Production and Feeding

Description: Determine your farm's autumn/winter feed supply and demand with these easy-to-use feed budgeting forms:

Description: Determine your farm's autumn/winter feed supply and demand with this easy-to-use feed budgeting calculator.

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Description: Average pasture growth data for New Zealand dairy farms

Important Notes

All pasture growth rate data must be treated with caution due to the large number of factors that influence the information. E.g. nitrogen fertiliser use, soil fertility, method of measurement, climate, pasture species, irrigation, etc

The data presented here is based on averages from several years for specific sites. Some sites include nitrogen fertiliser boosted growth rates, indicated in the notes column. The years that data represents, the method of assessment and the source of the data are also shown.

Methods

Whole Farm

This method involves calculating growth rates based on changes in pasture cover of ungrazed paddocks. Pasture cover is assessed by rising plate meter (RPM), probe, or by eye. The total grown is usually less than that estimated by the cage method. This shows the effect of management on pasture growth.

Cage

Two cages are positioned in several paddocks typical of the farm. Pasture cover at the start of a period (usually a month) within each cage is assessed by rising plate meter, probe, or cuts. Measurements are made again on a grazed area onto which the cage is rolled. Growth rates are calculated by the "difference" method and equations to convert RPM reading to pasture cover. These equations are usually the ones found on the Dexcel website, but can vary with location.

Annual pasture grown, as estimated by use of cages, is usually higher than that estimated by the whole farm method. Piggot (1997) found that annual pasture grown was 30% higher than that estimated by the whole farm method. The relative differences were greatest in September and from January to May. The role of pasture management was illustrated by the observation that some farms were capable of producing whole farm annual pasture yields within 10% of the cage estimate for annual pasture yield.

For more information, please refer to Pasture production of northern dairy farms. G.J. Piggot, 1997. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 59: 103-106.

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This tool suggests a more objective way of calculating the optimum stocking rate of your farm.

Stocking rate is a measure of the carrying capacity of a dairy farm unit. It is a crude measure of annual feed supply and demand. Stocking rate has traditionally been measured as cows per hectare.

When this measure was introduced it was a good way to benchmark farms as the majority of farms operated under similar farm management practices.

Over the last fifteen years dairy farm systems have evolved significantly, particularly in the Waikato.

What is the Comparative Stocking Rate (CSR)?

Definition:

CSR is defined as kg LWT/tDM and the optimum level for per cow production, per hectare production and profitability is between 80 and 90.

Use:

CSR can be used to compare across dairy farms, dairy farm systems and areas.

Accuracy:

CSR is not 100% accurate but is a much better indicator of the match between feed demand and supply than cows per ha. The accuracy of the calculated CSR is dependent on the information used. Farm monitoring of annual pasture production, quantities of imported feed and cow liveweight will lead to a more accurate result than using generic local data.

To calculate the CSR for your farm, and determine the effect stocking rate has on your:

• milk production
• farm efficiency

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Description:  Record and calculate the Body Condition Score (BCS) of your herd on this PDF.

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Description:  This video will help you to assess the Condition Score of your dairy herd.

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Description: Calculate Kg DM of paddocks easy as APC. Determine kg DM of paddocks with this easy-to-use pasture assessment form

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Description: Get all those useful numbers regarding the daily and annual feed requirements of dairy cows, including:

• Daily feed demand requirements of lactating and dry dairy cows
• Annual feed demand requirements of dairy cows
• Annual and daily feed requirements of young stock
• Feed supply information on a range of pastures, crops and other supplementary feeds
• Estimates of wastage rates in storage and feeding out of the main feed supplements.

 Updated August 2009.

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Use

This tool allows you to proactively manage your pasture using your farmwalk data to allocate feed and make early decisions on feed deficits and surpluses.  The benefit of plotting farm walk covers into a wedge is that it puts the current situation in picture form, allowing better communication with your farm team.

Importance

Achieving high pasture utilisation is a foundation for profitable farming in New Zealand.  Plotting a feed wedge weekly is essential if you want to achieve high pasture utilisation on your farm.  Plotting a weekly feed wedge has been a key tool in the Lincoln University Dairy Farm in Canterbury lifting ME from an average 11 to 12.2 during the past 3 years.

How to use the tool

Take the data from the Farm Walk Pasture Cover Recorder and plot this data onto the Feed Wedge Ready Reckoner.  Follow the instructions to plot a demand line that will show surplus or deficit situations.

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Description: FeedPlan Pro is a software programme that will help you to drastically cut down feed budgeting and monitoring time. FeedPlan Pro will put your farm back on the fast track, helping you make accurate decisions about feed budgeting and planning, pasture management, fertiliser and supplementary feeding to boost your profitability.

www.feedplan.co.nz

Description: Use this comprehensive calculator to determine pasture eaten on your farm.

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Description: DairyNZ has developed this pasture renewal calculator in collaboration with the Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust and Stantiall Keeling & Partners Ltd. This is a tool to evaluate the economic return from pasture renewal. It requires relative yields (old v new pasture) and persistence estimates to be inputted.

 To view this calculator click here.

Description: Calculate the wastage of supplement, the return from supplement in Autumn and the profitability of purchasing feed to extend lactation.

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Description: Well controlled grazing management in the first 2 months after calving will set your farm up for excellent milk production all the way to Christmas.

The Spring Rotation Planner takes the guesswork out of grazing management over this critical period in the early spring. Use this calculator to design your own planner.

    Online Spring Rotation Planner Calculator (Weekly)
 Spring Rotation Planner Calculator - Table of Area Grazed (Daily)
 Spring Rotation Planner Calculator - Feed Allocator

Description: Grass is made up of many different components, each contributing to the nutritional value of the pasture consumed by dairy animals. This poster (best viewed on the attachment hereto) provides a graphical presentation of the makeup of spring pasture.

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Description: Use this calculator to help manage heat stress in cows.

When THI reaches 68 for Friesians and 75 for Jerseys (equivalent to 21 and 25.5°C respectively at 75% relative humidity) New Zealand cows begin to experience the effects of heat stress. This is seen by a reduction in feed intake and a drop of around 10g milksolids per day per unit increase in THI (Bryant et al. 2007).

For example, an increase in THI from 68-78 would equate to a 100g drop in milksolids/cow/day. Note that a drop in fat/protein percentage occurs before a drop in yield or milksolids is visible (Bryant et al. 2007).

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Description: Body condition score (BCS) at calving is a key driver of the 6 week in calf rate and empty rate.  Achieving the targets at calving is therefore important to run a sustainable dairy system (10 week calving spread, less than 10% empties and no induction).

This calculator can be used to help make decisions on purchasing supplement to feed to dry cows for live weight gain.

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Description: Calculate your Summer feed budget using this simple form:

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