The milking area of 73 ha is irrigated and is all sown to perennial pasture. The farm renovates about 10 ha per year, sowing one variety per paddock.
The rotation right tool is used to allocate feed in each paddock – down to 28 days in spring to 55 days in winter. Grazing management aims to graze to a 7 cm residue but will err on side of leaving residue rather than push the cows to eat into it. We mow to waste about every third grazing rotation. Very little silage is conserved and is mostly taken only to clean up any build up of residue.
Feeding is based on the Feeding Pasture for Profit principles that sets the grazing rotation on leaf stage. Pasture consumption around 13 tonne per hectare and 3.3 tonne per cow.
Feed supplements are used to get the desired grazing residue, diet balance and to make sure the cows are full.
The MDF transition feeds the cows cereal hay, 1 kg grass, and anionic salts.
