Lowering Total Feed Costs with Good Spring Pasture Management

The Business of Dairy

Growing high quality feed and utilising it in the Spring period is a key opportunity to lower your total feed costs across the year. Agronomists, Josh Hack and Peter Beale talk about the importance of getting your ryegrass management right coming into the Spring period, the importance of nitrogen in growing this feed source and principles of good grazing management to capture your Spring surplus.

Nitrogen is a key profit driver for milk production in a pasture based dairy system and even though we are currently seeing urea prices increase dramatically, Josh works through an example to show that it can still be cost effective to apply with typical dry matter response rates at this time of year and the price of alternate feed sources.

Useful resources related to this podcast:

· Peter Beale’s article in the Hunter LLS Winter newsletter.

· Professor Richard Eckard’s, Dairy Australia YouTube clips

o Efficiency of Nitrogen

o Nitrogen grown pasture versus purchased feed

o Timing of Nitrogen Application

· Josh Hack’s Grazing Management YouTube Playlist

A link to the FertSmart Nitrogen Pocket Guide on the Dairy Australia website.
This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

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NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter

Access a transcript of this episode here

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The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.