Living a pasture-first
strategy
John Roche
Principal scientist, Animal Science & Biosecurity
“A great civilization is not conquered from
without until it has destroyed itself from within”
- Ariel Durant
Outline
• Why ‘PASTURE FIRST’?
• Key levers
– Stocking rate
– Grazing management
– Supplementary feeding
• Conclusions
Why PASTURE FIRST?
“Production is vanity – profit is sanity”
- Michael Murphy
1500
1400
1000
y = 129x + 205
R² = 0.99
1300
Net margin, £/ha
Net profit, €/ha
500
1200
1100
1000
0
-500
y = 0.34x - 726
R² = 0.27
P < 0.001
-1000
900
-1500
800
-2000
5
6
7
8
9
Pasture harvested, t DM/ha
10
0
2000
4000
6000
Milk from forage, L/cow per yr
Bay of Plenty
(2013-14)
Canterbury
(2011-12)
$7,500.00
$12,000
y = 651x - 3661
R² = 0.59
$7,000.00
Operating Profit $/ha
$6,500.00
Operating profit, $/ha
$10,000
y = 403x - 5.4
R² = 0.35
P<0.05
$6,000.00
$5,500.00
$5,000.00
$8,000
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$4,500.00
$0
$4,000.00
10
12
14
16
Pasture and crop eaten/ha, t DM
18
8
13
18
Pasture & Crop Eaten tonnes DM/ha
23
The changes made after 2006 eroded
our low cost base
“NZ must be the lowest cost producer of milk by some way”
- Tim Hunt, Rabobank
DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum 2016
Source: Hayley Moynihan, Rabobank
Nationally, we doubled our
expenditure on feed in 6 years
What led to the increase in
feed expenses
140,000
No of Cows
120,000
$8.00
800
700
“When you pay someone more for
something, they’ll find a more expensive
way to make it” - BOP farmer
600
80,000
500
400
60,000
300
40,000
100,000
$7.00
80,000
$6.00
60,000
$5.00
Total feed bill/year, €
100,000
No. of cows
Total feed bill/year, €
120,000
$9.00
40,000
Total feed bill
$4.00
20,000
Milk price,
$/kg MS
$3.00
200
20,000
0
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
100
0
0
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
$2.00
Milk price, $/kg MS
Total feed bill
140,000
Outline
• Why ‘PASTURE FIRST’?
– To reduce cost of production and increase profit!
• Key levers
– Stocking rate
– Grazing management
– Supplementary feeding
Stocking rate
How many cows should I be
milking?
“No
greater force exists for
good nor evil than the control of
stocking rate in grassland
farming ”
-C.P. McMeekan
Pasture grown/utilised, kg
DM/ha
25,000
y = 986x + 15749
R² = 0.64
20,000
15,000
y = 2073x + 7848
R² = 0.98
10,000
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Stocking rate, cows/ha
4.0
4.5
5,000
D
Operating profit/ha
4,500
NZ$4.30
NZ$5.30
4,000
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
50
•
60
70
80
Comparative stocking rate
90
Optimum CSR = 78 kg Lwt/t DM
100
5,000
D
Operating profit/ha
4,500
NZ$4.30
NZ$5.30
4,000
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
50
Pasture grown,
t DM/ha
•
60
18
70
80
Comparative stocking rate
19.5
90
100
20.5
Optimum CSR = 78 kg Lwt/t DM
If we assume pasture grown is 18 t DM on all farms
D
Operating profit/ha
4,500
4,000
NZ$4.30
5,000
NZ$5.30
4,500
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
D
NZ$4.30
NZ$5.30
4,000
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
1,000
500
500
0
0
50
Pasture grown,
t DM/ha
•
Operating profit/ha
5,000
60
18
70
80
Comparative stocking rate
18
19.5
90
18.5 20.5
Optimum CSR = 78 kg Lwt/t DM
100
60
70
80
90
100
110
Comparative stocking rate
120
If we assume pasture grown is 18 t DM on all farms
130
D
Operating profit/ha
4,500
4,000
NZ$4.30
5,000
NZ$5.30
4,500
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
Operating profit/ha
5,000
NZ$4.30
NZ$5.30
4,000
NZ$6.30
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
1,000
500
500
0
0
50
Pasture grown,
t DM/ha
•
D
60
18
70
80
Comparative stocking rate
18
19.5
90
60
100
18.5 20.5
Optimum CSR = 78 kg Lwt/t DM
70
80
90
100
110
Comparative stocking rate
120
If we assume pasture grown is 18 t DM on all farms
•
Optimum CSR = 93 kg Lwt/t DM
130
Optimum Stocking Rate
@ 93 kg Lwt/t feed DM CSR
Supplement
fed/ha, t DM
400 kg Cow
500 kg cow
Pasture grown, t DM/ha
Pasture grown, t DM/ha
12
16
18
20
3.2 3.6 4.1 4.5
2.2 2.5 2.9
3.2
3.6
0.25 2.9 3.3 3.8 4.3 4.8
2.3 2.6 3.0
3.4
3.8
0.50 3.1 3.6 4.1 4.6 5.1
2.4 2.8 3.2
3.6
4.0
1.00 3.5
4.1 4.7 5.3 5.8
2.7 3.1 3.5
4.0
4.4
1.50 4.1
4.7 5.4 6.1 6.8
3.0 3.5 4.0
4.4
4.9
2.00 4.9
5.7 6.5 7.3 8.2
3.3 3.9 4.5
5.0
5.6
0.00 2.7
14
16 18 20
12 14
Grazing Management
to increase pasture
harvest
Pasture yield, kg DM/ha
How pasture grows
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
5
10
15
20
Days post-grazing
25
30
Pasture yield, kg DM/ha
How pasture grows
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
5
10
15
20
Days post-grazing
25
30
How pasture grows
Pasture yield, kg DM/ha
Delay grazing
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
10-15%
30-40%
Leaf 1
Leaf 2
5 10
45-55%
Leaf 3
10
15
20
20
Days post-grazing
Leaf 4
30 25
30
40
Pasture production,
kg DM/ha
21,000
y = 218x + 10,341
R² = 0.57
20,500
20,000
Increasing
average
rotation
19,000
18,500 by 1 day = ~ 200 kg DM/ha
length
19,500
18,000
17,500
30
35
40
Average rotation length, days
45
What happens quality?
13.2 MJ
80
% DM or % NDF
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
14
12.6 MJ
12.4 MJ
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
Leaf 1
NDF
12
ADF
Leaf 2
NFC
Leaf 3
NDF_dig
Leaf 4
Lignin
ME
% DM or MJ ME/kg DM
13.2 MJ
Sweet Spot
90
Practical application
Average Pasture Cover and Spring
Pasture Growth
Pasture Growth
(kg DM/ha/day)
60
50
40
Grass grows grass!
30every 100 kg DM increase in farm cover,
For
20growth rate increases by 7.4 kg DM/d
y = 7.4x + 0.14
R² = 0.98
10
0
1200
1250
1300
1400
1500
1600
Farm Pasture Cover (kg DM/ha)
1800
1900
Autumn Planner
• Pushing Feed from Autumn into the Winter
• Increasing total pasture grown
90
80
3.0
Rotation length
2.5
70
60
2.0
50
1.5
40
Dairy grazing area
1.0
30
20
0.5
10
Example:100 ha farm
PSC
8/Jul
1/Jul
24/Jun
17/Jun
10/Jun
3/Jun
27/May
20/May
13/May
6/May
29/Apr
22/Apr
15/Apr
8/Apr
1/Apr
25/Mar
18/Mar
0
11/Mar
0.0
Rotation length, days
Area to be grazed each day, ha
3.5
Bryant-Macdonald Expt
Rotation Length After Calving
Farm cover, kg DM/ha
3000
2500
Scenario:
2000
• Start of calving
• Farm cover 1800 instead of 2500
Grass grows grass!
Whatto
should
I do?of hole!
Extend rotation
get out
1500
1000
Target
500
Low Cover-Slow Rotation
Low Cover-Fast Rotation
Feb
Jan
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
July
0
Area to be grazed each day, ha
• Strict discipline around area used when
Grass Supply is less than Cow Demand
5.0
90
4.5
80
4.0
70
3.5
60
3.0
50
2.5
40
2.0
30
1.5
1.0
20
0.5
10
0.0
0
1/Jul
Example:100 ha farm
1/Aug
1/Sep
Rotation length, days
Spring Planner
Canopy closure
Summary – to maximise pasture yield
– Grass grows grass – higher DM yield with
longer rotations
– Quality only declines marginally with
increasing leaf stage
– When adequate pasture, graze between 2 and 3
leaves
– When in pasture deficit, increase rotation
length to grow more pasture
Dude
I’m joking. You can feed supplements!
$10,000
$4.50/kg MS
$9,000
$5.50/kg MS
$8,000
$6.50/kg MS
$7,000
$7.50/kg MS
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
Resilience
Operating profit
Supplements and resilience
$1,000
$0
Low input
Control
Standoff Low Supp.
Mod.
Supp.
High Supp.
2.5
Yield, kg/cow/d
180 MJ ME/d
2.0
1.5
0.8
Protein
0.85
1.14
Fat
1.06
1.0
0.5
0.0
Pasture
18% NFC
Concentrate
38% NFC
Pasture is still enough!
When you have enough pasture!
Summary
1. Pasture & Crop eaten/ha is important for profit
– Set the correct stocking rate
2. Grass grows grass – delay grazing to grow
more grass
– Autumn planner to set up cover at calving
– Spring planner to optimise pasture use in Spring
3. “Feed the wedge – not the cow”
– Use supplements to extend the rotation!
– Pasture is an excellent feed, when you have enough
Thank you
DMI increases with pasture
allowance, but not linearly
DMI, kg/d
25
y = -0.0085x2 + 0.7202x + 4.2217
R² = 0.87
20
You have to offer 45% more
15
pasture to increase DMI by 10%
10
0
10
20
30
40
Dairy pasture allowance, kg/d
50
Impact of residual on pasture
yield
Winter
DM yield, kg DM/ha
2500
Spring → Autumn
2000
1500
1000
500
0
20 (4 clicks)
40 (7 clicks)
60 (10 clicks)
80 (13 clicks)
Post-grazing residual, mm
100 (16 clicks)
Summary – to maximise
pasture harvested
• It is easier to manage pasture under high
stocking rates
• 40-50% of pasture growth is in 3rd leaf
– Delay grazing until 2.5+ leaves
• Lower stocking rates graze earlier because
they don’t need the grass.
• Quality does not decline much with leaf stage
• Graze to 3.5-4 cm post-grazing height
• Extend rotation before you supplement cows
Pasture-based farming is a
compromise between getting
the best out of the land and
the best out of the cow
Aim: Get cow to eat 90% of potential
Variable & Fixed expenses, €/ha
The hidden costs of feeding
y = 1.18x + 636
R² = 0.99
1500
1250
1000
y = 0.35x + 804
R² = 0.9965
750
500
0
200
400
Feed expenses, €/ha
Source: Ramsbottom et al. 2014 Journal of Dairy Science. 2015
600
800
Total costs increase $1.45 for
every $1 spent on feed
$8.00
Total Operating Costs $/kg
$7.00
y = 1.453x + 2.6354
R² = 0.52
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$3.00
$2.00
$1.00
Sys1&2
$0.00
$0.00
$0.50
System 3
Systems 4 & 5
$1.00
All Systems
$1.50
Total Feed Expenses $/kg
Linear (All Systems)
$2.00
$2.50
Herd size to earn the average
national wage in the UK @ £0.28/L
No of cows to achieve national
wage
450
413
400
350
300
250
200
150
139
100
50
50
53
0
Average Spring
Top 25% - Average - All Top 25% - All
Spring
year
year
Canterbury
(2011-12)
Pasture utilised/ha
10
9
y = -0.60x + 8.93
R² = 0.99
P < 0.01
8
7
6
Pasture and Crop eaten, $/ha
18
16
14
12
y = -0.0012x + 17.3
R² = 0.36
10
5
0.0
2.0
4.0
Concentrate equivalent/ha, t
0
1000
2000
3000
Purchased feed, kg/ha
4000
Resilient systems have
stocking rate right and limit
exposure to purchased feed
Supplement
fed/ha, t DM
400 kg Cow
500 kg cow
Pasture grown, t DM/ha
Pasture grown, t DM/ha
12
16
18
20
3.2 3.6 4.1 4.5
2.2 2.5 2.9
3.2
3.6
0.25 2.9 3.3 3.8 4.3 4.8
2.3 2.6 3.0
3.4
3.8
0.50 3.1 3.6 4.1 4.6 5.1
2.4 2.8 3.2
3.6
4.0
1.00 3.5
4.1 4.7 5.3 5.8
2.7 3.1 3.5
4.0
4.4
1.50 4.1
4.7 5.4 6.1 6.8
3.0 3.5 4.0
4.4
4.9
2.00 4.9
5.7 6.5 7.3 8.2
3.3 3.9 4.5
5.0
5.6
0.00 2.7
14
16 18 20
12 14