, Ward said.
Beef and Lamb provided guidance for farmers, including grazing cattle away from waterways and other areas that get runoff during rain fall; grazing from the top of the slope; keeping the winter crop breaks long and narrow; back fencing after stock have grazed an area and using bale rings and portable water troughs for nutrition and to prevent nutrient runoff.
Many farmers made sure there was a vegetative buffer to catch sediment and keep soil in the paddock, Ward said.
But Walling reiterated that if the farm got two inches of rain, a buffer wouldn’t do much to prevent runoff.
Advice from the chair of the Winter Grazing Action Group, Lindsay Burton said farmers should follow a gradual transition plan when moving animals from pasture to crop and back again, which was particularly important for cattle feeding on fodderbeet.
‘‘For farmers, the focus heading into winter should be on providing the right feed at the right time, as well as shelter and easy access to drinking water. Doing this should have the flow-on effect of limiting stock movement and help reduce damage to crop and soil,’’ he said.
Wade urged farmers to have contingency plans for prolonged bad weather, or extreme weather events.
‘‘For farmers, the focus heading into winter should be on providing the right feed at the right time, as well as shelter and easy access to drinking water.’’