Martin stainesvasse open day talk 15sep2010 verion3

Pasture Production for Dairy & Beef

Findings from Greener Pastures

Martin Staines & the Greener Pastures Team

What was Greener Pastures trying to achieve?

For farmers• More profitable use of N to produce pasture and milk

• Options to reduce N losses from pasture systems

• Increased production through better managementFor the general community• Environmental policy based on hard data, not presumption• Confidence that industry is managing N responsibly

What did we do?• 2005-2009 for research/extension activities

– 2010 for analysing & writing up

• Research at Vasse Research Centre – GP-1: 5 N Response Farmlets, 2 Innovation

Farmlets, component research– GP-2: 2 Farmlets

• Research on 4 Commercial Partner Farms– Wide range fertiliser experiments– Partner farmers contributed critical thinking

• Developed in close collaboration with industry• Input from Industry Steering Group

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53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09

Why do we care about pasture use?

Operating Profit $/ha

Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha

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53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09

Why do we care about pasture use?

Operating Profit $/ha

Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha

On average, 1 tonne extra pasture used increased farm profit by $319

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53 WA dairy farms - Red Sky 07/08 & 08/09

Why do we care about pasture use?

Operating Profit $/ha

Pasture Utilisation t DM/ha

On average, 1 tonne extra pasture used increased farm profit by $319

1 tonne extra over 200 ha =

$64,000 extra profit

How to increase your pasture use

• Grazing management,• Grazing management….• & Grazing management!

How to increase your pasture use

• Grazing management,• Grazing management….• & Grazing management!

• Soil pH 5.5• Soil P, K and S adequate• Nitrogen fertiliser

Response to N fertiliser islimited by the cow

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0 0.5 1 1.5 2

Past

ure

use

t DM

/ha

N fertiliser kg/ha/day

WA 0708 RedSky

GP '07 &'08

So what aboutgrazing management?

N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?

More N fertiliser

INCREASES pasture growth rate

N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?

More N fertiliser

INCREASES pasture growth rate ?

No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8

N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?

No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8

N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?

Extra N fertiliser =

faster rotation speed???

No N +NN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500Days regrowth 25 18Leaf stage 2.5 1.8

N fertiliser drives pasture growthRight..?

Extra N fertiliser =

faster rotation speed???

More N fertiliser

INCREASES pasture growth rate Faster

rotation speed REDUCES

pasture growth rate

N fertiliser drives pasture growth… but don’t sell yourself short!

Grazing management to get the most out of N fertiliser

No N +N+N

+managementN fertiliser (kg/ha) 0 50 50Pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/d) 40 55 60Pasture just grazed (kg DM/ha) 1500 1500 1500Pasture at next grazing (kg DM/ha) 2500 2500 3000Days regrowth 25 18 25Leaf stage 2.5 1.8 2.5

Maintain your rotation speed at 2.5-3 leaves with N fertiliser

Greener Pastures II

What we knew from pot & plot experiments• Grazing at 3 leaves achieves higher pasture

growth than grazing at 2 leaves• Most profitable N fertiliser use will be achieved by

grazing at 2½-3 leaves than 1½-2 leaves

Would it work in the paddock?

Comparing 3-leaf with 2-leaf grazing

3-leaf v. 2-leafPerennials 38 28

(34-49) (24-41)

Annuals 36 30(29-45) (23-37)

ROTATION SPEED (d)

• Farmlet study Mar’09 to Mar’10• 45 cows per herd• Half irrigated, half dryland pasture

Pasture height & quality

Mean pasture height (cm)3-leaf v. 2-leaf

Perennials 11 9Annuals 13 10

Residuals maintained at 5 cm

3-leaf 2-leaf 3-leaf 2-leafCP% 20 19 18 20NDF% 52 51 51 52ME 12.5 12.3 11.8 11.7

PerennialsAnnuals

Does grazing at 3 vs 2 leaves increase pasture use?

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103-leaf

2-leaf

Annuals (6 months)

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01Jun 01Jul 01Aug 01Sep 01Oct 01Nov 01Dec

3-leaf

2-leaf+20%

+2%

NO, but…YES!

Perennials (10 months)

Jun Aug Oct DecJunApr Aug Oct Dec

What 20% more pasture use means

1 tonne extra over 200 ha =

$64,000 extra profit

Key Messages

• Pasture management still key to increased farm profit. Crucial to get the most from N fertiliser

• Correct rotation speed is important– Annuals: 20% more pasture use at 3 v 2-leaf grazing– Perennials: no difference at Vasse

• High fertiliser N doesn’t increase animal production

• High fertiliser N & short rotations (<2L) bad for animal production, cow health & environment

Where to from here?

• Economic analysis of all the data from Greener Pastures: from production to profit

• Seasonal responses to N fertiliser Fine tuning of the 1 kg/ha/day guideline

• Some long term fertiliser trials continue• Publication of all results• Consultation with industry to set the future

priorities for 2012+