Pasture intake depends on quality of pasture

Farmers are being reminded of the importance of having high quality pasture and enough pasture at this time of year.

Pasture intake per cow depends on having high quality pasture and enough pasture available per hectare.

This is challenging through the seed-head phase on ryegrass but achievable with rotation management.

Monitoring is paramount to know when to push the rotation back out once seed-head phase is completed.

Rotation lengths need to be long enough to get critical volume, and residuals need to be low enough to get quality next time the pasture is grazed. Minimise topping but use it as a tool to reset residuals if required.

If you have surplus pasture on the milking area use silage/hay making to control residual and improve pasture quality next round.

In dryland, if pasture becomes limited in late November and soil moisture is still adequate, consider nitrogen and or a blend to boost growth. Irrigation Consider the best bang for your buck for irrigation water if water is limited. Strategically drying off areas that are low yield may be beneficial. Watering fewer paddocks well might yield more than all paddocks poorly.

Mix the dairy effluent into the irrigation water if practical – summer pastures are very responsive to the additional nutrients.

Complete an irrigation budget now to prepare for late season watering (especially if spill is unlikely) Summer Crops Target paddocks that need to be renovated to improve the pasture base on the farm and reduce the pasture that is not grown in late spring by cropping.

Have a plan of crop type, seed bed preparation, nutrient and pest management and planned grazing dates. Get advice from an agronomist if unsure.

Don’t forget the risks of cropping, such as dry hot conditions and pest attack that may mean that crops planted do not guarantee available feed from these paddocks in the summer months. Cows Do a feed budget to ensure you have enough fodder to get through the summer and autumn. This will also estimate the grain usage and give an idea of the purchased feed bill for the summer and autumn. It’s best to have this plan early.

If you are nearing the end of the joining period it may pay to assess the number of cows not in calf. Knowing the numbers of cows not in calf allows for early decisions to be made on what you will do with the empty cows. Calves and Heifers Ensure your young stock received a second 7 in 1 vaccine. This builds immunity against Clostridial diseases and Leptospirosis.

Talk to your vet about vaccinating your young stock for pink eye.

Calves require a high protein and high energy diet to keep growing. A feed budget can be done to ensure calves and other young stock have enough pasture, silage, grain and hay to gain weight and grow to planned joining and calving weights. Business and budgets Review your last quarter of GST to get an indication of cash flow if you have not done it.

If you need additional fodder or irrigation water, now is a good time to source it as it’s traditionally at its cheapest.