Latest News

• Add My News • Search Old News

Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary Industries

Ag News

27/03/07

By Department of Primary Industries - 27th March 2007 - Back to News

DROUGHT RECOVERY IDEAS

No doubt every farmer is looking to increase the speed of recovery from the drought and shorten the time to return to profitability, so here are some ideas for consideration.

Focusing on home-grown feed

• Existing perennial pasture on your farm is going to provide the bulk of your feed. Over-grazing will slow drought recovery. Strategies to get pasture cover up as quickly as possible include providing good cow intake, use long rotations and/or use sacrifice paddocks immediately after the break.
• A ryegrass plant will fill in a 10 cm or 4 inch space in the pasture, so this is a guide to whether additional seeding might be necessary. There is a case for drilling extra seed to get more early growth from open pastures. The economics will need to consider the cost of seeding, the likely extra early growth and the return from the extra feed.
• Alternative forages that produce more feed in autumn/winter may be an option for part of the farm. Choice of paddock will be important. The paddock must be capable of being strip grazed in late autumn/winter. Consider your more open pastures for cropping. There is not much point trying to grow a crop on an infertile paddock, so apply appropriate fertiliser to give the crop a good start.

Other options

• Urea can be used to boost pastures and fill a feed shortage. There will be significant mineralised nitrogen in the soil, so an application should not be needed for the first four weeks after the break.
• Control weeds in autumn before they compete with pastures/crops. Broadleaf weeds are easily controlled as seedlings at 6 – 8 weeks after the break.
• Pest control should also be considered. The usual suspects of lucerne flea, earth mites, slugs, and cockchafers should be monitored. It is most critical in the early stages after the break.
• Extend lactations of empty dairy cows rather than cull productive cows. The majority of modern dairy cows can comfortably milk on for another season.
• Agistment may become available if we get widespread rains. Agistment should be much cheaper than purchasing feed for dry cows and young stock.
• Soil fertility (P,K,S) does not change greatly within a year. If the soil fertility levels on your farm are adequate, the annual autumn fertiliser application could be deferred, if this suits cash-flow. For crops and paddocks of lower fertility, it is advisable to apply fertiliser now.
• Typical animal health issues post-drought include thin cows and nitrate poisoning. Thin cows are at greater risk in cold and wet conditions. If in this position, provide sheltered paddocks and good nutrition during adverse weather to avoid losses. Feed them as well as possible at the point of calving to minimise calving problems and metabolic diseases.
• Nitrate poisoning is associated with natural mineralisation in the soil and use of nitrogen fertiliser, hence it is most common in the weeks following the break. Plants that accumulate nitrites include capeweed, oats, brassicas and annual/short rotation ryegrass. Management includes not applying nitrogen fertiliser immediately after the break to paddocks considered to have high mineralisation over summer, diluting the intake of high-risk feed by ensuring cows are well fed before the paddock is grazed and restricting access to short periods (eg 2 hours) until the stock have adapted.

STOCKPLAN WORKSHOP FOR GIPPSLAND

StockPlan is a series of computer programs to help sheep and cattle producers manage droughts.

The one-day workshop will be held on Tuesday 3 April 2007, at the East Gippsland Institute of TAFE, 44 Main St, Bairnsdale.

The workshop starts with morning tea from 9.30am and will conclude by 3pm. The free workshop includes a copy of the computer program, user manual and lunch.

StockPlan is a useful tool for evaluating the following questions:

• How much will it cost to feed my stock for a specified time?
• How will my decision affect my flock or herd numbers and financial position over the next year and up to 10 years?
• Is it better to feed, sell or agist sheep and cattle?

These options are explored through three computer programs: Drought Pack, Im Pack and Feed-Sell-Agist Pack that participants will work with on the day. There will also be discussions on ‘management ideas that work in droughts’ and ‘climate variability’.

Registration is essential for catering. Computers are provided for participants to work on, however it would be appreciated if those who own their own laptop could bring them along.

For further workshop details and registration, please phone Annette Taylor at DPI Ararat on (03) 5355 0531.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com