Supplementary Feeding for Cows: Farm Drainage

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 4, 15 April 1952, Page 269

Supplementary Feeding for Cows: Farm Drainage

Seasonal Notes by the Extension Division

/’YbNE of the most heartening features of New Zealand dairy farm management over the past few years has been a marked improvement in the quality and quantity of supplementary feed conserved for autumn and winter feeding. Even so, the winter feed position on many farms is far from satisfactory and many dairy herds are still inadequately fed over the winter.

EARLY FEEDING

Feeding out should begin early, while there is still some grass growth on the pastures, and not be delayed until the whole farm is

bare. The actual date will depend on seasonal conditions, but it is wise to err on the early, side rather than to delay feeding out until too late. It is essential to start feeding out before cows start to drop in condition, for once they reach this stage it is difficult to bring them back again. Early feeding out, combined with the use of the electric fence to ration off any available grass, will go a long way toward assuring that stock are carried through the winter in good condition. It is particularly important that young stock be introduced to hay and silage while there is still grass available, so that they can get accustomed to these supplements before the winter sets in.

RESERVES AND RATIONS

To maintain adequate supplementary feeding from season to season reserves of silage should be built up as an

insurance against long winters and summer droughts. Such reserves may be made by exploiting to the full efficient break feeding and rotational grazing management methods before the size of the herd is increased, a step which the adoption of these methods will ultimately allow. The quantity of hay and silage that should be fed out over the winter depends on the size of the animal and the amount of available grass, and also on the relative quantities of hay and silage available. If a cow is being wintered on hay, a daily ration of 16 to 181 b. of good hay will satisfy her requirements; if silage is the sole supplement, she should get 45 to 551 b. daily. Young stock need 101 b. of hay or 301 b. of silage. If both hay and silage are being fed, the daily ration should be 25 to 301 b. of silage and 101 b. of hay. If the quality of hay and silage varies on the farm, feed out the poorer material first, reserving the best for feeding out later on.

SAVING GRASS

When closing pastures in the autumn for spring feeding select areas containing species that can grow during the cold weather. ' Suitable grasses for this nnrnnsp ata nprpnnial nnrl chort-rntntinn

wr mis purpose are perennial ana snort-rotation ryegrass, prairie grass, and Phalaris tuberosa. It is essential that sufficient autumn-saved pasture be available to satisfy: the requirements of the herd until the spring growth, comes away properly. The actual area required depends on the quality of the pastures and the calving dates of the herd. If pastures are poor and lacking in ryegrass, a greater, area will be needed than if they have ample ryegrass present. A general recommendation for good pastures would be 1 acre for every cow calving in July and i acre and i acre for the August and September calvers respectively. Paddocks should be closed in rotation in the autumn. In warmer districts close the first paddock in mid-April, the next a week later, and the remainder at the end of April. In colder areas paddocks need closing much earlier. Paddocks are then available in succession as the cows calve. If possible, avoid closing hay or silage paddocks for autumn-saved pasture; otherwise grasses such as fog and cocksfoot will tend to increase at the expense of. the ryegrass and clovers. Providing there is adequate ryegrass in the sward, there is no reason why steeper paddocks, unsuited for mowing, should not be used to grow winter

grass. If the paddocks used for autumn-saved pasture are rotated round the farm, there will be no pasture deterioration and the clovers will not suffer. —A. V. ALLO * * *

FARM DRAINAGE

THE object of farm drainage is to remove all excess water as quickly as possible from the topsoil and to maintain the water-table

at a level that will permit of healthy growth of pastures and crops. The advantages of good drainage and its importance in good farming cannot be emphasised too much. - It is certain that no other farm operation on land requiring drainage will give as good a return for the expenditure incurred as will an efficient drainage system. A drained soil allows full development of the roots of plants, which are as a result much more resistant to drought conditions than plants on undrained soils. Drained soils are warmer in the winter and much earlier in the spring. They can be worked much earlier than wet soils and the cost of tillage is much less. Far less damage is done to the soil texture when crops are fed off on drained land in the winter. There are many other advantages which a well-drained soil has over a soil which lies wet and waterlogged over long periods in the winter and spring, but in pasture land perhaps the greatest advantage of drainage is in the better winter growth, the freedom from such weeds as buttercup, pennyroyal, rushes, and sedges, and the much longer life of the pasture. The number of times the pasture has to be renewed over a period of 28 to 30 years where the soil is frequently waterlogged is a serious problem on much farm land, and the cost of this work would generally be considerably more over a number of years than the cost of an adequate drainage system. This is very definitely so where mole drainage is effective, and there is a great deal of practical evidence that it is also a fact where the more costly method of tile dr’ainage is employed.

PLANNING OF TILE DRAINAGE

Tile drainage is undoubtedly the most efficient and lasting method of ridding farm land of excess water, providing

always that the tile drainage system is carefully planned and the tile drains are well and properly constructed. Tile drainage is also the most costly method of drainage and for this reason also good planning and careful work are necessary if severe losses are to be avoided. On flat land in particular, where falls are small, a surveyed drainage plan of the area is considered essential. Such a survey carried out with the proper instruments would show the location and suitability or otherwise of the outlets, the amount and direction of the falls, the nature of the soils down to the depth of the. drains, and the reason for the wetness of the area, such as an impervious' subsoil or a rising water-table. From the survey and the plan of the area, with the other data about the soil and the reason for the wet conditions, a suitable drainage system can be laid out which would provide for the proper depth and spacing of the drains, ensuring the best and most effective layout for the cheapest expenditure. The layout of the system, with a knowledge of the rainfall and the intensity of rains, gives also the necessary information as to the correct size of tiles it is best to put in on the various lines of drain. When the drainage of any particular area or field is being planned future extensions to include more paddocks or the whole farm should be kept in mind, and the- size of tiles used for mains should provide for any such extensions. Even where there are satisfactory falls farmers are well advised to plan carefully the work for a tile-drainage system and to see that the scheme of drains is recorded in a! plan of the area for future reference. Advice and assistance on planning tile drainage work are available at all times from officers of the Extension Division.

—E. W. WILSON