The spring grazing discipline that pays off all year

Summer may be months away. But how your pastures carry you through summer is being determined right now, and with it your production of both grass and milk plus something else we simply can’t do without – clover.

Consistent pasture management sets up feed quantity, quality and utilisation for the season ahead. At the same time, with nitrogen fertiliser prices elevated it will give your clover every chance and supports farm efficiency and resilience. Graham Kerr, Pasture Specialist for Barenbrug, says setting clover up for summer is all about your pasture management now. 

“Growth rates will take off, we’ll have surplus cover and seeding will happen in November. It’s predictable and it happens every year! Understanding what is happening in the pasture helps us manage it. 

“When ryegrass tillers go to seed, that means they will die. So controlling them through consistent residuals, assisting at times by silage and mowing, allows the next generation of the pasture to come through, in the form of the new or ’daughter’ tillers.  

“These tillers are what you will milk off for the coming 12 months. They help keep pastures thick and healthy, so they last longer. If we don’t get enough daughter tillers, pastures will be thin and vulnerable going into summer.” 

So back to the clover. Fortunately, the best thing for daughter tillers right now is also good for your cows and your clover, and that is avoiding high pasture covers. Graham’s advice? “The rules of pasture management are simple; they have to be as the weather is continually changing.

“There are only three rules: First, graze at the 2.5 to 3 leaf stage, before spring covers exceed 3200kg dry matter (DM)/ha. Second, aim for consistent post-grazing residuals of about 1500kg DM/ha. Third, repeat rules one and two each day.” 

Graham says the ʻart’ of grazing management is following these rules as well as you can through variable weather conditions and pasture growth rates. 

“When things don’t go to plan, the trick is to rectify the issue asap. Graze earlier? Mow? Shut up for silage? Whatever works.” 

He emphasises that the benefits you will reap are large. In terms of pasture this allows sunlight to reach the base of the pasture to stimulate daughter tiller production and growth. Your cows will appreciate the result, because following best practice around pre- and post-grazing residuals makes it easier for cows to maximise their pasture intake and milk solids production. Clover loves it too, because heavy pasture covers and poor grazing residuals starve clover plants of light and nutrients. 

With the renewed interest in keeping clover content in pastures as high as possible, every plant is worth encouraging, Graham points out.

“We know many farmers have been seeking advice recently about how to increase their clover populations,” he says.

“That’s something we’re always very keen to support; clover offers so much in the way of pasture yield, quality and cow performance, as well as free nitrogen fixation. There are few farms which wouldn’t benefit from growing more of it!”

“Oversowing more clover seed onto pastures is a possible solution. But we recommend checking nutrient levels first, as clover is sensitive to these.” 

For more expert advice on making the most of your pastures this spring, talk to your local Farm Source TSR.
 

Article supplied by Barenbrug.