Our Pasture to Profit Consultant’s share some tips to help with grazing and cow condition as spring progresses.
Fortunately, the ground is drying out after a soggy start to spring. Even the most seriously affected ground is improving, allowing easier grazing. We recommend balancing grazing and mowing to get the wedge back into shape.
For higher-than-average covers, a potential plan is to graze paddocks that are below 3000 kgDM. Cut those that are above 3000 kgDM for silage. If possible, stagger these paddocks to help recreate the wedge steadily and avoid going from boom to bust.
The ground that is cut will need 2.5-3 weeks off grazing. Ensure you plan ahead – calculate the platform needed for grazing during this time to meet demand. If you are going to run short, graze covers higher into your wedge and reinstate your residuals in the next round.
When going from the first to the second round, blend the grazing. For example, daytime for the first round, nighttime for the second round.
Walk the platform weekly, as conditions are changing quickly. Plan to reinstate paddocks with poor residuals in the first round sooner rather than later. Feed silage, then re-enter these paddocks when covers are at 2500-2600 kgDM and nail residuals before problems arise. A potential problem that could arise is paddocks reaching their third and fourth round of grazing when plants want to head. This creates a double whammy – cows will reject this grass and heading will seriously effect quality and potential production.
If cow body condition is light in your spring-calving cows, pull concentrate out slowly as grass dry matter intake increases to avoid a feed change shock.
