The weather pattern El Niño has arrived and with this we’re seeing high winds, extreme temperature changes, and variable rainfall across the country.
According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), rainfall is likely to be below normal in the north and east of the North Island and above normal in the west of the South Island.
On farm, these conditions can have a considerable impact on milk production and animal welfare. Preparations made now can pay dividends in months to come.
Grass grows grass
Grass growth steps up a gear in October and November and it is common for paddocks to get away on farmers. The traditional solution is to close up these paddocks for silage.
Farm Source Waikato Technical Agriculture Specialist Jarno Sammet says farmers need to balance quality over quantity when it comes to silage.
“Farmers need to be aware that making heavy silage cuts of large areas gives them heaps of dry matter, but the quality will suffer. It’s the quality we will need in January, February and March when it’s really dry and there is not enough grass to go around; and what is available is low in protein and high in NDF. Farmers need to be a bit selfish when it comes down to the quality of their silage – heavy silage cuts benefit the contractors but do not produce milking quality feed.”
Ideally silage should be cut at the same height as the pasture would normally be grazed – not shading out clover and new daughter tillers for too long in the sward.
“Another thing to be aware of are the residuals. When cutting silage, you should aim for the same residual level the cows normally graze down to. If you cut any lower, you might lose a lot of ryegrass growing points so always aim for consisted residual levels throughout the year,” Jarno says.
“Clover is what gets you through summer, as it continues to grow when the ryegrass slows down or goes dormant. If you’ve killed your clover with heavy silage cuts then there’s no clover for you in February.”
Learn from the cows
Usually lush grass will become a bit stalky, which is hard work for the cows to harvest.
“Cows tend to leave more residual behind and that should be a tell-tale sign for the farmer. If the cows are not eating the grass it’s likely because the seed head has come up. Seed head means lower quality feed. But once it switches from reproductive stage to the vegetative stage, it will pump out daughter tillers again and lead to higher quality feed,” Jarno says.
“One way to mitigate this is to either mow in front of your cows or after your cows come out of a paddock. This can help hit the residuals, suppress seed heads and keep the quality of your pasture going for longer. It also encourages the ryegrass to move away from seed head production and put its resources into daughter tillers. The daughter tillers we have in November – that’s your next year’s grass. Your pasture will become thicker over time, produce more dry matter and compete with weeds.”
Feed your pasture
While much of the South Island has irrigation at its disposal to nurture lush grass, farmers in the North Island should harness the elements to encourage pasture growth.
“In December, when we usually get a little bit of rain around Christmas, put a small amount of SustaiN* nitrogen fertiliser on your pastures. This will again help the daughter tillers and make your pasture slightly more water efficient,” says Jarno.
“Nitrogen also helps prevent rust invading your pasture to a certain degree. You’ll never find rust on clover and that is because clover fixes its own nitrogen. Fungi and rusts don’t like nitrogen. So, putting nitrogen on pasture and using the last showers of the year really sets up your pasture for summer.”
Visit your Farm Source store or contact your TSR to find out more about preparing your pasture for summer.
*Ballance SustaiN is a specially formulated nitrogen fertiliser containing AGROTAIN® – a nitrogen stabiliser that reduces nitrogen losses from ammonia volatilisation.