WINTER FEEDING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 157, 8 May 1940, Page 3

WINTER FEEDING

PLANNING PROGRAMME INTELLIGENT RATIONING (Contributed by Mr C. R. Taylor, Dept. of Agriculture, Whakatane) . Feed supplies on most farms are ample till June at least. It is more frequently during the early spring that lack of feed becomes apparent. By the conservation of permanent pasture in May, and by the intelligent rationing of the feed on hand it is possible to obtain more prolonged use from available feed supplies. It is desirable during May to shut up a few Aviel-drained and topdressed permanent pasture paddocks which contain a good sole of ryegrass. Phosphates may sometimes be applied to advantage for producing out-of-season growth. These pad-' docks may then be fed off in the very early spring. In order to do this it will be necessary to commence an earlier feeding out of hay and silalge. Temporary Pastures. During the late autumn and winter monhts, green feed, oats and barley and temporary pastures of Italian ryegrass 01* Western Wolths, give a valuable supply of fresh feed. Such supplies of feed are desirable for cows which arc to be. milked n the winter. Root crops are then also being fed out in conjunction with hay and silage. On land liable to pugging the best practice is to concentrate the feeding out on to two or three paddocks, either those that have a very light soil or those of which the pastures are becoming run out. On the light land the stock manure will improve the fertility, and on the run-out pastures much seed from the hay may be dropped and 'will establish later in the spring, or the paddock may be later ploughed up. Although late autumn calving cows are very much in the minority there are an appreciable number of farmers carrying out winter milking, mainly those farmers who supply milk for the larger centres. Ow j ing to the higher price generally received for Avinter milk it is payable to feed a moderate amount of concentrates—up to 41b daily a cow —in addition to the roots and hay or silage aA r ailable. To feed concentrates to coavs of a low milk and butterfat production is, hoAvever, not so likelj* to be payable but the amount fed in the bail to individual coavs may be adjusted to the production ol the coaa'. Again, if there is little feed of high quality aArailable in the early spring it may be profitable to feed limited amounts of concentrates to early calving coaa's. To obtain the maximum butterfat production it is essential to supply sufficient good quality feed in the early stages of lactation.