BALANCED RATION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 144, 3 June 1936, Page 5

BALANCED RATION

Care of Cows During the Winter FEEDING AND WARMTH The winter period imposes a severe test on the average herd due generally to the deficiency in the natural feeding. A greater demand is made upon the vitality of the cow, it being essential that her bodily- warmth should be fully maintained. With pastures making little growth, a programme of supplementary feeding has to be carried out and care has to be taken to keep a balanced ration supplied. In addition to correct feeding rugging is important during the coldest weather, and the value of providing cows with warm, dry camping grounds by means of either break winds or shelters cannot be over-estimated. With the advent of colder weather and the natural slackening of pasture growth, dairy farmers in most districts will be finding it increasingly necessary to provide supplementary feed for their milking cows. The winter months impose a severe test on the dairy herd and on the dairy farm, and, in most dairying districts, it is this period of the year when the output of the farm is at its lowest. Added to the hanaica»< of reduced supplies of natural feed is the fact that the colder weatner entails greater demands on the vitality of the animal, since more energy is required to maintain bodily warmth. Fortunately conditions here are very much better than is the case in many dairying countries overseas, where the herds have to be housed night and day and hand-fed throughout the greater part of the winter. New Zealand dairy far. mers enjoy the great advantage of being able to allow their cows to graze in the open during the whole of the year, but unless they take some steps to make up for the deficiency in natural feed during the colder months of the year they will not enjoy the maximum financial returns possible xrom their herds.

NATURAL FEED. The extent to which supplementary feeds should be provided depends upon a number of factors, of which the musl important, of course, is the amount of natural feed available. This, in turn, will depend on the district, the season, the constituents of the pasture, and the treatment it has received. In some districts there is a fair pasture growth during the main winter months, whereas in others growth in practically at n standstill, and farmers are compelled to find agistment for their herds in more favoured districts. The season, oi course, is a most important factor. Good rains early in the autumn while the soil is still warm mean rapid growth of pastures and assured feed supplies for the winter. As a general rule, however, the feed produced by the autumn rains is sufficient only for herd, and winter finds the farm with pastures eaten close and the herbage making little or no headway. This state of affairs continues until early spring, when the higher temperatures cause a quickening of pasture growth. Fortunately, there are means by which the growth of pastures during the winter may be increased. In this connection the use of early autumn dressings of superphosphate immediately suggests itself, since the experiments of the Department of Agriculture have shown that this practice increases the autumn and early winter growth, thus increasing the amount of feed available for the winter. The effect of the fertiliser is to stimulate the growth of subterranean clover, the native trefoils and the annual grasses, which are the main constituents of the pasture during winter. A second, and perhaps even more promising, method of increasing growth during the colder months of the year is to introduce into the pasture plants which make comparatively vigorous growth in winter. A pasture consisting of these speeies only would have the disadvantage that it would dry off too early, but a judicious mixture of one or more of these species with others that make their growth during the spring and early summer months will give a well-balanced ’pasture, capable of making considerable growth throughout the year.

BALANCING RATION. Although there are many cases in which either or both of the above methods might be adopted with considerable advantage, it must be borne in mind that the increase in winter growth is being obtained at the expense of the growth during the spring. Again ihe winter growth as a rule, though containing a high percentage ot protein, is also high in moisture content, and low in carbohydrates and fibre. Thus, to balance the ration a supplementary feed rich in carbohydrates and fibre is required. For this purpose the dairy farmer has the choice of conserved meadow or oaten hay and silage. This, of course, involves the conservation of crops grown especially for the purpose or of the surplus pasture growth of the spring. How much should be conserved will depend on the number and milking capacity of cows in the herd,, the severity of the conditions to be expected during the winter and the length of the period over which supplementary feeding is likely to be necessary. One ton of either hay or silago will feed a cow 40 lb. per day for 56 days. A reserve of at least one ton of meadow hay and two tons of silage per row should enable the dairy farmer to carry his herd through even a severe winter without any falling off in their condition.

Yet another method of supplementing the feed supply of the herd for the winter mouths is the growing of special fodder crops such as oats, barley or rye. Of these three oats is perhaps the most valuable, since it will stand comparatively hard grazing, after which it may be allowed to run into ear and cut for hay or silage. It is usual for the oats to be sown alone, though some farmers claim that they get much better results by combining them with a leguminous crop. Such a combination provided excellent green feed ns well ns making into quite good hny. To bo of most value oats for grazing must be sown earlv. The land should be prepared in good time, so that full advantage may be taken of the first autumn rains. For this purpose the seed in most districts should be sown in March or early April. Barley also makes an excellent green crop, end may be sown

a little later than oats. Green barley is preferred by many to oats, while, combined with one of the legumes such as peas or vetches, it provides particularly valuable feed. With each of thesu crops seeding should be at the rate of not loss than two bushels per acre. GRAZING THE CROP. In grazing any of these crops certain precautions must be observed if maximum results are to be obtained, and particularly if it is desired that the crop shall subsequently be allowed to mature, so that it may be harvested for either hay or grain. In the first place care must be taken to ensure that the crop is grazed only when the soil surface is reasonably dry, and secondly, the crop must not be grazed after tlie developing ears leave the base of tlie plant and commence their upward growth. While the plant is still in the vegetative stage it may be grazed severely without suffering any real damage. TJie stools grazed off grow again, and the plant makes rapid recovery. If, on the other hand, the stem carry ing the developing ear is eaten, the stool will die, and, though secondary stools may be formed, only a weak crop will result. No discussion on the winter treatment of the dairy herd would be complete without some reference to the need for conserving as much as possible the bodily heat of the animal. Bodilv heat represents energy, and that in turn means food consumed so that un necessary waste of bodily warmth means unnecessary waste of feed. Where possible the animals should be rugged during the coldest weather, and in any case, ample provision should be made for shelter from the cold winds. Efficient wind breaks should be planted on every dairy farm where they are not- already in existence, and every effort should be made to provide Ihe animals with warm, dry camping grounds. —The Leader.