Description
Fergus Austin, Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary (Ireland) is part of a working group of farmers measuring the amount of grass on farms to make sure that there is enough supply on farms and not to run into a deficit. Nearly all farmers at the group have a stocking rate of 3+ Livestock Units/ha on the milking platform, so the farmers agreed that a cover/cow of 180 – 200 kg DM per Livestock Unit to begin the 2nd rotation. The main aspects of management are:
- When measuring grass, the objective is to match supply and demand to maximise grass quality
- Grass measurement allows Fergus to identify grass surpluses and deficits quickly, and react to these changes
- Grass measurement allows Fergus to know when to reduce, or cut out, meal feeding in spring
- Grass is the cheapest source of feed on the farm and should be maximised in the cows’ diet
The motivation of the farmer was to produce as much milk from grass as possible to minimise the cost of production. Measuring grass could aid in increasing the amount of grass in the diet by maintaining adequate supply on farms and by making decisions early in terms of supplementation/ harvesting surplus grass. Grass measurement will aid in grazing perennial ryegrass at the 3-leaf stage, prior to the establishment of the 4th leaf and the deterioration in quality in the plant. The objective for every farmer at the meeting is to graze quality covers of 1,400 kg DM/ha down to 4 cm to have quality grass in subsequent rotations.
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