Ashburton Courier: April 21, 2022

www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
FEATURE
Ashburton Courier, April 21, 2022
33
WINTER FEED
&
SILAGE
Time to prepare awinter feed budget
Late autumn is an ideal time to do afeed
budget to help meet livestock
performance targets and set up pastures
for spring.
On arecent Beef +Lamb New
Zealand Feed Planning webinar, Farm
Systems scientist Tom Fraser outlined
the value of carrying out afeed budget to
drive profitability and reduce farmer
stress levels.
He says afeed budget will identify
deficits and surpluses and highlight any
red flags so actions can be taken early.
“Doing something is better than waiting
for disaster to happen and every time
you do afeed budget you will get better
at it.”
Farmers in different parts of the country
are going into winter with different
challenges.Many regions have had awet
summer so feedquality could be an issue,
otherareas are very dry andfacing feed
deficits. Everyone is affected by Omicronrelated
supply­chain disruptions.
All these challenges build astrong case
for putting togetherafeed budget going
into winter.
Afeed budget allowdecisions to be
made early, feed to be allocated to priority
stockand ensure animalsare fed to meet
theirrequirements, not management
requirements. It could cover awhole farm
for one year,part of afarm for ashort
period or even just onepaddock for one
stock class for aday. “It’s not an exact
science but it will help youmake
decisions.”
The information required to put
togetherafeed budget includes stock
classes and numbers, stockweights and
production status (maintenance or
growth), feed available whichincludes
pasture covers (sward stickswill help
measure covers and help calibratethe
eye) and supplementary feed(grain,hay
nitrogen).
With all the necessary information on
hand,Tom recommends working through
each classofstock to calculate their
requirements and total feed demand.Itis
important to include feed utilization
whichwill vary depending on the quality
of the feed and climate. It is important to
note baleage is not 100 per cent drymatter,
agood estimate is 50 per cent drymatter.
Aspreadsheet, availablethrough B
+LNZ extension managers, will allow
users to run different scenarios and test
different management strategies.
Winter is the easiest time to do afeed
budget as growth rates don’t varymuch
throughthe colder months, Tomsays.
Quality
Farmerswho are goinginto winter with
long pasture covers and tag need to
addressthe issue of quality before spring.
Tom recommendsusing whatever class of
stock is available to clean up areas where
qualityisimportant going to spring,rather
than tackling the whole farm. This,for
example, could be wheretwin­bearing
ewes are set­stockedfor lambing.
Lambs
With potential processing delays, lambs
should be maintained and if they’re not up
to weight, considering buyingin
supplement to increase growth rates and
achievetarget weights.
To workout the cost effectiveness of a
supplement, Tom suggests using the cost
of grainasthe benchmark, as this is ahighquality
feedwith high utilization.
“Itisneverefficient to take weight off an
animal. It takes threetimes the amount of
energytoput on akilogram of liveweight
on an animalthan whatyou’re saving by
taking weightoff.”
~B+LNZ
Keep safewhen
diggingor moving
equipment
Overhead and underground powerlines can be easy
to forget about when diggingormoving farm machinery
around your property.
Beforeyou start digging,find outwhere power lines
and cables arelocated. Contact 0800 b4u dig
If you do come intocontact with live lines,call
EA Networkson0800 430 460 immediately and
staystill untilhelp arrives.
eanetworks.co.nz