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Ag NewsThursday, 23 August 2007 By Department of Primary Industries - 27th August 2007 - Back to News SPRING SECRETS FOR MAKING GOOD PASTURE
As Gippsland heads into spring after a long dry spell, it is important for grazing farmers to maximise on pasture growth to ensure they are able to produce and conserve as much high quality forage as possible while the growing conditions are good.
During winter, pasture quantity is usually more limiting on most farms than quality. However, once spring arrives and growth increases, then pasture quality should become the focus.
Hopefully, pasture growth will exceed herd requirements for most Gippsland farmers by early to mid September. However, if the pasture has been continually overgrazed, then it is likely that the spring surplus will be later with the possibility of reduced yields.
With this in mind, there are five essential keys to pasture management to remember:
- Ensure the rotation is shortened to maintain pasture quality and change your grazing indicator from 2½-3 leaf stage to 2-2½ leaf stage.
- Ensure a 5-6 cm post-grazing pasture residual by adjusting the area grazed and/or the rate of supplement fed per day.
- It is important to only lock up pasture for conservation that is surplus to the herd’s requirements. A rule of thumb for deciding how many paddocks to lock up is to graze paddocks in the same order each rotation, and if the next paddock is beyond the ideal leaf stage, skip it and drop it out of the rotation until ready to be cut for silage or hay.
- Consider using nitrogen fertiliser at rates of 50-70 kg N/ha, and ensure pasture is cut within 4-6 weeks of application.
- Plan to cut pasture at the very early heading stage, ideally before the heads emerge, to ensure the best quality silage for your herd.
If you would like more information, please contact your nearest DPI dairy or beef extension officer at Ellinbank on 5624 2222, Leongatha on 5622 9900 or Maffra on 5147 0800; or visit www.dairy.australia.com.au for a feed.FIBRE.future fact sheet.
DAIRY REMINDERS FOR SEPTEMBER
Pasture
- Consider the value of applying nitrogen fertiliser or a nitrogen blend to boost your silage and hay yields.
- If your pastures have been badly pugged through winter, decide whether the damaged paddocks need to be rolled, harrowed, smudged, oversown or completely re-sown.
- Plan your summer fodder cropping program to take advantage of spring soil moisture.
Cows
- Ensure milking cows are fully fed at all times during the year. Do not reduce cow intake in an effort to gain extra silage harvest.
- Have cows in a positive weight gain to maximise conception rates.
- Record details of any non-cycling cows and submit them for a vet check early. Don’t wait for the end of the mating period.
- To avoid problems with lameness, add mulch or wood chips to muddy tracks and yard entrances.
Calves
- If you have calves to feed this spring and have little or no conserved forage on hand, you may need to feed them a diet containing more pasture and more grain/concentrate that is lower in NDF and effective fibre. For more details see the feed.FIBRE.future Factsheet "Transition feeding with limited effective fibre" available on the web at www.dairyaustralia.com.au and follow the links.
Irrigation
- Aim to have the re-use dam empty at the start and finish of irrigation to allow the capture of irrigation run-off or harvest rainfall events.
Soil testing
- Spring is the ideal time to soil test your paddocks. Contact your local fertiliser representative for a soil sampling kit.
Environment
- Watch out for weed growth and keep on top of the problem by spraying annual weeds to avoid seed set. Also, keep baiting for foxes.
- Time your fertiliser applications to avoid run-off. Do not apply to saturated soils or just prior to a significant rainfall event. Use the seven day weather forecasts to check for rainfall prior to fertiliser spreading.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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