Successful wintering
- supports good animal health and welfare
- minimises contaminant loss to the environment
- complies with regional council regulations
- protects valuable topsoil
- complements the overall dairy system and the work of the team on farm.
This will result in cost effective wintering with cows achieving body condition score targets and be beneficial for the herd owner and grazier.
The 3 components of successful wintering
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Paddock selection
The success of wintering starts with choosing suitable paddocks.
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Winter crop establishment
Once you have created a grazing plan and decided on which paddocks to crop, your focus will move to determining the best method of establishment.
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Grazing the winter crop
The successful grazing of crop paddocks is through good management of people, cows, and the environment.
Wintering videos
The videos below include a wintering webinar and how to create a wintering plan using the DairyNZ Break Fed Wintering guide. (Previously named the Wintering on crop and pasture guide)
Note: The Government announced in March 2021 that some of the proposed new requirements for winter grazing have been deferred until May 2022. These include pugging and resowing requirements and new slope rules. However, there is a still a strong focus on the on-farm adoption of good wintering practice. See the National freshwater regulations page.
