Comparing the seasonal productivity of cocksfoot and resident pastures on hill country farms using a system model

Abstract

Grasslands Wana cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) has potential for use in hill country, especially dry hill country. Although Wana can have slow spring growth it is usually more productive in summer and autumn. Prior to large-scale field evaluation, strategies for incorporating significant areas of new species into farming systems can be evaluated with a farm-system model. The objective of this work was to use the farm-system model, Stockpol, to investigate the influence of 0, 33, 66, or 100% of a farm sown to Wana, on bull beef or breeding ewe enterprise productivity. Three scenarios, in which annual herbage dry matter production from Wana was -14%, +13%, and +41% relative to resident pasture controls, were identified from field trials and tested with the model. A strong relationship between annual production and stocking rate was found, with a lesser influence from seasonal distribution of production. 'The system model was a useful tool to compare these pastures, and highlighted deficiencies in our knowledge of cocksfoot. Keywords: Dactylis glomerata, farm system, Grasslands Wana, hill country, model, seasonal pasture production