Managing surplus and getting best out of grass
Whether you have too little or too much, it requires precise management to get the best out of it.
During the last week or so, I have spoken to farmers who have either a grass famine or a grass feast.
Some parts of the country seem to have had no rain in the last two weeks, while some have had downpours.
Some have even spoken of having no grass, and when you walk the farm with them, they actually have a significant surplus, even though all the grass they have is either too long or too short to be considered ideal grazing.
I have even spoken to several farmers who fear that a drought is not far away from becoming a major problem on their farm, particularly if they are close to the south coast. There seems to be no happy medium.
You need suitable grass quality for all types of beef stock to achieve efficient performance on farm.
Many experienced dairy farmers who I have been with this week are finding the going tough when trying to get grass right for cows.
Even if they have identified a grass surplus and decide to take it out of the rotation, they are still likely to delay cutting, which is not ideal.
Topping is necessary in most swards at present to get grass quality right for the next round. Many have practiced pre-mowing this year; it has proved to be a huge success.
Effect of poor quality grass
Many farmers I have called to over the last few weeks have significant grass surpluses. There is a huge opportunity to make bales and keep quality grass ahead of cows, while increasing fodder stocks.
However, it must be stated that the consequences of grazing unsuitable swards on a dairy farm are easier identified, because the measurement of performance is in the daily bulk tank volume, and the milk quality tests received by text.
So how does the beef man measure his animal’s performance? Apart from regular weighing, which is not easily done on many units, measurement of thrive on grass can be very subjective.
That’s why more and more beef farmers are starting to weigh their stock, to get a handle on performance.
Learn from dairy neighbours
Milking herds in many areas have seen a marked decline in milk yields, far beyond normal yield curve reductions. This has been combined in many cases with a drop in milk protein and butter fat. All of these indicate that cows have not been consuming kgs of dry matter of appropriate energy density sufficient to maintain performance.
Grass intakes decline as quality/digestibility declines.
Basically, what I am suggesting, as I have in the past, is that if your dairy farming neighbour is grazing unsuitable grass swards, and his herd performance has slipped by more than acceptable levels, and your grass is similar, then it is more than likely that your beef stock are not performing to their optimum level either.
Watch for the following signs that grass intakes are poor due to stronger swards.
n The tops of the grass will all be eaten with a lot of stem remaining uneaten.
n Stock will tend to do much more walking between bites of grass, looking for the nicer bite.
n They will have poor rumen fill.
n They tend to be more agitated, and mark the fields more, as they walk more.
n They will be more likely to try and break out.
n As a simple rule, paddocks that have just been grazed should still be green.
If it is all yellow when cattle leave a field, it was too strong to graze in the first place.
