Key decisions in your forage system
MAXIMISING FEED EFFICIENCY OF GRASS ON YOUR FARM • Set up grazing season in early spring. Graze down to lower residuals early spring to promote three- leaf growth and promote higher quality • Measure residuals not yield as part of your sward management • Target 25-30% in your reseeding plan each year • Select grass varieties with 5 Tetraploid varieties for better grazing utilisation page 52 • Make multi species part of your resending plan page 53 • Oversow up to 1/3rd of your paddocks with clover in any year, and manage sward to 20-30% clover content page 53 • Early sow in August for Autumn reseed for improved graze out the following spring page 51 SILAGE Quality silage is the nutritional cornerstone of your forage • Increasing silage quality will improve forage quality, boost production, reduce waste and improve farm profitability. Cutting both invisible and visible clamp losses is an essential part of feeding more of what you grow 3 steps to improving silage as the nutritional cornerstone of your forage: 1. Precut cut test to optimise cutting dates 2. Use silage additive to speed up fermentation and preserve pit and dry matter at feedout 3. Test silage and balance diets accordingly LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BOOST HOME GROWN FORAGE • Forage crops offer flexibility to select the right crop to balance a forage shortfall versus what is required to meet the feed budget for the winter • Locally grown cereal crops bring good value as an additional source of high-quality forage and to replace purchased feed • We offer a full range of forage crops from high yielding harvested crops like Fodder Beet, Maize and Wholecrop to in-situ grazed Brassicas • To determine which option suits best, consider the window for growing the crop, rotation, site and intended use
50 | Moist Feed and Forage Specialists
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