Pasture Production for Dairy & Beef
Findings from Greener Pastures
Martin Staines & the Greener Pastures Team
What was Greener Pastures trying to achieve?
For farmers• More profitable use of N to produce pasture and milk
• Options to reduce N losses from pasture systems
• Increased production through better managementFor the general community• Environmental policy based on hard data, not presumption• Confidence that industry is managing N responsibly
What did we do?• 2005-2009 for research/extension activities
– 2010 for analysing & writing up
• Research at Vasse Research Centre – GP-1: 5 N Response Farmlets, 2 Innovation
Farmlets, component research– GP-2: 2 Farmlets
• Research on 4 Commercial Partner Farms– Wide range fertiliser experiments– Partner farmers contributed critical thinking
• Developed in close collaboration with industry• Input from Industry Steering Group
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0
1100
2200
3300
0 2 4 6 8 10
53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09
Why do we care about pasture use?
Operating Profit $/ha
Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha
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0
1100
2200
3300
0 2 4 6 8 10
53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09
Why do we care about pasture use?
Operating Profit $/ha
Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha
On average, 1 tonne extra pasture used increased farm profit by $319
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0
1100
2200
3300
0 2 4 6 8 10
53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09
Why do we care about pasture use?
Operating Profit $/ha
Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha
On average, 1 tonne extra pasture used increased farm profit by $319
1 tonne extra over 200 ha =
$64,000 extra profit
How to increase your pasture use
• Grazing management,• Grazing management….• & Grazing management!
How to increase your pasture use
• Grazing management,• Grazing management….• & Grazing management!
• Soil pH 5.5• Soil P, K and S adequate• Nitrogen fertiliser
Response to N fertiliser islimited by the cow
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0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Past
ure
use
t DM
/ha
N fertiliser kg/ha/day
WA 0708 RedSky
GP '07 &'08
So what aboutgrazing management?
N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?
More N fertiliser
INCREASES pasture growth rate
N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?
More N fertiliser
INCREASES pasture growth rate ?
No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8
N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?
No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8
N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?
Extra N fertiliser =
faster rotation speed???
No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8
N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?
Extra N fertiliser =
faster rotation speed???
More N fertiliser
INCREASES pasture growth rate Faster
rotation speed REDUCES
pasture growth rate
N fertiliser drives pasture growth… but don’t sell yourself short!
Grazing management to get the most out of N fertiliser
No N +N+N
+managementN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55 60Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500 3000Days regrowth 25 18 25Leaf stage 2.5 1.8 2.5
Maintain your rotation speed at 2.5-3 leaves with N fertiliser
Greener Pastures II
What we knew from pot & plot experiments• Grazing at 3 leaves achieves higher pasture
growth than grazing at 2 leaves• Most profitable N fertiliser use will be achieved by
grazing at 2½-3 leaves than 1½-2 leaves
Would it work in the paddock?
Comparing 3-leaf with 2-leaf grazing
3-leaf v. 2-leafPerennials 38 28
(34-49) (24-41)
Annuals 36 30(29-45) (23-37)
ROTATION SPEED (d)
• Farmlet study Mar’09 to Mar’10• 45 cows per herd• Half irrigated, half dryland pasture
Pasture height & quality
Mean pasture height (cm)3-leaf v. 2-leaf
Perennials 11 9Annuals 13 10
Residuals maintained at 5 cm
3-leaf 2-leaf 3-leaf 2-leafCP% 20 19 18 20NDF% 52 51 51 52ME 12.5 12.3 11.8 11.7
PerennialsAnnuals
Does grazing at 3 vs 2 leaves increase pasture use?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
103-leaf
2-leaf
Annuals (6 months)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
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9
10
01Jun 01Jul 01Aug 01Sep 01Oct 01Nov 01Dec
3-leaf
2-leaf+20%
+2%
NO, but…YES!
Perennials (10 months)
Jun Aug Oct DecJunApr Aug Oct Dec
What 20% more pasture use means
1 tonne extra over 200 ha =
$64,000 extra profit
Key Messages
• Pasture management still key to increased farm profit. Crucial to get the most from N fertiliser
• Correct rotation speed is important– Annuals: 20% more pasture use at 3 v 2-leaf grazing– Perennials: no difference at Vasse
• High fertiliser N doesn’t increase animal production
• High fertiliser N & short rotations (<2L) bad for animal production, cow health & environment
Where to from here?
• Economic analysis of all the data from Greener Pastures: from production to profit
• Seasonal responses to N fertiliser Fine tuning of the 1 kg/ha/day guideline
• Some long term fertiliser trials continue• Publication of all results• Consultation with industry to set the future
priorities for 2012+