Forage for Knowledge

I’m writing this on the 31 March after a full day of working in the sun, with temperatures in the high teens, so growth is on its way.

The data shows good average covers. The drier weather has helped cows graze down some higher covers.

Grass quality

Grass quality is great. Average DM is 21.6%. This reflects the end of the first rotation, because first round grass tends to be drier than the second round.

ME is 12.5. With dry weather, good grazing conditions and high energy levels, there’s potential to drive milk from grass and reduce concentrate use.

CP is averaging 20.3%, which is more than enough for cow requirements. This means it’s time to reduce protein levels in the concentrate as well.

What Balance Day means

We’re approaching Balance Day when grass growth matches or exceeds demand.

This is the end of the spring rotation planner, where allocation was dependent on an area allocation per day. Now, rotation length and area allocated are dependent on cow demand, with rotation length set by growth rate.

Managing high average covers

Some farms have higher than ideal average covers. Now is the time to reset. Once growth exceeds demand, you can’t eat your way out of the problem.

For most farms, this means taking early cuts to bring average cover back to 2,100 to 2,300 kg DM/ha. Growth is rising fast, so we can afford to be reasonably aggressive with how much we cut. However, work out expected growth against demand so you don’t run out of grass.

On the part of the platform that is cut, start grazing it again at 2,400 to 2,500 to reform a wedge. Try to cut as low as you can so you don’t end up with a 2,200 kg DM/ha stubble.

Moving from first round to second round

Transition cows from first round to second round grass over four to five days. They are different feeds, so this gives rumen bugs time to transition. One way to do this is to offer 12 hours of first round grass followed by 12 hours of second round grass.

Challenging costs

In a lower income year, where can you be challenging yourself on cost of production?

Reviewing concentrate use

A full diet of good quality grass is enough for 2 to 2.3 kg milk solids. Could you be feeding less? You will never know if this is possible unless you challenge cows.

Reviewing fertiliser use

Everywhere I have seen, grass is a strong green with no signs of nitrogen shortage. I would continue applying nitrogen after grazing. However, it is another area to assess. You may not need to apply as much.

This is a big statement for me to make, so I do caveat by saying you must check your own situation.

Sections 2 and 3 of The Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) provide book figures for nutrient content and availability and it’s reliable. If you want to check your own, make sure pits are well stirred before taking a sample. Testing is relatively cheap and unless you change your farming system radically it will be accurate year after year.

Grazing for higher yielding herds

Grazing isn’t just for block-calving, grass-based systems. There are financial benefits for higher yielding herds too.

AHDB’s The Year of Great Grazing webinar highlighted this through discussions with three dairy farms running high-yielding cows. They shared their reasons and their experiences of grazing their herds.

The potential is there. Our challenge is to make the most of it.