Crops

Cereal crops, including barley, oats, ryecorn, and triticale, play varied roles in dairy farming. Barley, sown either in autumn or spring, matures quicker than wheat or triticale and provides winter feed.

Chicory is a leafy herb that provides high feed value for cows, especially during its active growth months from spring to autumn.

Fodder beet is a crop with high yield potential that offers many benefits for dairy farming, including adding body condition to cows and having less environmental impact than other feeds.

Successful fodder beet growth depends on meticulous practices from the start. Fodder beet, commonly grazed by non-lactating cows in New Zealand's cooler regions, can be part of a cow's diet for up to six months.

Fodder beet is a feed option for cows that requires careful planning to avoid health issues such as acidosis. Before feeding it, you should measure your crop yield and test the leaf and bulb to determine its nutritional content.

Kale is a winter feed crop with a deep root system, making it drought-resistant. It's tolerant to many pests and is often grown after swedes due to its resistance to club root and dry rot.

Lucerne is a perennial legume with a deep taproot, allowing it to tolerate moisture stress more than most pasture species. In NZ, most cultivars are winter dormant, but some newer ones grow earlier in spring and later in autumn.

Maize is an essential crop for New Zealand dairy farmers, helping enhance feed supply, manage climatic risks, and support pasture renewal. Growing maize on a dairy farm can also extract soil nutrients and reduce costs in high-fertility effluent areas

Plantain is a herb that grows in New Zealand and is liked by animals, with a fibrous and coarse root system. This page discusses its various uses on dairy farms.

Plantain in pastures can reduce nitrate leaching by affecting nitrogen in urine and soil retention. The page teaches you the importance of assessing the proportion of plantain in your pasture.