Planning for turnout
Michael Garvey, CAFRE Greenmount Campus
Martin Reel from Silverbridge, appreciates the importance of quality spring grass and attempts to turn cows out early each year. Martin successful completed "The Grass Challenge for Dairy Farmers" and he says it made him realise the potential of grass for economic milk production encouraging him to plan the turnout of cows to quality grass.
Last year cows were turned out by day at the end of February. The cows were out initially for 3-4 hours grazing and building up to half days grazing within a week. Cows responded with an immediate increase in milk yield of 2.5 litres per cow daily.
During the first week cows grazed in the most free paddocks. The herd were then moved and grazed on "silage fields" from the 7 to 18 March. The first grazing rotation was completed on 13 April.
The well developed network of roadways, multi-access electric fencing, and the use of back-fencing kept poaching to a minimum during this period.
To achieve this regieme, fields that Martins’ herd grazed in early October 2004 were closed off until mid-February when they were sown with 20 kg N/hectare. A similar policy has been employed this season.
Have you planned your turnout like Martin? The key is flexibility. If dairy farmers waited for a forecast predicting a period of sustained good weather, cows would probably never be out grazing.
Grass covers will be highest on the first fields closed last autumn but be flexible, select dry fields. You do not always have to follow the same rotation.
For early spring grazing in March, 40 – 50 kg N per hectare could be applied from mid to late February. Urea should be used in preference to C.A.N. as it is less likely to be leached and is more cost effective per kilo of N.
Plan the grazing system and divide off large fields using temporary fences. Use a back fence if conditions are wet and only graze until cows stop eating be flexible house cows for a few days if necessary and increase meal levels.
Remember hoof marks are not poaching and grass swards will recover very quickly from some damage. Graze fields from back to front allowing cows to walk over ungrazed grass or temporary cow paths. Examine your laneways and approaches to grazing. Could these be improved? Perhaps some permanent fencing could be removed to allow multi access points.
Put cows out to grass with an appetite by giving cows no silage between morning milking and grazing. Ensure cows have access to water if at grass for long periods and offer fresh silage on return to the house.
Early, managed grazing has the added bonus of controlling grass sward quality later in the year and avoids the build up of low digestability material.
To minimise any negative impact of turnout on fertility, Martin also tries to manages a gradual change in concentrate feeding.
Where possible you should also try to
- Mix summer and winter concentrates in the storage bin.
- If phasing out diet feeding or out of parlour feeding, this process should be started prior to turnout while simultaneously increasing the amount of concentrate fed through the parlour.
- Spring grass protein levels are high. To maintain 17-18 percent CP in the total diet, concentrate protein level should be reduced to 16-18 percent as fed depending on milk yield, level of concentrate feeding and grass intake.
- Ingredients in a grazing ration should include, maize with slowly degradable starch balancing the rapidly fermentable energy sources in grass. An inclusion of 25-35 percent fibre sources like soya hulls, sugar beet pulp or citrus pulp is necessary in the concentrate to balance highly digestible grass and help promote butterfat levels.
- Vitamin/mineral inclusion levels should be balanced according to the average concentrate feeding level at grass. It is important that the average concentrate feed level delivers 30g Magnesium/cow/day to prevent grass tetany.
All aspects of "Planning for Turnout" are covered in the CAFRE Grass Challenge for Dairy Farmers. For further information on this and other challenge programmes for dairy farmers contact your local Development Adviser.
Martin Reel examines grass available for grazing on south facing paddocks last grazed in early October