Homegrown feed is one of the strongest drivers of profitable, resilient dairy farm systems in New Zealand. Lifting the amount of pasture and crop grown and eaten can improve operating profit per hectare and help reduce emissions intensity.

Creating a new pasture isn't just about sowing. Good management, especially in the first year, can boost its performance and longevity. It's only successfully established once it's dense and has survived a summer.

Regular pasture assessment on your dairy farm helps you manage your feed, plan grazing, and detect surpluses or deficits in pasture.

Ryegrass selection for a dairy farm system involves key decisions: choosing the right ryegrass variety (from annual to perennial), picking an endophyte for insect control, and selecting ploidy (diploid or tetraploid) and a heading date.

An endophyte is a fungus naturally found in ryegrass and tall fescue pastures, helping to protect the plants from insect damage. In New Zealand, many ryegrass plants contain this fungus, passed down through seeds.

A pasture feed wedge is a tool that visually displays your farm's current pasture situation. By ranking your paddocks based on average pasture cover, it can help you make proactive decisions about pasture management.

Average pasture cover is the measure of the quantity of pasture on the farm. Having average pasture cover targets for the farm at key times of the year is important for managing pasture supply and demand.

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.

Learn the habits of farmers with excellent pasture management, including controlling daily grazing area, treating pasture like a crop, and maintaining optimal pasture cover.

Bulk milk urea concentration is a near real-time indicator of the dietary crude protein status of dairy herds and their nitrogen use efficiency, helping to support feed and nitrogen management decisions in pasture-based systems.

Good effluent management on your dairy farm combines a well-designed system with proper processes to ensure the right amount of effluent gets applied to pasture at the right time.

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

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.

Pre-graze mowing is a technique sometimes used to manage surplus pasture. However, research shows it doesn't increase cow intake or performance, and actually reduces pasture performance.