October 14, 2025 • 29 mins
Want to make the most of your homegrown feed? This episode of Talking Dairy is a chance to catch up on what was shared at our recent Progressing Dairy events focused on maximising homegrown feed. If you couldn’t make it along – or want to hear another farmers’ and scientists’ perspective - this episode brings the event to you.
In this episode hosted by Area Manager Mattes Groenendijk, Waimakariri contract milkers Will and Sarah Gard share how they lifted pasture harvest and milk production by focusing on the basics. You’ll also hear how they plan their grazing rounds, manage residuals, and what tools they use to make informed decisions. DairyNZ’s Dawn Dalley talks about the science behind pasture allocation and mowing, while Sarah also shares insights from the DairyNZ Improved Forage Gains programme in her other job as Senior Project Manager and Programme Lead.
Links to information mentioned in this episode:
Find an event near you - DairyNZ Progressing Dairy events
DairyNZ Resilient Pastures Programme
Pasture fundamentals - DairyNZ information
Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at talkingdairy@dairynz.co.nz
Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Kilda and welcome to Talking Dairy.
I'm Mattis Grunendike, the areamanager for North Canterbury,
and the special host for thisepisode, we are sharing some key
takeaways from recentprogressing dairy events on
maximising homegrown feed.
If you couldn't make it along toone, or you did, and you'd like
to hear from another farmer'spoint of view, this is your
chance to catch up on what wasdiscussed.
In this episode, we are joinedby Will and Sarah Gard, who are
(00:24):
contract milkers in theWaimakaderi district.
They recently hosted an eventwhere the focus of the day was
simple.
How do you get the most out ofyour pasture and why does that
matter for your farm system,your profitability, and your
emissions goals?
Sarah also brings anotherperspective as a senior project
manager at DairyNZ.
She shared insights from theImproved Forage Gains Program
(00:45):
and the research DairyNZ aredoing around pasture performance
and resilience.
We're also joined by DairyNZsenior scientist Dawn Daly, who
talks about pasture allocationfrequency and the science behind
topping paddocks.
In this episode, you'll hear howthe guards make pasture
management decisions, how theymaintain pasture quality, get
(01:06):
cows and calf, and how theyoptimise nitrogen use to grow
more grass and stay profitable.
Let's get into it.
So, Sarah and Will, could youplease tell us a little bit
about yourselves and the farmthat you are on?
Thanks, Mattis.
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
We're Will in Sierra Gard and we contract milk 640
cows for Mike and Ann Prattly,just west of Crosschurch.
So we're it's 162 hectares,which makes it about four cows
to the hectare.
So reasonably intensive.
It was converted 13 years agofrom a sheep and cropping farm.
(01:42):
So it's fully irrigated.
We have two full-time staff plusmyself and one extra for rearing
calves.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
You're in the second season contract milking
currently.
How did the first season go?
SPEAKER_01 (01:57):
I think most of North Kennery had a good season
last year.
We had quite good Decembersummer rainfall, which gave us
the opportunity to be 10% abovebudgeted production.
And we, as first year contractmilkers, kept our costs under
control.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
So couldn't have had a better season, I don't think.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
No, it's good, especially when you're building
a new relationship with a farmowner.
Bit of a honeymoon phase andthen getting into it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
I think goods are a bit of an understatement there,
Will.
Yeah.
Produced uh just shy of 2,000kilograms of milk solids per
hectare, and you harvestednearly 18 tonnes of pasture
compared to a North Canterburyaverage of 14 and a half, so a
very strong result.
Could you talk us through yourpasture targets in terms of uh
average covers at differenttimes of year, pre- and
post-graze covers annualdecision making to hit those
(02:47):
targets?
SPEAKER_01 (02:49):
I guess we'll start at dry-off.
At dry off, because of ourstocking rate, we're probably
aiming to be no lower than 2,000cover, perhaps 1950.
Yeah, drawing off with 2,000cover and making sure we shut
our paddocks up that we're gonnacarve on our sacrifice paddocks
(03:11):
on early sort of mid-April,anywhere from the 5th to the
15th of April.
Oh, we've traditionally grownfive to six hundred average
cover through the winter time inthe Waymak district, so that's
heading for 2,500 to 2,600average cover for the farm.
(03:37):
And then yeah, basically sevendays before cows carve, we bring
them home to the farm and we tryand feed as little pasture to
draw cows and as much to milkingcows.
And the idea is to not drop ourpasture cover below 2,200 or
(03:59):
2300 for the whole season.
So one thing I've learnt in thelast couple of years is that the
most profitable farms don't droptheir cover below that.
It's not always possible.
There's uh weather and otherthings that can not go your way,
but yeah, and that's throughhaving a good spring rotation
planner and good planning aboutfeed and what's available to
(04:21):
you, and yeah, as we movethrough the season, making sure
we do a 24-hour grazing on ourfarm.
We start the fresh break afterafternoon milking.
And that just allows all of thecows because we have only one
herd a chance to eat as much asthey can through the night time.
(04:43):
And then we're checking themfrom about 9 a.m.
to see when they're gonna hitresidual.
So if they're gonna hit residualbefore afternoon milking, we
need to do something about it.
Or otherwise, if it's all workedout, the mass is worked out
okay, then they stay in the24-hour break.
And yeah, aiming for 1600residual, and then anywhere from
(05:08):
2800 to 3,200 depends on thetime of year.
It can be 3,200 in the springand early summer, but then get
it down a bit lower as the grassgrows reproductive.
And then at the end of summer,trying to build a wee bit of
cover.
That's not always possible, butyeah, build some cover with
(05:30):
decreasing stocking rate andputting a bit more fur on and
slowing the round down.
So trying to build it up to2,400, 2,500, and then it will
slowly get itself back down to2,000 through the autumn.
SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
So prior to this, Roll, you're managing 2,000 cows
through two cow sheds.
When it comes to pasturemanagement, how different was
that with a different scale, andwhat were the key things that
you did to still get those sameoutcomes across those two
different sized farms?
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
The principle is the same.
So trying to manage pasture, buton a larger farm you're trying
to get the same outcome throughstaff rather than yourself.
So where we are now, you canhave a lot more control and make
those decisions yourself,whereas on a larger farm you're
(06:25):
learning the staff's pasturedecisions and then spending more
of your time checking up andseeing how the residuals look
rather than being more hands-on.
SPEAKER_00 (06:39):
In your first season on the farm, you also had a
significant lift in thereproductive performance of the
herd, bringing it up to a 78%in-calf rate and uh 10% not
in-calf rate.
What were the key steps you didto achieve that?
SPEAKER_01 (06:52):
The simple answer is feeding.
But as we know, dairy farming isnot really that simple.
So the devil was in the detailreally.
I guess we took over cows thatweren't too skinny like the
previous contract milkers haddone a good job.
And then, yeah, we werefollowing up on individual cows
(07:14):
through the winter time, makingsure that they were fed well
pre-carving and that their bodycondition score was at five or
over, especially for the youngcows.
Some things out of our controlwere our young stock were really
well grown.
So they could carve at five anda half and didn't lose.
(07:35):
Or probably they only lost halfa condition score, so we had a
good mating result with ourfirst carvers.
And then I think a big part ofwhy we achieved that was our
conception rate was a lot higherthan it had been in the past, so
we were 58% conception rateversus well 50.
(07:57):
I'd been down in 48 before in myprevious role, so yeah, and we
did that through not milking theinseminated cows that afternoon.
So they were AI'd and then wentback to the next 24-hour break.
So there was however many cowsyou have up, and they were in
the whole paddock and theywaited for the herd to come and
(08:18):
join them.
And I think that really helpedour conception rate.
And then it's all the littleminute details that go into it.
Irrigating at the right times,making sure cows aren't hungry.
Dawn's gonna talk about it, butmaking sure pasture quality is
really good through the summerwith mowing pre or post.
We did a bit of both.
(08:39):
We probably post-mode andpre-mode 40% of the farm last
year.
It's just a good season for us.
Gotta have some luck, otherwiseyou'd have no luck.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
At the event on your place, you talked about being a
bit of a risk taker and don'tmind putting yourself under some
pressure.
How does that translate intoyour pasture management
decisions?
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
It essentially means being three to five days in
front of being comfortable, Isuppose.
So I guess the biggest oneleading up to mating is getting
your balance date right.
If we can see that our balancedate is gonna be in five days'
time, say every run, say it'sthe 10th of October.
(09:20):
Maybe this year it might be afraction later because of the
the colder spring that we've hadin Canterbury.
Then coming up to that, it'sdoing our pasture walks, making
sure our average pasture coveris not increasing too much, and
then yeah, making sure we getwhat was a 28-30-day round onto
a 21-day round at the right timein order to not gain or lose too
(09:43):
much pasture cover.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
Well, you mentioned uh that you do 24-hour grazings
on your farm.
Dawn, could you tell us whywould farmers consider offering
fresh pasture more frequentlythan every 12 or 24 hours and
what research has been donelooking at the effects of this?
SPEAKER_04 (09:59):
By offering pasture more frequently, farmers think
that they will stimulate thecows to get up and eat more, and
therefore, as a result of that,we'll be able to produce more
milk.
There's been a couple ofresearch studies that have been
done both in New Zealand andalso in Australia that have
(10:19):
looked at this.
And I was involved in someresearch in Australia where we
were comparing cows that weregetting their pasture as a
24-hour break with those thatwere getting that same amount of
pasture but offered as six freshbreaks during the day, so split
into six different feeds.
(10:39):
As part of the research, we werealso looking at two different
levels of pasture allocation.
So if you offered them moretotal feed and you offered it
six times a day, could youactually get them to eat more
and therefore produce more?
What we found from the researchwas that giving them a 24-hour
(11:00):
break versus six smaller breaks,there was no difference in
measured pasture intake.
So we were doing a lot of pre-and post-grazing measurements,
so to estimate their pastureintake, there was no difference
in milk production or grazingtime or rumination time.
So essentially we did a lot morework by putting up six lots of
(11:23):
fences, and we didn't get nohigher intake or milk production
from it.
In that research, what we didfind was that if we gave them a
higher feed allocation, so weoffered them more feed during
that 24-hour period, that's whenwe saw that increase in milk
production associated with quitea significant increase in
(11:45):
intake.
The results of that researchdemonstrated that it's really
the total feed allocation, sothe kilograms of dry matter per
cow, that is more important interms of increasing intake and
milk production than how oftenyou offer them fresh pasture
during that 24-hour period.
And what we think is happeningin terms of farmers' belief that
(12:09):
by offering it more frequentlythey do get an increase in
production is because theyactually offer more feed over
that 24-hour period than theywould have if they'd just given
them a single 24-hour break.
There was also some recentresearch done by DairyNZ that
took this to the next levelwhere they compared cows
(12:32):
allocated either pasture fourtimes per day, once a week, so
they got seven days worth offeed all at once, or continuous
grazing, so set stocking.
What that research found wasthat they did see changes in
behaviour with the less frequentpasture allocation, so that
(12:55):
increased the eating time anddecreased the lying time.
But the milk solids productiondidn't differ between those
three quite diverse treatments.
One of the things that theresearch did show was that the
pasture growth decreased whenthey moved to the weekly and the
(13:18):
continuous allocation of pasturebecause the cows were constantly
back grazing over the pasturethat had already been grazed.
So I guess the two lots ofresearch that are quite
different in their approach haveboth indicated that increasing
the frequency of allocationdoesn't increase intake and
therefore milk production.
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
Sarah, from your work at Darian Z as a senior
project manager, what are thekey projects in the Improved
Forage Gains program that willsupport farmers in maximizing
their homegrown feed?
SPEAKER_02 (13:51):
I lead our improved forage gains program at DariNZ,
which is one of the ninestrategic priorities.
Yeah, a great team of reallydedicated and incredibly
intelligent forage scientists inthere.
So I guess our program has astrong focus on addressing the
spectrum of challenges aroundpasture performance that farmers
are facing.
(14:11):
So we have five differentprojects in the program, and
they're addressing everythingfrom climate resilience of
pastures and things like how weuse different pasture species
and management practices andfeed supply strategies to kind
of enable that resilience toclimate right through to our
forage value index project,which is a bit more of a genetic
(14:32):
focus.
So looking at that genetic gainin plant breeding, right through
again to like the pasture techspace.
So yeah, I guess we cover a bitof everything in the pasture
world, and that's desktop work,modelling and analyses, sort of
at a computer desktop level,through to there's mechanistic
work measuring the physiology ofindividual plants, up to plot
(14:55):
trials, right through to farmsystems scale research happening
there.
So a bit of everything.
Yeah, the Foragers program isalso home to the Resilient
Pastures program, which wasannounced recently at National
Field Days.
So that's a large seven-year,$17million cross-sectoral program,
which is based in the UpperNorth Island, focused on
(15:16):
enhancing the resilience andrecovery of pastures to climate
and weather events.
So anyone interested in that cancheck out the DairyNZ webpage
for more info on that program.
But yeah, that's a bit of ataste of the scale of everything
that we cover in the ForagersProgram.
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
You've also done a bit of work recently looking at
different technologies and toolsfor measuring pastures.
What can you tell us about thatand what did you find out?
SPEAKER_02 (15:40):
Last year we did a bit of a stop take on what tools
and technologies are availableto New Zealand farmers for
measuring pasture performance.
And yeah, I guess a bit of adisclaimer that that information
is over 12 months old now andthings evolve really rapidly in
that tech space in general, butalso in the pasture tech space.
So yeah, we had a look at all ofthe different commercial and
(16:01):
some pre-commercial tools thatwere available to farmers.
And we looked at everything fromsort of their accuracy, their
limitations, ease of use, theway the tools work, all that
sort of thing.
And yeah, there was definitely areal range in most of those
aspects.
So we're talking, you know,things like AMA, Pasture I.O.,
(16:22):
halter, farmote, you know, andthen we also covered traditional
tools like rising plate meters,even things like the CDAX
pasture meter.
One of the things that reallystood out to us most is that a
lot of these new technologiesare ground truthing or
validating using a rising platemeter.
And then when we look at theaccuracy of the rising plate
(16:44):
meter as a tool, it has its ownchallenges around accuracy and
can really vary, you know, 300up to even 1500 kgs of dry
matter per hectare around itsaccuracy.
So it makes it challenging toknow how accurate some of those
tools really are when, well,ground-truthing with a a tool
(17:05):
that has its own measurementerror.
So yeah, I guess that was aninteresting finding for us.
Like I say, we looked at lots ofdifferent criteria, but I guess
one of the main sort of findingsin the end is that there's no
one size fits all tool that'sgoing to work for everybody.
We're not going to sort of standhere and say that this was the
(17:25):
best tool and everybody shoulduse it because it's very
determined by what your personaldrivers are and what you're
looking for in your pasturetool.
Like if cost is important oraccuracy is important.
For some people, ease of use or,you know, really low labour
requirements is what's drivingthem.
So depending on what's mostimportant to you, will determine
(17:46):
which tool is best for your farmsystem.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
What have you found that's best for you on the farm
well?
SPEAKER_01 (17:53):
We use a rising plate meter.
And we do it on the same day ofthe week and by the same person,
unless it's raining or theperson's way on holiday.
At least that gives us aconsistent result.
I'm probably more very much afarmer by feel and what the cows
(18:13):
tell me rather than yeah, therising plate meter gives you a
longest paddock or a the a rangeof uh covers, and you know when
you're last when the paddock waslast grazed, and then you can
make some decisions around that.
SPEAKER_00 (18:26):
Dawn, can you please explain the science behind
pre-graze mowing and post-grazetopping and when these practices
might be useful?
SPEAKER_04 (18:34):
Before I get into that, I guess mowing of pastures
is probably two primary reasonswhy we would mow pastures.
One is to conserve any surplusthat we might have as either
silage or balage, and the secondis to reset residuals when the
cows haven't achieved what thedesired residual might be for
(18:58):
the farm.
In terms of setting theresiduals, there's two main ways
that we can do this.
One is, as you've mentioned,pre-graze mowing, and the other
one is post-graze topping.
Both come with their advantagesand disadvantages, but I'll get
on to discussing that in alittle bit.
First, I wanted to talk throughsome research that was done at
(19:21):
the Lincoln University ResearchDairy Farm a few years ago now.
So that was comparing theperformance of herds that the
pastures were pre-graze mown ateach grazing with another herd
where the cows did pretty muchall of the grazing.
And then, if there were anytimes when residuals weren't
(19:41):
met, then there was somepost-graze topping that was
done.
What that research found wasthat there was no consistent
benefit in terms of milkproduction from pre-graze
mowing.
Also, need to mention that thepre-graze mowing happened at
every grazing event.
So no difference in milkproduction or body condition
(20:02):
score or intake, so there wereno advantages there.
What the research did show thatthere was reduced eating time
with the cows that had theirpasture pre-mowing, and that's
because they didn't have to gothrough the process of actually
chewing or biting that grassoff, so easier for them to
actually consume it.
But it didn't increase theiroverall intake or rumination
(20:25):
time.
So you might have thought thatbecause they could eat it more
quickly, it would increase theiroverall intake, but that was not
the case with the research.
What the team did find was thatconsistent or constant mowing of
the pasture resulted in reducedpasture density and fewer
tillers.
Tillers are really important forthe resilience of the pastures,
(20:48):
and so that led to lowerregrowth potential.
And as a result, they actuallyneeded to feed more
supplementary feed in thatsystem where the pregrawed
mowing was happening.
The other thing, which wasprobably a little bit of a
surprise from the research, wasactually just the amount of
wastage that occurred with thepregraze mowing.
They measured between 120 and200 kilograms of dry matter per
(21:13):
hectare wastage.
So that was grass that wasmowing, but the cows didn't end
up eating it.
So that's potentially one of thereasons why there was no
increase in milk production aswell.
And overall, because there was alot more tractor usage and more
time required, there was adecrease in the profitability of
(21:33):
that system where pregrazemowing was used consistently
throughout the season.
Going back to the advantages anddisadvantages of preged mowing
versus post-graze topping, froma preggraze mowing perspective,
I mean, as you've heard Will sayhe's used both, but at the event
(21:54):
on last week, one of hisadvantages for pre-graze mowing
was that the tractor staysclean, which is a valid point.
From a disadvantage is that bymowing everything off to the
same height, you remove theability of the cows to select
the parts of the pasture thatthey would prefer to eat.
From previous research that'sbeen done, you actually decrease
(22:17):
the overall quality of thepasture that is consumed.
I guess the flip side of thatwith the post-graze topping is
that the cows have that abilityto select and so have that
opportunity not to eat as farinto those urine and dung
patches, not having to eat thatlower quality feed.
(22:37):
Once the cows have been in thepaddock, there is a high risk of
getting quite a lot of dung onthe tractor, so that will need a
clean afterwards.
The other thing about thepost-graze topping is that the
cows may actually hit theresidual that you want them to
hit anyway, so you can actuallyavoid having to bring the
tractor out at all.
So pros and cons of both, and itdoes really depend on the
(23:00):
preference of the farmer.
But I guess that the key messagein terms of mowing to set
residual is that the mower isset to the right height so that
actually you do set thatresidual so you get that
high-quality pasture insubsequent grazings.
SPEAKER_00 (23:18):
If you are going to post-groze top, how long after
the cows have been there can youdo that?
SPEAKER_04 (23:24):
That's a great question.
It will depend a little bitabout the time of year and the
growing conditions, because thatwill affect how quickly the
pasture regrows.
But at the peak of the season,you really need to be getting in
there within 24 hours of thecows coming out because we'll be
starting to see regrowth, andyou don't want to be topping
(23:45):
that regrowth off because thatjust adds a little bit more
stress onto the ryegrass plant.
SPEAKER_00 (23:51):
Let's uh talk about fertilizer use or urea
specifically.
What are you guys doing tospread your urea applications
across the season, Will?
SPEAKER_01 (24:00):
So we plan for 10 applications, but our grazing
rounds are probably more like 11to 12, depending on the year.
In early spring, we're applying20, starting off with 25 kgs of
yen per hectare.
(24:21):
Second one is 22 units of yen,and then third round is 18 units
of yen, and that for spring andearly summer is maintaining
pasture quality, especiallygoing into mating time.
And it stops the pastures goingreproductive earlier.
And then once we get intoNovember, December, January, we
(24:43):
split our maintenance fertiliserover three applications, and
that has a really low E rate oflike eight units of E.
And that's because through thesummer period the plant can't
utilise the nitrogen that well,especially in Canterbury with
the heat.
And then going into autumn, weprobably have to skip around
(25:06):
because we get really keen andget on a 20-day round when we
should only be on a 23, so weprobably skip, make sure we
don't skip the whole farm all inone round.
But over three rounds of thefarm, we're sort of skipping
fertiliser applications andmaking sure that we don't dig
ourselves into a hole.
And then we use progyb, not inthe spring, in the autumn with a
(25:28):
low rate of liquid N.
That's usually about February,March.
And then we have twoapplications in March and April
of a higher N rate to build somecover leading into dry-off.
And also when it's a bit coolerand the plant can utilize the
nitrogen better.
Getting as close as we can to190 units of N in Canterbury,
(25:50):
you can utilize it withirrigation and usually a
predictable climate.
SPEAKER_00 (25:55):
So looking ahead, what's one practical change that
farmers could try this season tomake the most of their homegrown
feed?
SPEAKER_02 (26:02):
If you're not already doing it, it's measuring
your pasture.
You can't manage it if you don'tknow what's there.
So measure, know what you'vegot, and then you can make
informed decisions from there.
From that work we did witharound the pasture tools last
year, did write a paper fromthat.
So yeah, you can give that aGoogle around pasture
performance tools.
It's in the Grasslands Journal.
So find what the best tool isfor you and just measure what
(26:24):
you've got.
SPEAKER_01 (26:25):
I think it depends on what you're trying to
achieve.
If you're trying to make achange, what is it?
If you don't do any mowing, youcould try to do some mowing or
12-hour grazing versus 24-hourgrazing or 70-30, you know.
Perhaps you could try if you dolots of pre-mowing, you could
raise a dirty tractor and dosome post-graze topping.
Is that perhaps on the cards foryou this season, Will?
(26:49):
Yeah, we'll probably do morepost-graze topping rather than
pre-mowing.
SPEAKER_04 (26:54):
Having the information to make the
decisions, but also involvingyour team in that as well, so
they know what you're trying toachieve, so that you don't have
to be going out and getting thetractor out, having to reset
residuals.
Because as Will's alreadymentioned, that consistency in
terms of your average pasturecover through the season,
(27:16):
there's been the evidence toshow that if you can keep your
average pasture cover in a quitea tight band, then that
definitely helps in terms of theprofitability of the system.
So measuring it and beingconsistent with your decision
making around your pasturequantity and quality would be my
my take homes.
SPEAKER_02 (27:35):
And I think just remembering that all the little
1% add up.
So that eye for detail acrossall of the little things, I
think that's probably whatreally gets us to where we are
in terms of our pasture harvest,just paying attention to all the
small things because, yeah, likeI say, they do add up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:51):
That's it for today's episode of Talking
Dairy.
A big thanks to Will and SarahGard and to Dr.
Dawn Daly for sharing theirinsights and experience.
What we've heard today isexactly what progressing dairy
events are all about.
Farmers and experts comingtogether to share what's
working, why it works, and howwe can all keep improving season
after season.
(28:11):
If you'd like to learn more orfind an event near you, head to
DariNZ.co.nz forward slashevents.
These events are a great way topick up practical ideas, connect
with other farmers, and takehome tips you can put into
action on your own farm.
You can also find the links inthe show notes.
If you'd like to get connectedwith DariNZ's latest advice,
research tools, and resources,whether it's reading, scrolling,
(28:35):
listening, or in person, you canvisit dairynz.co.nz forward
slash get-connected.
And don't forget to hit followto keep up to date with our
latest episodes.
SPEAKER_03 (28:53):
Thanks for tuning into this episode of Talking
Dairy.
Make sure to hit follow so youcan keep up to date with our
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As always, if you have anyfeedback on this podcast or have
some ideas for future topics orguests to have on the show,
(29:16):
please email us at talkingdairyat dairynz.co.nz.
Matiwa, Modi Order, catch younext time.
Kilda and welcome to Talking Dairy.
I'm Mattis Grunendike, the areamanager for North Canterbury,
and the special host for thisepisode, we are sharing some key
takeaways from recentprogressing dairy events on
maximising homegrown feed.
If you couldn't make it along toone, or you did, and you'd like
to hear from another farmer'spoint of view, this is your
chance to catch up on what wasdiscussed.
In this episode, we are joinedby Will and Sarah Gard, who are
(00:24):
contract milkers in theWaimakaderi district.
They recently hosted an eventwhere the focus of the day was
simple.
How do you get the most out ofyour pasture and why does that
matter for your farm system,your profitability, and your
emissions goals?
Sarah also brings anotherperspective as a senior project
manager at DairyNZ.
She shared insights from theImproved Forage Gains Program
(00:45):
and the research DairyNZ aredoing around pasture performance
and resilience.
We're also joined by DairyNZsenior scientist Dawn Daly, who
talks about pasture allocationfrequency and the science behind
topping paddocks.
In this episode, you'll hear howthe guards make pasture
management decisions, how theymaintain pasture quality, get
(01:06):
cows and calf, and how theyoptimise nitrogen use to grow
more grass and stay profitable.
Let's get into it.
So, Sarah and Will, could youplease tell us a little bit
about yourselves and the farmthat you are on?
Thanks, Mattis.
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
We're Will in Sierra Gard and we contract milk 640
cows for Mike and Ann Prattly,just west of Crosschurch.
So we're it's 162 hectares,which makes it about four cows
to the hectare.
So reasonably intensive.
It was converted 13 years agofrom a sheep and cropping farm.
(01:42):
So it's fully irrigated.
We have two full-time staff plusmyself and one extra for rearing
calves.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
You're in the second season contract milking
currently.
How did the first season go?
SPEAKER_01 (01:57):
I think most of North Kennery had a good season
last year.
We had quite good Decembersummer rainfall, which gave us
the opportunity to be 10% abovebudgeted production.
And we, as first year contractmilkers, kept our costs under
control.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
So couldn't have had a better season, I don't think.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
No, it's good, especially when you're building
a new relationship with a farmowner.
Bit of a honeymoon phase andthen getting into it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
I think goods are a bit of an understatement there,
Will.
Yeah.
Produced uh just shy of 2,000kilograms of milk solids per
hectare, and you harvestednearly 18 tonnes of pasture
compared to a North Canterburyaverage of 14 and a half, so a
very strong result.
Could you talk us through yourpasture targets in terms of uh
average covers at differenttimes of year, pre- and
post-graze covers annualdecision making to hit those
(02:47):
targets?
SPEAKER_01 (02:49):
I guess we'll start at dry-off.
At dry off, because of ourstocking rate, we're probably
aiming to be no lower than 2,000cover, perhaps 1950.
Yeah, drawing off with 2,000cover and making sure we shut
our paddocks up that we're gonnacarve on our sacrifice paddocks
(03:11):
on early sort of mid-April,anywhere from the 5th to the
15th of April.
Oh, we've traditionally grownfive to six hundred average
cover through the winter time inthe Waymak district, so that's
heading for 2,500 to 2,600average cover for the farm.
(03:37):
And then yeah, basically sevendays before cows carve, we bring
them home to the farm and we tryand feed as little pasture to
draw cows and as much to milkingcows.
And the idea is to not drop ourpasture cover below 2,200 or
(03:59):
2300 for the whole season.
So one thing I've learnt in thelast couple of years is that the
most profitable farms don't droptheir cover below that.
It's not always possible.
There's uh weather and otherthings that can not go your way,
but yeah, and that's throughhaving a good spring rotation
planner and good planning aboutfeed and what's available to
(04:21):
you, and yeah, as we movethrough the season, making sure
we do a 24-hour grazing on ourfarm.
We start the fresh break afterafternoon milking.
And that just allows all of thecows because we have only one
herd a chance to eat as much asthey can through the night time.
(04:43):
And then we're checking themfrom about 9 a.m.
to see when they're gonna hitresidual.
So if they're gonna hit residualbefore afternoon milking, we
need to do something about it.
Or otherwise, if it's all workedout, the mass is worked out
okay, then they stay in the24-hour break.
And yeah, aiming for 1600residual, and then anywhere from
(05:08):
2800 to 3,200 depends on thetime of year.
It can be 3,200 in the springand early summer, but then get
it down a bit lower as the grassgrows reproductive.
And then at the end of summer,trying to build a wee bit of
cover.
That's not always possible, butyeah, build some cover with
(05:30):
decreasing stocking rate andputting a bit more fur on and
slowing the round down.
So trying to build it up to2,400, 2,500, and then it will
slowly get itself back down to2,000 through the autumn.
SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
So prior to this, Roll, you're managing 2,000 cows
through two cow sheds.
When it comes to pasturemanagement, how different was
that with a different scale, andwhat were the key things that
you did to still get those sameoutcomes across those two
different sized farms?
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
The principle is the same.
So trying to manage pasture, buton a larger farm you're trying
to get the same outcome throughstaff rather than yourself.
So where we are now, you canhave a lot more control and make
those decisions yourself,whereas on a larger farm you're
(06:25):
learning the staff's pasturedecisions and then spending more
of your time checking up andseeing how the residuals look
rather than being more hands-on.
SPEAKER_00 (06:39):
In your first season on the farm, you also had a
significant lift in thereproductive performance of the
herd, bringing it up to a 78%in-calf rate and uh 10% not
in-calf rate.
What were the key steps you didto achieve that?
SPEAKER_01 (06:52):
The simple answer is feeding.
But as we know, dairy farming isnot really that simple.
So the devil was in the detailreally.
I guess we took over cows thatweren't too skinny like the
previous contract milkers haddone a good job.
And then, yeah, we werefollowing up on individual cows
(07:14):
through the winter time, makingsure that they were fed well
pre-carving and that their bodycondition score was at five or
over, especially for the youngcows.
Some things out of our controlwere our young stock were really
well grown.
So they could carve at five anda half and didn't lose.
(07:35):
Or probably they only lost halfa condition score, so we had a
good mating result with ourfirst carvers.
And then I think a big part ofwhy we achieved that was our
conception rate was a lot higherthan it had been in the past, so
we were 58% conception rateversus well 50.
(07:57):
I'd been down in 48 before in myprevious role, so yeah, and we
did that through not milking theinseminated cows that afternoon.
So they were AI'd and then wentback to the next 24-hour break.
So there was however many cowsyou have up, and they were in
the whole paddock and theywaited for the herd to come and
(08:18):
join them.
And I think that really helpedour conception rate.
And then it's all the littleminute details that go into it.
Irrigating at the right times,making sure cows aren't hungry.
Dawn's gonna talk about it, butmaking sure pasture quality is
really good through the summerwith mowing pre or post.
We did a bit of both.
(08:39):
We probably post-mode andpre-mode 40% of the farm last
year.
It's just a good season for us.
Gotta have some luck, otherwiseyou'd have no luck.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
At the event on your place, you talked about being a
bit of a risk taker and don'tmind putting yourself under some
pressure.
How does that translate intoyour pasture management
decisions?
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
It essentially means being three to five days in
front of being comfortable, Isuppose.
So I guess the biggest oneleading up to mating is getting
your balance date right.
If we can see that our balancedate is gonna be in five days'
time, say every run, say it'sthe 10th of October.
(09:20):
Maybe this year it might be afraction later because of the
the colder spring that we've hadin Canterbury.
Then coming up to that, it'sdoing our pasture walks, making
sure our average pasture coveris not increasing too much, and
then yeah, making sure we getwhat was a 28-30-day round onto
a 21-day round at the right timein order to not gain or lose too
(09:43):
much pasture cover.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
Well, you mentioned uh that you do 24-hour grazings
on your farm.
Dawn, could you tell us whywould farmers consider offering
fresh pasture more frequentlythan every 12 or 24 hours and
what research has been donelooking at the effects of this?
SPEAKER_04 (09:59):
By offering pasture more frequently, farmers think
that they will stimulate thecows to get up and eat more, and
therefore, as a result of that,we'll be able to produce more
milk.
There's been a couple ofresearch studies that have been
done both in New Zealand andalso in Australia that have
(10:19):
looked at this.
And I was involved in someresearch in Australia where we
were comparing cows that weregetting their pasture as a
24-hour break with those thatwere getting that same amount of
pasture but offered as six freshbreaks during the day, so split
into six different feeds.
(10:39):
As part of the research, we werealso looking at two different
levels of pasture allocation.
So if you offered them moretotal feed and you offered it
six times a day, could youactually get them to eat more
and therefore produce more?
What we found from the researchwas that giving them a 24-hour
(11:00):
break versus six smaller breaks,there was no difference in
measured pasture intake.
So we were doing a lot of pre-and post-grazing measurements,
so to estimate their pastureintake, there was no difference
in milk production or grazingtime or rumination time.
So essentially we did a lot morework by putting up six lots of
(11:23):
fences, and we didn't get nohigher intake or milk production
from it.
In that research, what we didfind was that if we gave them a
higher feed allocation, so weoffered them more feed during
that 24-hour period, that's whenwe saw that increase in milk
production associated with quitea significant increase in
(11:45):
intake.
The results of that researchdemonstrated that it's really
the total feed allocation, sothe kilograms of dry matter per
cow, that is more important interms of increasing intake and
milk production than how oftenyou offer them fresh pasture
during that 24-hour period.
And what we think is happeningin terms of farmers' belief that
(12:09):
by offering it more frequentlythey do get an increase in
production is because theyactually offer more feed over
that 24-hour period than theywould have if they'd just given
them a single 24-hour break.
There was also some recentresearch done by DairyNZ that
took this to the next levelwhere they compared cows
(12:32):
allocated either pasture fourtimes per day, once a week, so
they got seven days worth offeed all at once, or continuous
grazing, so set stocking.
What that research found wasthat they did see changes in
behaviour with the less frequentpasture allocation, so that
(12:55):
increased the eating time anddecreased the lying time.
But the milk solids productiondidn't differ between those
three quite diverse treatments.
One of the things that theresearch did show was that the
pasture growth decreased whenthey moved to the weekly and the
(13:18):
continuous allocation of pasturebecause the cows were constantly
back grazing over the pasturethat had already been grazed.
So I guess the two lots ofresearch that are quite
different in their approach haveboth indicated that increasing
the frequency of allocationdoesn't increase intake and
therefore milk production.
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
Sarah, from your work at Darian Z as a senior
project manager, what are thekey projects in the Improved
Forage Gains program that willsupport farmers in maximizing
their homegrown feed?
SPEAKER_02 (13:51):
I lead our improved forage gains program at DariNZ,
which is one of the ninestrategic priorities.
Yeah, a great team of reallydedicated and incredibly
intelligent forage scientists inthere.
So I guess our program has astrong focus on addressing the
spectrum of challenges aroundpasture performance that farmers
are facing.
(14:11):
So we have five differentprojects in the program, and
they're addressing everythingfrom climate resilience of
pastures and things like how weuse different pasture species
and management practices andfeed supply strategies to kind
of enable that resilience toclimate right through to our
forage value index project,which is a bit more of a genetic
(14:32):
focus.
So looking at that genetic gainin plant breeding, right through
again to like the pasture techspace.
So yeah, I guess we cover a bitof everything in the pasture
world, and that's desktop work,modelling and analyses, sort of
at a computer desktop level,through to there's mechanistic
work measuring the physiology ofindividual plants, up to plot
(14:55):
trials, right through to farmsystems scale research happening
there.
So a bit of everything.
Yeah, the Foragers program isalso home to the Resilient
Pastures program, which wasannounced recently at National
Field Days.
So that's a large seven-year,$17million cross-sectoral program,
which is based in the UpperNorth Island, focused on
(15:16):
enhancing the resilience andrecovery of pastures to climate
and weather events.
So anyone interested in that cancheck out the DairyNZ webpage
for more info on that program.
But yeah, that's a bit of ataste of the scale of everything
that we cover in the ForagersProgram.
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
You've also done a bit of work recently looking at
different technologies and toolsfor measuring pastures.
What can you tell us about thatand what did you find out?
SPEAKER_02 (15:40):
Last year we did a bit of a stop take on what tools
and technologies are availableto New Zealand farmers for
measuring pasture performance.
And yeah, I guess a bit of adisclaimer that that information
is over 12 months old now andthings evolve really rapidly in
that tech space in general, butalso in the pasture tech space.
So yeah, we had a look at all ofthe different commercial and
(16:01):
some pre-commercial tools thatwere available to farmers.
And we looked at everything fromsort of their accuracy, their
limitations, ease of use, theway the tools work, all that
sort of thing.
And yeah, there was definitely areal range in most of those
aspects.
So we're talking, you know,things like AMA, Pasture I.O.,
(16:22):
halter, farmote, you know, andthen we also covered traditional
tools like rising plate meters,even things like the CDAX
pasture meter.
One of the things that reallystood out to us most is that a
lot of these new technologiesare ground truthing or
validating using a rising platemeter.
And then when we look at theaccuracy of the rising plate
(16:44):
meter as a tool, it has its ownchallenges around accuracy and
can really vary, you know, 300up to even 1500 kgs of dry
matter per hectare around itsaccuracy.
So it makes it challenging toknow how accurate some of those
tools really are when, well,ground-truthing with a a tool
(17:05):
that has its own measurementerror.
So yeah, I guess that was aninteresting finding for us.
Like I say, we looked at lots ofdifferent criteria, but I guess
one of the main sort of findingsin the end is that there's no
one size fits all tool that'sgoing to work for everybody.
We're not going to sort of standhere and say that this was the
(17:25):
best tool and everybody shoulduse it because it's very
determined by what your personaldrivers are and what you're
looking for in your pasturetool.
Like if cost is important oraccuracy is important.
For some people, ease of use or,you know, really low labour
requirements is what's drivingthem.
So depending on what's mostimportant to you, will determine
(17:46):
which tool is best for your farmsystem.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
What have you found that's best for you on the farm
well?
SPEAKER_01 (17:53):
We use a rising plate meter.
And we do it on the same day ofthe week and by the same person,
unless it's raining or theperson's way on holiday.
At least that gives us aconsistent result.
I'm probably more very much afarmer by feel and what the cows
(18:13):
tell me rather than yeah, therising plate meter gives you a
longest paddock or a the a rangeof uh covers, and you know when
you're last when the paddock waslast grazed, and then you can
make some decisions around that.
SPEAKER_00 (18:26):
Dawn, can you please explain the science behind
pre-graze mowing and post-grazetopping and when these practices
might be useful?
SPEAKER_04 (18:34):
Before I get into that, I guess mowing of pastures
is probably two primary reasonswhy we would mow pastures.
One is to conserve any surplusthat we might have as either
silage or balage, and the secondis to reset residuals when the
cows haven't achieved what thedesired residual might be for
(18:58):
the farm.
In terms of setting theresiduals, there's two main ways
that we can do this.
One is, as you've mentioned,pre-graze mowing, and the other
one is post-graze topping.
Both come with their advantagesand disadvantages, but I'll get
on to discussing that in alittle bit.
First, I wanted to talk throughsome research that was done at
(19:21):
the Lincoln University ResearchDairy Farm a few years ago now.
So that was comparing theperformance of herds that the
pastures were pre-graze mown ateach grazing with another herd
where the cows did pretty muchall of the grazing.
And then, if there were anytimes when residuals weren't
(19:41):
met, then there was somepost-graze topping that was
done.
What that research found wasthat there was no consistent
benefit in terms of milkproduction from pre-graze
mowing.
Also, need to mention that thepre-graze mowing happened at
every grazing event.
So no difference in milkproduction or body condition
(20:02):
score or intake, so there wereno advantages there.
What the research did show thatthere was reduced eating time
with the cows that had theirpasture pre-mowing, and that's
because they didn't have to gothrough the process of actually
chewing or biting that grassoff, so easier for them to
actually consume it.
But it didn't increase theiroverall intake or rumination
(20:25):
time.
So you might have thought thatbecause they could eat it more
quickly, it would increase theiroverall intake, but that was not
the case with the research.
What the team did find was thatconsistent or constant mowing of
the pasture resulted in reducedpasture density and fewer
tillers.
Tillers are really important forthe resilience of the pastures,
(20:48):
and so that led to lowerregrowth potential.
And as a result, they actuallyneeded to feed more
supplementary feed in thatsystem where the pregrawed
mowing was happening.
The other thing, which wasprobably a little bit of a
surprise from the research, wasactually just the amount of
wastage that occurred with thepregraze mowing.
They measured between 120 and200 kilograms of dry matter per
(21:13):
hectare wastage.
So that was grass that wasmowing, but the cows didn't end
up eating it.
So that's potentially one of thereasons why there was no
increase in milk production aswell.
And overall, because there was alot more tractor usage and more
time required, there was adecrease in the profitability of
(21:33):
that system where pregrazemowing was used consistently
throughout the season.
Going back to the advantages anddisadvantages of preged mowing
versus post-graze topping, froma preggraze mowing perspective,
I mean, as you've heard Will sayhe's used both, but at the event
(21:54):
on last week, one of hisadvantages for pre-graze mowing
was that the tractor staysclean, which is a valid point.
From a disadvantage is that bymowing everything off to the
same height, you remove theability of the cows to select
the parts of the pasture thatthey would prefer to eat.
From previous research that'sbeen done, you actually decrease
(22:17):
the overall quality of thepasture that is consumed.
I guess the flip side of thatwith the post-graze topping is
that the cows have that abilityto select and so have that
opportunity not to eat as farinto those urine and dung
patches, not having to eat thatlower quality feed.
(22:37):
Once the cows have been in thepaddock, there is a high risk of
getting quite a lot of dung onthe tractor, so that will need a
clean afterwards.
The other thing about thepost-graze topping is that the
cows may actually hit theresidual that you want them to
hit anyway, so you can actuallyavoid having to bring the
tractor out at all.
So pros and cons of both, and itdoes really depend on the
(23:00):
preference of the farmer.
But I guess that the key messagein terms of mowing to set
residual is that the mower isset to the right height so that
actually you do set thatresidual so you get that
high-quality pasture insubsequent grazings.
SPEAKER_00 (23:18):
If you are going to post-groze top, how long after
the cows have been there can youdo that?
SPEAKER_04 (23:24):
That's a great question.
It will depend a little bitabout the time of year and the
growing conditions, because thatwill affect how quickly the
pasture regrows.
But at the peak of the season,you really need to be getting in
there within 24 hours of thecows coming out because we'll be
starting to see regrowth, andyou don't want to be topping
(23:45):
that regrowth off because thatjust adds a little bit more
stress onto the ryegrass plant.
SPEAKER_00 (23:51):
Let's uh talk about fertilizer use or urea
specifically.
What are you guys doing tospread your urea applications
across the season, Will?
SPEAKER_01 (24:00):
So we plan for 10 applications, but our grazing
rounds are probably more like 11to 12, depending on the year.
In early spring, we're applying20, starting off with 25 kgs of
yen per hectare.
(24:21):
Second one is 22 units of yen,and then third round is 18 units
of yen, and that for spring andearly summer is maintaining
pasture quality, especiallygoing into mating time.
And it stops the pastures goingreproductive earlier.
And then once we get intoNovember, December, January, we
(24:43):
split our maintenance fertiliserover three applications, and
that has a really low E rate oflike eight units of E.
And that's because through thesummer period the plant can't
utilise the nitrogen that well,especially in Canterbury with
the heat.
And then going into autumn, weprobably have to skip around
(25:06):
because we get really keen andget on a 20-day round when we
should only be on a 23, so weprobably skip, make sure we
don't skip the whole farm all inone round.
But over three rounds of thefarm, we're sort of skipping
fertiliser applications andmaking sure that we don't dig
ourselves into a hole.
And then we use progyb, not inthe spring, in the autumn with a
(25:28):
low rate of liquid N.
That's usually about February,March.
And then we have twoapplications in March and April
of a higher N rate to build somecover leading into dry-off.
And also when it's a bit coolerand the plant can utilize the
nitrogen better.
Getting as close as we can to190 units of N in Canterbury,
(25:50):
you can utilize it withirrigation and usually a
predictable climate.
SPEAKER_00 (25:55):
So looking ahead, what's one practical change that
farmers could try this season tomake the most of their homegrown
feed?
SPEAKER_02 (26:02):
If you're not already doing it, it's measuring
your pasture.
You can't manage it if you don'tknow what's there.
So measure, know what you'vegot, and then you can make
informed decisions from there.
From that work we did witharound the pasture tools last
year, did write a paper fromthat.
So yeah, you can give that aGoogle around pasture
performance tools.
It's in the Grasslands Journal.
So find what the best tool isfor you and just measure what
(26:24):
you've got.
SPEAKER_01 (26:25):
I think it depends on what you're trying to
achieve.
If you're trying to make achange, what is it?
If you don't do any mowing, youcould try to do some mowing or
12-hour grazing versus 24-hourgrazing or 70-30, you know.
Perhaps you could try if you dolots of pre-mowing, you could
raise a dirty tractor and dosome post-graze topping.
Is that perhaps on the cards foryou this season, Will?
(26:49):
Yeah, we'll probably do morepost-graze topping rather than
pre-mowing.
SPEAKER_04 (26:54):
Having the information to make the
decisions, but also involvingyour team in that as well, so
they know what you're trying toachieve, so that you don't have
to be going out and getting thetractor out, having to reset
residuals.
Because as Will's alreadymentioned, that consistency in
terms of your average pasturecover through the season,
(27:16):
there's been the evidence toshow that if you can keep your
average pasture cover in a quitea tight band, then that
definitely helps in terms of theprofitability of the system.
So measuring it and beingconsistent with your decision
making around your pasturequantity and quality would be my
my take homes.
SPEAKER_02 (27:35):
And I think just remembering that all the little
1% add up.
So that eye for detail acrossall of the little things, I
think that's probably whatreally gets us to where we are
in terms of our pasture harvest,just paying attention to all the
small things because, yeah, likeI say, they do add up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:51):
That's it for today's episode of Talking
Dairy.
A big thanks to Will and SarahGard and to Dr.
Dawn Daly for sharing theirinsights and experience.
What we've heard today isexactly what progressing dairy
events are all about.
Farmers and experts comingtogether to share what's
working, why it works, and howwe can all keep improving season
after season.
(28:11):
If you'd like to learn more orfind an event near you, head to
DariNZ.co.nz forward slashevents.
These events are a great way topick up practical ideas, connect
with other farmers, and takehome tips you can put into
action on your own farm.
You can also find the links inthe show notes.
If you'd like to get connectedwith DariNZ's latest advice,
research tools, and resources,whether it's reading, scrolling,
(28:35):
listening, or in person, you canvisit dairynz.co.nz forward
slash get-connected.
And don't forget to hit followto keep up to date with our
latest episodes.
SPEAKER_03 (28:53):
Thanks for tuning into this episode of Talking
Dairy.
Make sure to hit follow so youcan keep up to date with our
latest episodes.
You can also keep up withDairyNZ News on Facebook,
Instagram, and LinkedIn, or goto our website and sign up for
our fortnightly DairyNZ Newsemails.
As always, if you have anyfeedback on this podcast or have
some ideas for future topics orguests to have on the show,
(29:16):
please email us at talkingdairyat dairynz.co.nz.
Matiwa, Modi Order, catch younext time.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.