PASTURE PRODUCTION FOR A DAIRY FARMER
ZAMBIAis enjoying locally produced milk by our local dairy farmers. Yes, they are contributing to the economy of this nation. But, what is involved in milk production?
For a dairy cow to produce this liquid we call milk, it must, meaning the cow must be fed well. Hence, the dairy farmer must make all efforts to have good pasture from which this cow would get good nutrition through improved grazing. So today we shall look at pasture on which the cow gets its bulk of the food it eats.
First we have unimproved pasture, this refers to grass which is unsuitable for milk production. The local or indigenous grass species have a short growth cycle (two to three months) to maturity. And once maturity is reached protein content and digestibility drop rapidly, this is usually towards the end of the rainy season. Therefore, milk production from such pasture is less.
The production of dry matter from such veld is not as high as for planted pastures, especially where rainfall is adequate and soil fertility enough for the higher production potential of improved species.
Improved pasture, this involves improved species that are superior in quality terms. As a result of improvements in quality and quantity, more animals can be carried per hectare and this would mean higher stocking rates can be used and milk production per cow is higher.
On improved grass pastures, with little or no fertilizer, these stocking rates can be doubled. For dairy animals, however, even improved pasture cannot provide high quality roughage all year round unless irrigated. This means that for milk production, improved grass pasture as grazing can only provide the complete roughage requirements of a dairy cow from the beginning of the rainy season to the end inclusive.
After the rainy season the dairy cow will normally be supplemented with conserved roughages or grass-legume grazing, this will increase the cow’s energy and protein intake.
Improved grasses can also be planted with pasture legumes species. This has the advantage that forage of higher protein quality is produced with only phosphate applications and dry matter production is about the same as for straight grass pastures.
Improved pastures, properly managed, give measureable benefits in animal production. However, extra investment is required and a program of pasture development must proceed accordingly to available funds.
For the Zambian dairy farmer Rhodes grass seed is in most cases readily available, it can either be imported or locally produced. This provides grazing of good quality but needs replanting in general after 3 or 4 years due to loss of vigor.
Rhodes grass is established usually by broadcasting seed, often mixed with superphosphate into a fine tilth seed bed and then rolled or at least lightly covered with harrows or branches. It should be adequately fertilized for best results.
Star grass is a more common pasture in Zambia, partly because it is a permanent pasture once established, and also because it withstands heavy grazing and responds well to fertilization. It also has the advantage where labor is readily available and cheap that it is planted by runners. The fertilizer requirements are similar to Rhodes grass.
A good procedure for establishing star grass is to plant runners in the required paddocks with minimum fertilization. It can be inter-planted with maize if the farmer so wishes and then fertilize according to the stocking rate required.
Night paddocks with their high fertility level are very suitable for star grass which then only required super-phosphate for good establishment. Well fertilized and stocked star grass paddocks will give increased milk income. A proportion of this income should then be re-invested in higher fertilizer applications. More intensive pasture use means more cattle can be carried on the higher quality pastures and on the farm as a whole, without increased fencing costs.
Rotational grazing may be superior to set-stocking that is keeping cattle on the same area continuously. It may not give any higher production on a properly stocked star grass pasture. Here the cost of fencing is very much in favour of set stocking.
Grazing plans.
There should be an overall plan for the management of available grazing on the farm. This plan must take into account the following; 1. The quality of forage available and the rates of forage growth at different
times of the year.
2. The nutritive value of the
forage
3. The requirements of the different groups of grazing animals on the farm.
The amount of conserved fodder required or available, either from the grazing or other sources.
The number of animals (expressed as livestock units) present at different times of the year, the number of herds require and the number in each herd.
Milking cows should have access to the highest quality grazing available. This means that milking cows should in general be grazed on well fertilized improved pasture at a stocking rate which allows cows to select a high percentage of leaf.
This is a guide for pasture production of emerging dairy farmers. Next week we look at fodder crops for milk production.