Grazing management during and after calving largely determines production to Christmas and how well the cows are fed at mating.

The Spring Rotation Planner takes the guesswork out of grazing management over this critical period in the early spring. Follow the steps below to design your own plan.

Farm Name

Step 1

    • Ha

Step 2

  • Date when you expect your herd to start calving (this is the date when the MA cows are to start calving)
  • Round length immediately before the planned start of calving

    Note: The rotation length at the start of calving is normally 100 days. Lower stocked farms may start at 80 days.

Step 3

  • Date when you expect pasture supply to equal demand (balance date)
  • Round length through the bulk of spring

    Note:The rotation length at balance date is usually 20-25 days. Lower stocked farms or farms with using high amounts of supplements may go to an 18 day round. Farms that are subject to very volatile growth rates (one week 80 kg DM/ha the next week 20 kg DM/ha) tend to have a slower rotation (23-25 days) at balance date as do high stocked farms.

Step 4

  • Opening Target Pasture Cover - kg DM/ha.

    Note: The opening cover should be the target cover required at calving not the actual cover at calving. Refer to FarmFacts 1.13 for more information.

Step 5

  • Cover at Balance date (when feed supply equals demand) Note: Refer Farm Fact 1.84 to calculate

SRP - Rotation Length (Round length days)

Round length days
Round length days

SRP - Area Grazed Per Day (ha)

Hectares Grazed Per Day
Hectares Grazed Per Day

Target Average Pasture Cover (kg DM/ha)

Kg DM/Ha
Kg DM/Ha

Results

  • Round Length Days
  • Date
  • Area grazed per day (Ha)

Download versions of the Spring Rotation Planner

The standard version is an excel model that provides the same functionality as the online tool including the following features:

  • Compares actual pasture covers with SRP targets and makes adjustments to the grazing plan to keep the farm on target
  • Helps in allocating grazing area to multiple mobs

Download the standard version

The advanced model takes a leap towards becoming a spring feed budget and is ideal for creating a detailed spring plan. This version works with feed supply and demand to create a feed plan that is then compared to SRP targets. The plan is then optimised to ensure pasture and supplement is efficiently allocated. Some of the other advanced features allow the user to:

  • Plan and manage pasture intake over spring to eliminate fluctuations as herd size rapidly changes
  • Forecast the impact of irregular pasture growth and adjust the budget to compensate
  • Calculate spring supplement requirements and efficiently allocate it
  • Take into account cows arriving back from grazing throughout spring.

Download the advanced version