Feed

Summer dairy farming involves efficiently using spring pasture before summer heat and dryness diminish its quality. You should formulate a summer management plan early to ensure profitable production.

Successful summer dairy farming demands regular monitoring. This page recommends farm walks, managing grazing residuals, monitoring body condition scores, staying informed on industry information, and future planning.

Late summer strategies in dairy farming involve continuous monitoring of feed demand and body condition score (BCS). This page discusses how managing pasture effectively, considering factors like over-grazing and dry periods, is crucial.

Swedes serve as winter feed for livestock. They thrive best in cooler, moist conditions and dislike waterlogged areas and dry spells. For best growth, avoid soils that are either too light and drain quickly or too dense and retain too much water.

Autumn pasture management in dairy farming involves focusing on average pasture cover and cow condition to prepare for spring.

Turnips are a brassica root crop used in dairy farming to bridge summer feed gaps and boost milk production. They can be planted from spring to winter, depending on the variety.

Managing high-quality pasture during feed surplus periods is a crucial skill in pasture management. This page explains that pasture surplus often develops in spring, which if unmanaged, can lead to low-quality pasture affecting milk production.

The purpose of a catch crop is to increase annual dry matter production, to take up soil mineral and urine nitrogen and to reduce the risk of leaching or runoff.

Paddocks damaged by pugging and wet weather can be managed with simple strategies but more extensive damage may require pasture renewal.

Comparative Stocking Rate (CSR) is a tool to measure the balance between feed demand and supply on a farm. It is determined by calculating the amount of livestock weight per hectare versus the annual feed available.