FIRST SIX WEEKS AFTER CALVING MOST CRITICAL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 25, 15 August 1949, Page 5

FIRST SIX WEEKS AFTER CALVING MOST CRITICAL

From about the middle of August s until the beginning of October is a f . period of increasing pasture production and on dairy farms this is also a period of increasing milk production. At the end of these six weeks cows which have been well fed are almost in full milk. If they are not, then the season’s production from these cows will certainly not be as high as it could have been and should be. The aim of the dairy farmer is to obtain the highest possible production from his cows and so he endeavours to calve them about four to six weeks before pasture normal, ly begins to grow in earnest and during these four to six weeks he aims to supply them with milkproducing fodder. Hay and silage alone are not sufficiently nutritious for this purpose and some green grass in the sod is required as well. This may be either autumn-saved and winter-stored grass which, at Ruakura has been found to be almost as good as high-quality spring pasture, or, it may be winter-grown ' grass which, so far, has not been investigated for digestible nutrients and feed value but which is likely to be similar to autumn-saved grass. Feeding whe well-fed cow in this late-

i winter-early-spring period of low 1 1 pasture production will receive . something like 401 b silage and 101 b hay daily in addition to, a ration of one to two hours grazing on winter grass. On most farms the autumnsaved or winter-grown grass does not last out as long as does this period of low production from pastures and this means that not enough of the farm has been closed for winter grass. It also means that the early growth of grass is grazed ats it grows. No better way of getting the least production out of pastures can he recommended. , This statement is supported by research work which indicates that as much as a 20 per cent increase in pasture production may be obby ordinary rotational grazing instead of close and continuous grazing, and as much as a 50 per cent increase if the spells between the grazings be long. (Close and continuous 10,1371 b D.M. per ac., Rotational grazing 12,2051 b D.M. per ac., Long spelled rotational 15,2681 b D.M. per ac. during one year). Proper Control Good pasture management for ' maximum production and minimum waste demands long spells between lenient but rapid grazings and this can best be achieved, or indeed, can only be achieved by using an electric fence to enable the fields to be grazed in breaks. ,The practice of using winter grass to the best advantage by break-feeding should’be extended into the spring for only in this way can waste of valuable milk production fodder be avoided and the highest production obtained.