THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PASTURES ON A WAIKATO DAIRY FARM

Abstract

The present strategy for achieving our production goals consists of growing more total annual DM especially over the critical winter and spring periods. To this end we are undersowing older pastures with high-producing species and converting the extra growth into milkfat, using high quality cows over a 280- to 300-day lactation period. Calving date has been moving earlier to capitalise on the higher winter growth rates recorded from the newer pastures. The choice of renewal method will continue to be made according to the amount of paspalum present in the older pastures with spray being used if the paspalum content exceeds 10%. Glyphosate will also continue to be used if new clover cultivars are included in the seed mixture of the new pastures. Maize silage will continue to be grown, or purchased, to fill feed deficit periods while it is profitable to do so. However, our experience to date, has been that undersowing, even if it has to be repeated annually, is presently the cheapest form of providing additional feed for the cows. Even assuming that the best managements are practised to produce high quality pastures for the lactating cows, I believe that the breeders of new pasture cultivars must place more emphasis on palatibility and digestibility, to enable tomorrow's farmers to achieve still higher milkfat yields (profitably) from fewer and fewer, genetically superior cows. Should these plants perform and persist under the current management abuses to which present-day pastures are subjected, then we are well on the way to a profitable future.