LIVESTOCK
Feed planning
Time to re-think feed planning BY: DR KEN GEENTY
N
ow the winter months are with us it’s a good time to re-visit feed planning and budgeting for your sheep and cattle over the coming year. The idea is simply to best match pasture supply and animal feed demands as shown in the generalized Fig. 1 example. Some of you may be daunted by the structured approach but success in meeting livestock target weights needs these workings. Fundamental are your ability to estimate available pasture drymatter (DM), effective monitoring of animal liveweights and knowledge of animal feed requirements. There are feed planning software packages and apps available but even if these are used, a working knowledge of
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the underlying principles is invaluable. The concepts are well within your grasp by simply developing the required skills and having access to up-to-date sheep and cattle feeding tables. Bringing it all together may require participation in training exercises with a proficient colleague or your farm management consultant. The essentials you will need for effective feed planning are: • Accurate knowledge of paddock and farm areas • The ability to measure or visually assess the amount of pasture in a paddock • A knowledge of seasonal pasture growth on your farm • Access to up-to-date sheep and cattle feeding tables The basis of feed planning is estimation of grazing days in a paddock. The worked
example in Table 1 is simplified for ease of grasping the fundamentals. The same method can be used for other classes of stock using stock units and values from up-to-date feeding tables. If pasture growth is significant at say 80kg DM/ha/day = 400kg DM it should be included. In the above example this would still only have a small impact by increasing grazing days by 400/1500 = 0.26 of a day. However in larger paddocks the influence of pasture growth will be more significant, particularly during more rapid spring growth. Once this paddock basis of feed planning is mastered the final three steps of a whole farm feed budget include: • Setting up a rotation or set-stocking system • Compiling a feed budget • Reconciliation of stock carried
On Farm Sale Monday, 24th May 2021 - 1.30pm 1775 MANGAONE VALLEY ROAD EKETAHUNA
Mark, Anthony and Di Eagle ‘Chessfield’ 1775 Mangaone Valley Rd Eketahuna p: 06 376 8256 e: eagleeketahuna@xtra.co.nz
Kaimoa South Devons have pleasure in putting forward 22 Bulls in 2021 We are committed to producing meaty bulls with good frame, constitution and temperament. With clients’ needs in mind we have sourced new genetics from overseas to maintain the highest qualities in our bulls.
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Country-Wide Beef
May 2021