Pasture Management

A big challenge on-farm is pasture utilisation - getting animals to eat the optimum volume of feed grown. To achieve this, focus on achieving consistent post-grazing residuals and grazing at the right time.

White clover is a key element of our farm systems thanks to its high feed value, warm season growth and natural ability to fix nitrogen. It is more difficult to establish in a pasture than grass, so take care when sowing. Clover content is also greatly influenced by on-going pasture management.

Pasture feed value is measured in several ways, the most important being metabolisable energy (ME) and digestibility. ME is the more useful unit for many applications. Feed value matters, because it drives animal intake and performance.

Great pasture takes more than day to day decisions. Yes, they’re always important. But if they’re not aligned with a high level strategies of your farm system, you (and your animals) will miss out on the best your pasture could be.

Once the urgent work of cleaning up, feeding animals, and re-establishing infrastructure is underway, you can turn to repairing pastures. This checklist is a guide only, as conditions vary flood to flood.

Extended dry summers are the big killer of many pastures. We can’t control the weather, but we can help as many paddocks survive as possible. The result is lower costs and a farm that bounces back from drought much quicker.  

Pugging and treading damage can reduce pasture yield by >35%. Severe pugging by cattle can kill pastures. Where pastures are badly damaged, repairing them is a race against time. New seed needs to be sown before weeds take over.  

Tetraploid perennial ryegrasses (e.g. 4front) are more palatable, easier to graze and can increase per animal and per ha performance. But they do not suit every farm - they need good management to persist well. Mixing tetraploids with diploids can work (see Mixing tetraploid & diploid ryegrass).

Mixing a tetraploid like 4front with a diploid perennial ryegrass like Maxsyn or Array has proved a practical way for many farmers to drive higher animal performance than traditional pasture, with easier management.

Making silage is a balance – when you close a paddock, yield increases but quality drops. For quality silage make light crops. Light crops also significantly improve pasture regrowth, density and persistence.

Every farm is unique, and so too is every plan to minimise environmental impact. Strategies that work for you may not work for your neighbour. With pastures, however, science has shown us even small changes can make a big difference.

Heading date is when a cultivar shows seed head in spring. A late heading date can mean better late spring quality.

Keep pasture cover within the optimal range to achieve high growth rates, high utilisation, and high pasture quality. The correct time to graze ryegrass is when there are 2.5-3 leaves per tiller. For rapid regrowth after grazing, keep post-grazing residuals above 5 cm or 1500 kg DM/ha for dairy or cattle systems, and 3 cm or 1200 kg DM/ha for sheep systems.