The drought has gradually broken across most parts of Waikato but many farmers are still in the grips of a ‘green’ drought, with large differences in rainfall and average pasture covers.
What’s important now is to ensure this drought has minimal impact on future seasons.
Maintain your feed budget
Keep revising your feed budget. With some rainfall you will start to get accurate pasture walk data to compare to your estimated growth rates and this will tell you whether you can keep milking.
Make sure you have the supplements ring-fenced for winter, i.e. not used for autumn milk production.
We may get some compensatory pasture growth rates similar to the past two autumn and winters, but to budget on 50kg/ha/day in June is not a safe budget. Use average growth rates; if they end up better you will save supplements for another deficit in the new season.
Revise financial budgets
With the low payout you need to revise your financial budget. What overdraft or term loan facilities do you need? Start talking – if you have not already – to your bank now about the best options to bridge any shortfalls and your accountant also about what tax options are available.
Monitor cow condition
Most observed herds’ body condition scores (BCS) have a wide range – 3.0-5.0 is common. By April 10, all R3s at 4.0 BCS and MA cows at 3.5 BCS will need to be dried off as they have only 100 days until calving, assuming a July 20 PSC date.
Your feed budget must include the extra feed required for the BCS to be gained, otherwise you risk pulling production from next season into this season.
Check your replacements
How is your grazier off for feed? Are your animals being fed to the level they need to be gaining 0.7kg/day? Spore counts are high in many areas, so make sure your grazier is accounting for this.
Re-grassing
Pastures in general have come through pretty well compared to the past two droughts, but some under-sowing will still be needed. If you have anything less than 70% ground cover, you will need to under-sow with a permanent ryegrass.
If you are planning a crop in the next 12 months, just sow with an annual or Italian rye.
Sowing rates are fine at 10 kgs for diploids, and 15 kgs for tetraploid for most pastures observed. If you have 50% open ground, go at 15-20 kgs/ha.
Shogun is a good option (sow at 12-15 kgs/ha) for paddocks that are two-three years away from a crop.
Apply fertiliser and nitrogen (N)
If you have not applied any N yet, now is the time. You will grow more grass faster by applying 30-35kgN/ha, rather than waiting for the mineralised N in the soil to be used up first.
Sustain can be added into any fertiliser mix applied now.
Review your phosphate (P), potassium (K) and sulphur (S) input needs. If you have Olsen P levels above 35, then you can get away with only having applied 20kg of P in spring 2014. The same with K levels: if they are 8-10+ (MAF units) and you have put on 40-50kg of K in the spring, you could reduce or eliminate K inputs this autumn.
If your soil tests are not above optimum levels, be careful in reducing inputs without sound, professional, advice.
Are you okay?
The effects of the drought and tight cashflows can make life very stressful for everyone. Don’t ignore the facts. Seek help from people around you – friends, neighbours and rural professionals. A simple phone call or meeting with your bank and accountant or farm consultant can alleviate the stress levels by clarifying what your position is, not just what you assume it is.
You can only manage what you can measure.
• Darren Sutton is a LIC FarmWise consultant.
