Forage supply systems for dryland dairy farms in southern Australia

Abstract

Continued improvements in home grown forage consumption are needed to support the long-term profitability of the dairy industry in southern Australia. Most home grown forage currently comes from perennial ryegrass pastures, which have significant limitations in the southern Australia environment. These limitations threaten future productivity gains, and we therefore consider opportunities for using other plant species. Data on the production of alternative perennial grasses, brassica summer crops, C4 summer crops and winter cereals grown for whole-crop silage are limited and generally show large variation in yields between sites and years. Simulation models suggest that, once the base ryegrass pasture is well-utilised, incorporating complementary forages can return $70 - $100/ha extra operating profit for every additional tonne of home grown forage DM consumed per ha. Double cropping (winter cereal or annual ryegrass followed by a summer crop of turnips or maize) and summer-active pastures such as tall fescue show particular promise. Further information is required on how to integrate these forages into whole farm feeding systems to realise the additional profit with manageable business and environmental risk. Keywords: dairy systems, forage production, pastures, forage crops, simulation models