Strategies to manage low pasture cover at calving
Following a strategy to manage low pasture cover at calving can turn what is looking like a poor spring into a season saving situation, and often results in quality pasture for the months that follow.
If you have low pasture cover at calving, follow these steps:
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- Face your situation – walk the farm, confirm the size of any deficit and develop a plan on how to fill the deficit
- Share your plan, seek advice
- Monitor actual pasture cover weekly and adjust plan
- Apply nitrogen to boost growth, if low soil temperatures/high leaching apply sulphate
- The slower the rotation the quicker average pasture cover will be back on target - do not speed up the area grazed (rotation)
- Protect future pasture growth – minimise pugging
- Stand off, use sacrifice paddocks to avoid pugging and over grazing (less than 1100kg DM/ha)
- Use supplements to build pasture cover, not just for milk in the vat
- Cost out whether there are supplements available that are profitable to feed at the payout predicted for the season
- Sort a system to feed supplements that minimises waste and is practical ASAP
- Balance cow condition with feed at calving. Aim to get cows to BCS 4.5. Greatest return from lifting the lightest cows
- Aim to get average pasture cover at calving to minimum of 2100 kg DM/ha
- A month out from calving the priority is feed for milking cows. Restrict the dries, especially the late calving cows up to 50% of their target energy requirements (no less than 5 kg DM/dry cow)
- If you do not have the feed (pasture or supplement) restrict cows at the start of calving to minimise the size of the deficit
- At calving the priorities for feeding are colostrum and milkers first, then dry cows
- Aim to offer colostrum and milking cows at least 12 kg DM Friesian; 10 kg DM Jersey
- Monitor residuals to ensure intakes being achieved. Colostrum cows aim for 1500 kg DM/ha; milkers target no less than 1400kg DM/ha, dry cows 900 kg DM/ha (no pugging damage)
- Where the farm does not have the resources to feed to these levels the milkers can graze lower
- Milkers must be offered a minimum of 10 kg DM/cow Friesians and 8 kg DM/cow Jerseys. These feeding levels will reduce subsequent milk production. The extent of the carry over effect on milk production from underfeeding depends on the length of time cows are restricted. The longer the period of underfeeding, the greater the loss
- Feed must be purchased or stocking rate reduced if the above intakes cannot be met
- Avoid creating too many mobs
- Ensure magnesium and other mineral supplementation is adequate
- Once A Day (OAD) milking is an option to save time in the spring but it comes at a cost
- OAD reduces the potential milk production for the season.
A tough winter/spring means having to make some compromises. Break the problem down into manageable parts.
