Dairy
Dairy
Are there any benefits to be had from a mild, wet winter? Yes - Two potential plus points are efficient use of slurry nitrogen and grass available for early turn-out.
Efficient use of slurry nitrogen
With little opportunity to spread slurry up to the end of January, most producers will have extra slurry to apply this spring. Slurry nitrogen is not readily available for plant growth with the efficiency of use varying from five percent in autumn to 20 percent in early spring. However an application of 45,000 litres of cow slurry per hectare during February/early March will provide the same nitrogen for grass growth as 2.5 bags of 27.5 percent nitrogen.
Allow for this extra nitrogen availability when planning how much fertiliser to apply for this years first cut – you could cut use by up to 25 percent in some fields.
Plan for early turn-out
This is particularly relevant for a number of producers who are scarce of silage due to earlier housing and high forage intakes. Grass covers on many farms are substantially higher than normal at the end of January. Early housing of stock due to poor ground conditions meant many swards entered the winter carrying extra covers and grass has continued to grow as soil temperature have rarely fallen below 5C so far this winter.
- To achieve early grass select dry fields currently carrying a good grass cover – remember, it takes grass to grow grass. Fertiliser should be spread as soon as ground conditions allow and several dry days are forecast.
- Apply 125 KGs urea/ha. Urea is less prone to leaching than other forms of nitrogen and is considerably cheaper per unit of nitrogen purchased.
Maintaining good milk composition
Many producers observe a decline in milk composition at this time of year, and this is likely to persist until turn-out. Consider the following action to prevent a sustained drop in quality :
- Resample the forages being fed to determine if any changes in forage quality have occurred over the winter as you approach the back of the pit eg a higher proportion of the first ensiled grass is now being fed and this may not have been as well wilted.
- If a new forage for example, 2nd cut) is being introduced into the ration, review your winter feeding plan, to ensure the cow’s energy and protein needs are being met.
- Discuss the implications of any changes to your winter feeding plan with your nutritionist to ensure the concentrate being fed has the appropriate levels of digestible fibre and starch to maintain butter-fat and protein levels.
- Continue you to monitor feed intake to ensure target intakes are being met.
Grassland
Fertilizer needs for the 2007 grass season
As a result of the new legislation introduced on 1 January 2007, fertilizer containing phosphate can now only be applied where a crop need can been demonstrated through soil analysis. It is important that farmers determine the nutrient status of the farm through soil analysis before making bulk orders of fertilizer containing phosphate.
In grassland where soil phosphate indices can tend to be high, there is often no crop need for additional phosphate. In such circumstances, straight Nitrogen fertilizer (for example, chalk, urea) and/or zero phosphate fertilizers (if potash is needed) are suitable. Phosphorous applied through organic manure applications must also be taken into account when considering crop need. Contact your local fertilizer merchant to discuss the availability of zero phosphate fertilizer products.