Feed budgeting, planning in North Canterbury

Press, 17 July 1981, Page 9

Feed budgeting, planning in North Canterbury

A good deal has been heard about feed budgeting or feed planning in North Canterbury in recent years and the Ministry of Agriculture in the area is planning to further promote the system at a series of field days in the district both before and after lambing, when wider aspects of management at these times will also be discussed. Under the new name of controlled grazing systems the Ministry nationally has recently decided to adopt the system as a means of increasing farm production. Mr P. G. (Phill) Everest, a farm advisory officer with the Ministry at Rangiora. says that it involves rotational grazing as a means of increasing farming efficiency. enabling either stock numbers to be increased or per head production of stock to be raised. While there have naturally been feed supply problems on farms this season, which will extend beyond the immediate winter period following the recent spring, summer and autumn drought, there is a valuable feature of feed budgeting, or whatever you like to call it. under these circumstances. It enables the feed situation to be seen well ahead, particularly at this time of the year, and in the likelihood’ of a shortage occurring action can be taken well ahead of that eventuality.

Although growth during the winter in this part of the world is not very great, it is reasonably reliable in the sense that it does not vary greatly from year to year and can be reasonably accurately predicted, so feed budgeting. with its balancing of feed supplies with feed re-

quirements. at this time of the year can lead to a pretty accurate prediction of what the feed position is likely to be two or three months ahead. Consequently those using the system in some detail are, for instance, able to buy-in grain well ahead of it being required and possibly more cheaply than would otherwise be the case. So those who use the system most intensively are likely to benefit most from it. Mr Everest notes that the length of the rotation employed is related to the speed of grass growth. The faster the grass grows the faster the rotation and conversely the slower the grass grows the slower or longer the rotation, and in the latter case at a certain point it is necessary to use supplementary feed to sustain the length of the rotation.

Supplementary feed should desirably be fed’ early in the pregnancy of .the ewe and should in fact have been used by this time of the year, with grass being saved for use from now onwards to lambing when the ewe should be on a rising plane of nutrition.

A valuable tool in the most effective use of the system is a set of scales to weigh a sample of the ewes every two or three weeks tb check on their condition — 10 per cent of them is regarded as a reasonably reliable sample. This will show in early pregnancy if ewes are putting on weight at a time when they might even be losing weight and that feed is being wasted, which might usefully be used in late pregnanes - to put on weight.

A minicomputer in the offices of the Ministry in Christchurch is proving useful in quickly looking at various alternatives for the feeding programme on individual properties. Two animal health problems that could turn up this season when feed supplies are light in the immediate pre-lambing period are sleepy sickness or salmonella. resulting from ewes being under stress in perhaps cold, wet weather at this time of the year when at the

same time their- feed intake is low.

It is sometimes suggested that to overcome a problem like salmonella stock should be spread out all around the farm and this may be alright but it is not good if it ends up with the farmer running out of feed. A better course may be to speed up the rotation so that shifts are being made every one. two or three days and the ewes are constantly getting high quality feed. Poorer ewes may also be drafted out for preferential treatment. However, it ail depends on the situation on the farm and it may be necessary to look at using highly digestible feeds like sheep nuts or grain.

If grain is going to be .used it is necessary to build up the amount used slowly, and where hay and grain are being fed it is desirable to feed hay first so that stockare less’likely to gorge themselves.

One thing that should be borne in mind is that it is most desirable not to make sudden changes in the feeding pattern. It might also be desirable to delay flushing prior to lambing for a week or so so as to have plenty of feed for lambing, and to ensure that it is useful to work out the paddocks needed for lambing and to work back from there in allocating the area available for the pre-lambing build up.

Mr Everest says that they are now looking at the feed situation in September and

beyond lambing in many cases.

Feed at this stage can be increased, for instance, by use of nitrogenous fertiliser, such as the application of 250 kg per ha of ammonium sulphate to the best available paddocks. But a doubling of growth will only be obtained under good conditions. There has to be plenty of grass in the sward to start with and this season pastures have opened up with the drought and a lot of storksbill has come in and in areas where grass grubs and porina have been bad there is not much more than bare ground. Where reliance is being placed on nitrogen the fertiliser needs, to be applied about six weeks ahead of the feed being required and can be applied late this month and earlv next month.

Where pastures have had a hard time in the last few months and have opened up a possibility is overdrilling with about 15kg of grass to the hectare.

Another possibility is tor paddocks to be worked up and sown to rape or maize. The rape would be for lamb fattening feed and the maize for putting weight back on to ewes in late January and early February. These paddocks could be sown back to winter greenfeed or grass later.

The position is that ewe liveweights are now at low levels and an urgent need in the months ahead following lambing is to build them up again so that there is not a reduced lambing again next year. To that end the summer greenfeed will help with getting lambs away earlier. This may. also need to be supplemented by other methods such as selling some ewes and lambs all counted or some lambs as stores and

in the cases of twins it might be possible to wean them and sell off the wether lambs so that the ewe lambs have a better chance to grow.

The new market outlet for very light lambs being developed by a farmer co-opera-tive meat company might provide an opportunity for getting light lambs away earlv.

Early culling of old ewes may also help.' Early weaning of lambs could a'lso be a help in easing pressure on feed supplies.

It will also be necessary to lift the weights of hoggets for small hoggets lead to small ewes and the lifetime performance of stock affected in this way will be impaired. The easing of pressure on pastures may also allow steps to be taken to rebuild hay supplies and perhaps make some silage — Mr Everest says that some farmers had been successfully using silage for years He is planning a field day next month on the making and feeding of silage. The pre-lambing and postlambing field days will be on farms which have been using feed budgeting in varying degrees.

At the pre-lambing days pre-lambing and lambing management will be discussed in detail. Other topics will include lamb mortality, animal health including drenching and ill thrift, milk production, and reducing overfat lamb production. The subjects that will be discussed at the post-lambing sessions are early weaning, growth rates of lambs, overfat lambs again, fodder conservation including silage and also possibly the topping of pastures, growing rape and maize and pasture renewal.