Forage for Knowledge

True Balance Day is when grass demand is based only on what the cow can eat from grass. For example, if a cow eats 18 kg DM and you are stocked at 3 cows/ha, demand is 3 x 18 = 54 kg DM/ha.

If you’re feeding 2 kg concentrate, grass intake may drop to 16 kg/cow, so demand becomes 3 x 16 = 48 kg DM/ha.

Blending the first and second grazing rounds

In the last edition, I mentioned blending the end of the first round and the start of the second round. This could mean grazing one paddock during the day and another at night for 4–5 days.

Challenge concentrate use

Grass growth is accelerating, and data from Forage for Knowledge shows grass quality and dry matter intake potential are excellent. This makes now the right time to challenge concentrate use.

For autumn-calving cows, most are now in mid to late lactation. Any cow producing below 25 L should be challenged.

As concentrate is reduced cows will eat more grass, which increases demand. However, we’re in the growth spurt stage, so this shouldn’t cause problems.

In the last week, I’ve seen autumn-calving herds on just 0.5 kg of concentrate per milking producing the same litres and solids as similar herds still feeding 4–5 kg.

With income under pressure, now is the time to let the grass do the work.

Spring calves and concentrate reduction

For spring calvers, Balance Day is the time to start pulling back concentrate. The aim is to have cows settled with no changes in the last few weeks before breeding.

Reduce concentrate steadily and I doubt you will see any drop in production. If you don’t reduce it now, you will be locked into higher concentrate levels for all or most of the breeding period.

The target for spring-calving herds is less than 600 kg of concentrate per cow. This is a clear opportunity, but it won’t last long.

Profit comes from grass, not litres

There’s plenty of economic data from New Zealand or Ireland and AHDB Milkbench from DairyCo days showing grass utilisation and percentage grass in the diet drives profit not litres.

Managing grazing after Balance Day

After Balance Day, round length is determined by growth rate. During peak growth, skipping paddocks may be necessary.

Don’t chase grass. This leads to high entry covers and poor residuals. More on this next time.