Integrating high yielding crops into a Taranaki dairying system

Abstract

Cropping sequences were introduced to a pasture-based dairy system with the aim of improving the annual feed supply, herd productivity and overall profitability. Two farmlets were established on the Waimate West Demonstration Farm (Taranaki) in June 2007 and ran for 5 years. The All-grass farmlet was a pasture-only system (except for 70 kg/cow palm kernel expeller in one year) and the Cropping farmlet had on average 12.5% of the farm cropped each year plus palm kernel expeller (250 kg/cow/year over 3 years). Crop sequences varied in duration from 12 to 28 months. Crops grown were maize (for silage), turnips, chicory, rape, oats, barley and triticale. Stocking rates were 4.0 and 4.2 cows/ha for the All-grass and Cropping farmlets, respectively. Pasture growth for the two farmlets was similar, averaging 16.6 t DM/ha/year. The inclusion of crops added an extra 1.7 t DM/ha/year over the Allgrass treatment, averaged over the 5-year trial. In the first 2 years, milksolids (MS) production per hectare was 2% lower for the Cropping farmlet (1145 kg MS/ ha) than for the All-grass farmlet (1165 kg MS/ha), but was 11% higher (1237 vs. 1112 kg MS/ha) over the next 2 years, increasing to a 27% advantage (1453 vs. 1143 kg MS/ha) in the fifth year. Financial analysis indicated a $338 lower operating profit for the Cropping farmlet for the first 2 years but there was an advantage of $560/ ha/annum over the next 3 years. Introducing cropping onto a dairy farm system can increase MS production and profit. Careful consideration must be given to the choice of crops to maximise DM yield and minimise the cost of production. Cropping on dairy farms can be successfully implemented, but is dependent on successful crop establishment and efficient feed management. There is potential for sustained higher MS production per cow and higher per ha by including crops in the system, but the potential may not be realised immediately due to reduced area for grazing while the first crops are being established. Keywords: cropping, milksolids, operating profit