Displaying items by tag: pasture

Western Australian dairy farmers Ruth and Ian McGregor can only rely on pasture for five months of the season on their Chapman Hill farm, near Busselton, so each blade grown must be maximised.

Farmers are being urged to exercise caution when transitioning cows from pasture to brassicas and fodder beet.

Don't be tempted to give stock a “pick” at parched pastures as soon as they green-up after rain.

Wintering dairy cows may be a useful pasture development tool but once the bulk of the regrassing’s done, sheep and beef can at least match the returns, say award winning North Otago farmers Blair and Jane Smith.

For several years scientists at Massey University have promoted the idea of using herb pasture mixes such as chicory, plantain and red and white clover.

A Kikuyu pasture system can show similar results in production and profit to ryegrass if managed well, a Northland Agricultural Research Farm (NARF) six-year study indicates.

Is it worth applying nitrogen fertiliser to speed pasture recovery post drought?

Patchy rain up the South Island’s east coast early this month eased the drought’s grip in a few areas but others still have zero pasture growth.

Pick your paddock well and renewing pasture will pay handsomely. Get it wrong and you spend a lot of money for no gain.

At last some much needed rain has fallen.  But some farms have had less 30 mm, so pastures are still declining quickly and I am seeing large differences in average pasture cover (APC) between farms.