FRESH PASTURE BEST

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 80, 15 September 1947, Page 5

FRESH PASTURE BEST

FOUR STAGES OF GROWTH STEADY LOSS OF NUTRIENTS Though for milking stock, under New Zealand conditions, no crop on conserved pasture can approach good grass in efficiency, grass with its virtues has also its deficiencies.

Approximately threequarters of its growth is made in six months of the year, it is highly affected by climatic conditions, and its quality varies with growth. For nutritional purposes it is important to recognise four stages of pasture growth. The first is the young and immature stage, best described as “sappy.” This is the dangerous stage associated with scouring, facial eczema, grass staggers and similar dietetic troubles.

The second stage is the leafy one, when fibre has risen sufficiently to give the pasture some substance. It is often described as the four to five inches stage, but it must be recognised that in mid-spring it can grow to a foot and still retain its desirable nutritive qualities. It is at this lastmentioned stage that it can be cut and handled conveniently to provide material for first-class silage; that is, just before the main species break into seed heads. Such silage, properly made, wil have a very good feed value, and will be highly suitable for feeding to stock when they ar ein heavy production; for example, in a summer dry spell or just after calving. In fact, the best of one’s silage should always be reserved for such periods, and the inferior qualities for periods when the stock are dry. Grass-drying in Britain is carried out relatively early in thsi second stage. The dried product compares very favourably in feeding value with that favourite of concentrates, linseed cake. It is rich in protein, highly digestible, and capable of sustaining milk production at a high level. It must be remembered that grass-drying adds nothing to the food value of its product, for all that value is present in grass at its best grazing stage. Protein Steadily Lost

The third stage in pasture growth is the flowering stage, which is the latest stage at which it should be cut for hay or silage. Compared with the preceding stage the percentage of protein is lower, the percentage of fibre is higher, and there is a fall in digestibility. The pasture has passed from the status of a “watery concentrate” to that of a roughage. No longer is it a food for high-producing stock, but it has now descended to the category of being good maintenance food, with a little bit' over for production purposes. Finally, there is the last stage when the seeds are mature, and when fibre has reached a maximum and protein content and digestibility have fallen to the lowest levels. The pasture has now become very sec-ond-rate roughage, with very limited value for dry stock. Too often grass is approaching this stage when it is cut for hay. Certainly, the hay is very easily made with such a mature crop, but the production can never be classed as useful for the milking herd. Furthermore, the recovery of this late-cut pasture is not good. Generally, cutting coincides with the driest spell of the year, while the plant has been allowed to complete ilts full cycle of growth, and so the aftermath will be poor. Grazing or early cutting has a pruning effect and keeps the pasture in a young leafy stage over a long productive season.