Fodder beet | DairyNZ

Fodder beet, whilst having been grown in New Zealand for many years, has only recently gained popularity as an important part of dairy cow winter feeding systems.

With increasing use, we are getting a better understanding of the issues associated with feeding this crop. The key to successful use of fodder beet for dry cow grazing is to follow good practice and not cut corners.

This applies throughout the process from seedbed preparation to sowing, weed and pest control and allocating a balanced diet to the cows. It is necessary to ask for advice and gain experience in growing and feeding this crop.
Estimating brassica or fodder beet crop yield

Collect at least six - eight quadrant samples that are representative of the paddock. The more samples the better
Sample size minimum of 1m² (use a 1x1m square quadrant or a circle made with a 3.55 m length of alkathene; or for a 2m² sample use 7.1m length of alkathene to make the circle)
Harvest all the material within each sample and measure its fresh weight after removing and excess soil, especially from the bulbs of swedes, turnips and fodder beet
Determine the DM content - take a sub-sample of plants and send to the lab for DM analysis. As DM % varies greatly estimating will result in under or overestimating the yield
Average the DM yield for the quadrat samples (fresh weight x DM%) and multiply by 10,000 for a 1bm² sample or by 5,000 for a 2m² sample (e.g. 1.44 DM from a 1m² sample equates to 14,400kg DM/ha or 14.4 tonnes DM/ha).

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