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Dairy pastures are characterised by high-yielding and high-quality forages that can be well managed under intensive rotational grazing and are able to tolerate considerable amounts of grazing pressure.

Dairy platforms throughout the country can often be split between two environmental types:

  1. Irrigated dairy and high summer rainfall or unirrigated dairy often both in colder winter climates
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  2. Summer dry dairy often in warmer winter environments

IRRIGATED OR SUMMER RAINFALL DAIRY FARMS

These are often completely based around a perennial ryegrass pasture mixture. 

Perennial ryegrass 

  • One main ryegrass, such as a late heading diploid perennial ryegrass like Three60 AR37 or Legion* AR37, or a tetraploid perennial ryegrass, such as Align AR37 or a high-performance mid heading diploid perennial like Reason AR37 

White clovers 

  • Often two white clovers are used with one being a large-leaved variety like Brace, and the other a dense medium-large type such as Attribute 

Herbs 

  • Ecotain® environmental plantain is an ideal addition to pastures in these environments 

Tall Fescue 

  • Hummer and Haven tall fescue with MaxP® endophyte can be used to provide advantages, such as early spring growth, extra summer activity in hot conditions, and grass grub tolerance 
  • Oakdon meadow fescue with MaxR® endophyte is often mixed in 50:50 with Hummer or Haven tall fescue to maintain all the advantages of a tall fescue pasture, and to greatly improve grazing management

SPRING SOWN AUTUMN LACTATION CROPS

These can be sown on the platform as part of a renovation programme to potentially hold milksolids production in late autumn, while maintaining cow body condition and whole farm pasture cover.

Fodder beet 

  • In addition to the use as part of a renovation programme or to hold milksolids production in late autumn while maintaining cow body condition and whole farm pasture cover, fodder beet such as Jamon can be a great way of starting the cow adjustment period before wintering on fodder beet
  • These fodder beet paddocks could then be sown in May/June and planted in catch crops such as Milton oats and Manta Italian ryegrass. Catch crops are then taken for green chop silage in November and grazed to February then rotated into a perennial pasture in late February

Brassica 

  • SovGold kale maturity times range from 18-24 weeks. Kale can be sown from mid to late October through to mid-February depending on climate, desired feeding time and quality required

SUMMER DRY DAIRY

These farms tend to calve early in milder winter environments and produce a large proportion of their total milksolids before Christmas. Often these farms find maintaining quality and quantity of feed post-Christmas challenging. This can lead to extra costs with supplementary feed.

  • Pasture options are very similar to those mentioned previously for irrigated or summer rainfall dairy farms. These include perennial ryegrass pastures with AR37 endophyte and Hummer or Haven tall fescue with MaxP® endophyte by itself or in a 50:50 mixture with Oakdon MaxR® where perennial ryegrass is struggling to persist or perform in hotter summer regions 

 

  • Summer crops can be sown in mid to late October for summer grazing and pasture renovation. These include: 

    • Choice chicory, when sown in October, will be grazed at least three times in summer before resowing back into perennial ryegrass in the autumn 

    • Ecotain® environmental plantain often can be sown in October for a summer crop. These crops can be maintained for a second summer before being resown back into perennial pasture 

DROUGHT AFFECTED OR DAMAGED PASTURES

Often undersowing is a common response to open pastures due to drought conditions, or those that have been affected by heavy grazing and/or pugging in wetter times. Options for undersowing often depend on the timing of summer or autumn rainfall.

Perennial ryegrass

Hybrid ryegrass

  • If pastures have the potential to be renovated in 2-3 years’time Mohaka AR37, is an ideal option

Italian ryegrass

  • If the pasture is required to last 18 to 24 months then Manta AR37 is an ideal fit and annual clovers such as Resal Persian clover and Viper balansa clover are also suited

Herbs and legumes

  • In all the above cases there is also the opportunity depending on broadleaf weeds to add Ecotain environmental plantain, Brace and Attribute white clovers and Relish red clover

Annual ryegrass

  • If a pasture is to be summer cropped the next spring, Jivet annual ryegrass is an ideal lead-in option

 

* Legion has been bred, selected and successfully tested as a perennial and will function as a perennial ryegrass. Due to a small number of tip awns Legion is certified as Lolium Boucheanum.

 

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