Selwyn Times: September 20, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday September 20 2016 33
SELWYN RURAL LIFE
Control the controllables
tips at Dairy workshop
DairyNZ’s Tactics for Spring event to be
held in Culverden later this month is aimed at
helping farmers manage their pasture during
the most productive time of the year.
The event will be held on 27 September at
the Mossman property and is scheduled at
the beginning of the ‘money months’ when
more pasture will be grown and more milk
produced than any other time of the year.
With uncertainty around where milk prices
will go, DairyNZ research and development
general manager Dr David McCall is urging
farmers to focus on what they can control.
“Our research shows pasture, without any
input other than basic fertiliser, drives more
than 85 percent profit for most farms at a
$7.00 per kg MS milk price, but 98 percent at
a $4.00 milk price. So it makes sense to get our
focus clearly set on managing this important
feed source well – we’ve got to make the most
of it, particularly this spring,” says David.
“Profitable farmers, no matter what system
they run, have a ‘pasture first’ mentality. They
measure and work to optimise the cheapest
feed source – home grown pasture in spring,”
says David.
The events are focused on helping farmers
grow and harvest more spring pasture with
topics including optimising pasture growth,
managing pasture quality and effectively
incorporating crops into the system.
“Growing and harvesting an extra tonne
of dry matter that has already been paid for
can reduce costs by around $0.33 per kgMS –
pushing farms closer to breakeven or further
into profit.”
Tips for spring include:
• Act quickly to remove supplement when
balance date arrives.
• Balance date occurs when soil temperatures
are greater than 10 degrees Celsius and
pasture cover is at least 2,000kg DM/ha.
• Once balance date is achieved, pasture
will meet the nutrient needs of the cow
including getting them in calf. Supplement
will not improve reproduction if sufficient
pasture is on-hand.
• Aggressively identify paddocks for
conservation to maintain quality.
Event details:
Canterbury/North Otago
Culverden, September 27;
Mid Canterbury, September 28;
For more information visit
dairynz.co.nz/tactics
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