Winter crop cultivation
4 min read
Winter crop cultivation is a crucial part of setting up for winter. Be sure to have a detailed plan that includes aspects like paddock slope, swales, gullies, waterways, and buffer zones. Follow the national intensive winter grazing rules to protect both the environment and animals. Remember, cultivating across slopes and leaving grass buffers at their bottom reduces soil loss. For paddocks on a steep slope, consider an alternative paddock for winter cropping or consider reviewing your winter grazing system. Discuss your plan with your contractor before you start to make sure you get the results you want.
Ensuring paddocks are cultivated with agreed management strategies will reduce the risk to animals and the environment. Soil cultivation removes vegetation and exposes the soil to the weather, increasing the risk of soil loss in runoff during wet weather. Nitrogen, phosphorus, soil and E. coli losses from winter forage crops are much higher than those from pasture grazed during other times of the year.
Please check in with national regulations and regional rules and milk suppliers regarding winter grazing.
Having a detailed cultivation plan for every paddock will help you meet winter grazing requirements. Plans should include any critical source areas to avoid; swales, gullies, waterways, paddock slope, and the required width of the buffer.
Your contractor is an essential part of setting up your farm for successful wintering. Ensure your contractor has all the information required before they start. Sharing detailed cultivation plans with your contractor before cultivation begins will ensure they know what is expected and prevent any future complications.
Before starting, consider the following:
I am clear on the direction I want the paddock cultivated. I want the contractors to cultivate across the slope to avoid soil getting washed out in heavy rain.
Farmer tip
The presence of slope, swales, gullies and waterways increase the risk of sediment, E.coli and phosphorus loss to waterways. Careful management of these areas has been shown to significantly reduce losses, and uncultivated buffers around waterways act as a filter for overland flow.
Creating an uncultivated buffer at the bottom of the slope will help to reduce the risk of sediment from winter crops entering the waterway. The national intensive winter grazing rules require a minimum 5m buffer around waterways, wetlands or drains (regardless of whether there is any water in it at the time).
Buffers around waterways, swales and gullies (including drains) need to be left in grass and ungrazed through the whole winter period. Buffers around critical source areas need to maintain vegetation cover until after 30 September. Please check with national rules and your regional council to determine if a wider buffer is required under local regulations.
Crops should only be planted on slopes that are 10° or less. If you wish to plant on slopes over 10°, they will require a consent or a certified freshwater farm plan. This requirement is part of the wintering regulations that have been in place from 1 November 2022.
An unsprayed, uncultivated swale
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Critical source area left in grass with a wide buffer
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Critical source areas can occur in all parts of the farm, even if relatively flat
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We put up a semi-permanent fence around critical source areas before the paddock is cultivated. This guarantees that it is not cultivated or grazed.
Farmer tip
Once you have considered your cropping you may like to view setting up.