DairyCo

Grassland Management

Grazed grass is the cheapest feed on most British dairy farms yet it is also the most poorly utilised.

Whether grazed or fed silage, grass provides over half the dry matter intake of most dairy cows. This means small improvements in utilisation can have a major impact on production costs.

Milk producers can have as much control over what their cows eat in the grazing season as they do when they are housed. This is what DairyCo grass+ sets out to achieve.

Winter feeding systems such as TMR, feeding in the parlour or even self feed silage systems are all well controlled - you know the consistency, quality and the quantity of the food that your cows are eating.  But there is no reason why you shouldn't have the same control over your grazed grass. It comes down to understanding how much they have eaten or how much you have allocated them, plus what is the quality in terms of energy primarily and the range of dry matter.

Good grassland management is all about having the techniques to get your cows to graze properly and being able to measure the grass quantity and growth rate. You can then allocate your cows the amount of grazing you want the cows to eat, much as you would with forage in the winter.

Rotational grazing is key to this success - allocating an area to clear in one grazing then moving on to the next.

The maximum to allow is one grazing area per 24 hour period. But moving areas every 12 hours is preferable. By grazing an area longer the cows will remove the early regrowth, affecting the quality and quantity of grass available at subsequent grazings. It can be quite easy to allocate these grazing areas. Use a roll of electric wire. Most people will set up a paddock system and then possibly sub divide these again where needed.

Cows should go into covers of up to 2,800kgDM/Ha. This may vary during the season according to time of year and your cows' ability to achieve a good residual which is key in maintaining quality in the subsequent rounds and thus milk and maintenance from grazing.

Monitoring growth rates to ensure you don't run out of grass or have too much is vital as both will cost you money. Keeping a close check on grass growth rates will mean speeding up or slowing the rotation so you always enter at the correct cover.

Allocating the correct amount of grass for your cows can be quite straightforward. Measure your grass weekly using a plate meter to give you the kg of dry matter per hectare. You then know how much available grass there is per hectare and how much your total available grass is on the grazing area. You can then calculate what area your cows need to ensure the best quantity and quality of grass.

By moving cows onto fresh grass after every milking, and by getting them to graze down to 1,500 kg DM/ha, they get a consistent feed and therefore rumen stability. You won't see the yield and quality fluctuations you would if cows graze a field for three days.  In that instance cows will pick the best bits on the first day and glut themselves. By the third day only the poorest quality grass is left.

Don't give cows the opportunity to pick and choose the best bits when it comes to grazing. Make sure you are allocating them the quantity only just sufficient for their needs so they have no choice but to eat it. Good rotational grazing will deliver high quality, palatable forage. If the grass offered is in any way old or soiled intakes will fall.

Palatability is all important, If intakes are not what you would expect check the soil analysis. Is the pH right?  Is it an area that you have put a lot of dirty water on over the winter? These will both affect palatability.

Don't feed the cows before they go out to graze, send them out with an edge to their appetite. Make use of the cows desire to eat and drink post milking so she grazes aggressively. And ensure she has plenty of clean water close to hand. If she has to walk more than 100 metres her water consumption will fall.

All these key points are covered in grass+ in addition to silage production and better use of slurries and manures and sections on grazing the organic and high yielding cow.