Extending the Grass Season: A Key Strategy for Farmers This Winter

Strategic Insights -

As the warm weather is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, farmers have an opportunity to supplement early season deficits and ensure clamps are well stocked by extending the grass season. Tom Wells, a Midlands-based nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition, suggests that investing in tailored nutrition now can ensure quality and yield are maintained in any later cuts. This could involve applying sodium to grass to improve palatability and utilizing tailored nutrition to maintain milk production.

Key Takeaways:

  • Farmers should consider investing in tailored nutrition to ensure quality and yield are maintained in any later cuts.
  • Applying sodium to grass at 10kg/ha can increase palatability and allow later grass cuts to be higher quality.
  • Sodium helps regulate the potassium to magnesium and potassium to sodium ratio, alleviating drought stress and reducing the risk of hypomagnesaemia.
  • Independent trial data from Bangor University showed that using sodium alongside nitrogen delivered an improved intake (kg DM/cow/day) of 18.6%, while increasing milk yield by an average of 9.3%, and reducing the somatic cell count.
  • Farmers should be wary of relying on bumper maize harvests to supplement reduced grass yields, as the lack of rain following drilling has stunted crops in many areas.
  • Maize is not only required for yield but also provides additional energy that can improve milk production when fed alongside grass silage.

Statistics:

  • 0.5mm of moisture can be provided by heavy overnight dews to begin dissolving granules when there is little rain in the forecast.
  • 18.6% improvement in intake (kg DM/cow/day) was achieved through the use of sodium alongside nitrogen.
  • 9.3% increase in milk yield was observed through the use of sodium alongside nitrogen.
  • 10kg/ha of sodium is recommended to increase the palatability of grass.

Sources:

  • Tom Wells, nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition
  • Bangor University
  • https://imagestore.jpimedia.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjE2NDU0Y2FkLTYwZDAtNGRiZC1hMTQxLTMzNzAzOGVhOTBjNTo0MzhkY2EzMy0xZmVjLTQwYzMtYWU4OC02OTg4ZmQ2MWY4YWI=.jpg