Welcome to The Dairy Mail

by Gerrit Bezuidenhout

It is hard to imagine rolling green fields during the dry winter months. Yet, this is the time to start planning your pastures for the summer months. Renier Pienaar of Glendye farm near Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape shares his thoughts on efficient grazing management.

It all starts with planning
Glendye makes exclusive use of kikuyu as pasture for its herd. Pastures are managed in a fixed-rotation, strip-grazing system. The average annual rainfall on the farm is around 800 mm.

“After winter, our pastures are generally grazed down to the deck, as our growth slows down completely. When spring arrives and the grass starts to grow, we allocate very small strips to our cows (while supplementing with other feed sources), until our average pasture cover on the farm is above 2 200 kg dry material per hectare. This slows our rotation down, giving the pastures more time to grow,” Renier explains.

Well begun is half done
“If we have a decent start to summer, such as when we have sufficient spring rains, we have enough kikuyu for the needs of all our milk cows. It is then just a matter of limiting the length of the rotation, so that we don’t graze the pastures faster than they are growing,” Renier says. However, it takes constant planning to ensure that the nutritional requirements of the cows are met. Green summer grazing is notorious for lacking trace elements needed to maintain the best quality in your herds. Phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium are especially important, as a diet short in these elements could lead to a range of fertility problems in your herd. It would therefore be a good idea to put licks containing these elements out for your herd.

It is also advisable to take samples of your grass to find out which elements are prevalent and which are lacking.

On Glendye, the situation is no different: “We take leaf samples every second week. The results of these influence our feeding and grazing strategy significantly. In times of high pasture growth, we ensile as much grass as possible to help us through drier times.”

Grass determines strategy
The type of grass used for grazing and how the different grasses are used will differ from farm to farm, depending on the needs of the dairy herd. On Glendye, the milking platform is purely kikuyu, with K11 and Rhodes grass that are used for baling purposes. Reniers explains that although many of the other dairy farms in the region have the same types of grass, plus other grass types as well, the use of these grasses may vary.

What about a dry, white season?
A dry winter places immense stress on pastures. It is therefore crucial that the right steps are taken to ensure that you do not damage the grazing permanently.

“Don’t rush into the pastures after stressful times, such as after a drought. Rather wait for the pastures to build up some bulk and allow the grass to grow roots, even if it means feeding for two or three weeks longer,” is Renier’s advice. He also advises farmers to feed out some form of roughage on lush kikuyu to prevent kikuyu poisoning in their herds.

How to field a challenge
A pasture farmer’s greatest challenge is supplying enough water to maintain and grow the fields. In this case, Renier says, the two main challenges facing Glendye have been clear throughout the last two-and-a-half years; namely, a lack of rainfall and, mainly owing to a lack of rain, the overstocking of cattle. And in the warmer months, insects can become a problem, especially armyworm.

Analyse soil and plants
One of the most useful little helpers in the farmer’s bag of tricks must be fertiliser. However, it is also one of the more costly options; therefore, it should be used wisely. Another useful tool is sampling. Glendye ensures that soil and leaf samples are taken on time to add to their pasture advantage.

Renier advocates the use of fertiliser on pastures, but he warns, “Know what you want from your pastures, and do not use a recipe. Over-fertilising is wasteful and detrimental to pastures in the long run,” he says.

In the case of determining the nutrien­t needs of the soil and grasses, he advises farmers to take samples regularly. “Leaf samples and soil samples give an excellent indication of what is needed. We take soil samples every second year and find it very helpful in, among other things, determining which fertiliser to use. In this way, shortages in key nutrients can be traced before the pastures start to deteriorate visibly.”

Of fertilisation and irrigation
Fertilising your pasture could be the one factor that influences summer grazing the most. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between cultivated and natural grazing. In the case of irrigated grazing, the risk is smaller than on non-irrigated pastures, as the grazing has a abundant supply of water after it has been fertilised. However, dry land grazing poses a greater risk, as rain is vital after fertilisation. Therefore, it is advised that, once animals have left a field, it should be fertilised and irrigated for optimum production.

Also keep in mind that an irrigated field is a ‘no go area’ for your herd, ­otherwise they may trample the pasture into a mud bath. There is of course, also the risk of compacting the soil, which leads to a decrease in oxygen absorption, which is detrimental to the future growth of grass in the pasture.

Finally, it is advisable to cultivate a piece of grazing, to allow natural pasture a chance to develop fully. In this way, there will be enough feed to carry you through the summer, and at the same time allow the herd enough feed right through winter as well.