Valuable tips for farmers dealing with dry conditions

Wednesday's ‘Managing a Dry Season’ session at Koonwarra Hall proved an engaging affair, a couple of attendees quick to praise the information from presenter Fiona Baker of Agriculture Victoria, one farmer labelling it “world class”.

The event was hosted by South Gippsland Landcare Network, with beef extension officer Fiona outlining how to calculate feed requirements and achieve a balanced diet, and ways of farming as cost effectively as possible.

Ensuring sufficient fibre in the diet of cattle is a major consideration, with ruminants ideally requiring 35 percent Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) in their diet, being mindful that pellets, oats, wheat and barley are lacking in fibre, while good grass hay contains about 65 percent NDF.

However, it’s important to also be mindful of protein content in cattle feed as excessive protein is problematic, leading to energy loss.

Lucerne hay tends to be considerably higher in protein than grass or oaten hay, with a feed profile in the vicinity of 20 percent protein compared to around nine percent.

It is crucial to understand the overall nutritional value of the supplementary feed you are providing cattle with, and whether the quantities each animal can eat will meet its energy requirements.

Fiona recommends feed testing to ensure you know the megajoule, fibre and protein content of each type of supplemental feed you are providing, the cost of testing being low compared to the benefits of achieving more efficient feeding. 

Fiona ran through feed requirement examples for various weights of cattle and lactating animals, with examples also provided for sheep.

She discussed the possibility of early weaning of cattle in dry conditions and associated feed requirements.

Dry cows need approximately 6 percent protein as opposed to 10 percent for cows with young calves, or a little higher for those with twins.

“That opens up a whole range of different feed that we can give her,” Fiona said of the reduced protein requirements for cows no longer having to provide for a calf.

She explained that reduced protein requirement can be significant in a dry period such as many Victorian farmers are currently experiencing.

The hay that farmers can presently source may not offer sufficient protein content for a lactating cow but might meet the needs of one that has been dried off, provided she can physically eat enough to achieve her energy requirements.

“We still call her a dry cow even if she’s in calf in the early stages,” Fiona said.

If weaning calves early, consideration needs to be given to their dietary requirements.

“The younger you wean the animals, the more you’ve got to look after them nutritionally,” Fiona said, noting that even though you’ve got to buy some pellets and hay for them, it can still represent an overall feed and cost saving.

As far as pasture is concerned, she observed the situation is still better in South Gippsland than in other parts of the State and spoke of the potential use of urea to boost grass growth, warning of the need to observe the required withholding period before grazing to prevent nitrate poisoning which can be fatal for cattle.

“If you can get some grass growing, it can save your bacon,” Fiona said.

“We have been lucky enough to have a bit of rain, so we may get a bit of growth; think about Monday, it was 20 degrees and grass will be growing at 20 degrees.”

She said if you employ a closed gate policy and give grass some grazing-free time, you’ll be surprised how much it starts growing.

Fiona cautioned against overgrazing in general, noting cattle are good at sniffing out the most nutritional food, necessitating the need for well-managed paddock rotation.

Farmers keen to learn more about how best to manage in the current dry conditions are encouraged to visit www.feedinglivestock.vic.gov.au with Fiona Baker happy to offer advice, and contactable at fiona.baker@agriculture.vic.gov.au or on 0429 935 572.

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