Mark and Sam Billing – Diversifying The Forage Base
Farmers Taking Action on Climate Change
LARPENT
Mark and Sam Billing milk 450 cows on 265 hectares at Larpent, west of Colac. They use a pasture based system and figure the easiest and cheapest feed source is what they can grow themselves. However, the effects of climate change over the past 10 years or so, and in particular the drought of 2006, has caused them to rethink their entire pasture management program. KEY POINTS
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CASE STUDY 2.4
Increasing the pasture mix and forage base is a risk management strategy, allowing Mark and Sam to cope with increased rainfall variability. Forage production is planned at least six weeks ahead and the built-in diversity provides something coming on all the time to meet the demands of the herd.
“It seems over the last few years we are struggling through Spring, with the rainfall becoming more variable and less predictable. Summer seems hotter, and the traditional perennial rye grasses are struggling to persist. The Autumn break seems less predictable, and May rainfall has really dropped off”, Mark said. The long term average rainfall for Larpent is 732 mm. However, the annual average for the past 30 years has declined to 709mm, while for the past 10 years it has been only 613mm.
“Recently we have been experiencing drier winters, which have helped production, as paddocks are not as wet or waterlogged with less pugging. However the summers have been hotter, consecutive hot days take their toll on both cows and pastures”. To reduce heat stress the Billing’s use sprinklers to cool cows in the yard, and have set up an evaporative cooling system with misters and fans inside the dairy.
Originally Mark and Sam’s pastures were predominantly perennial ryegrass, with perhaps one paddock of annual ryegrass. Over the past ten years they have resown to newer, better performing perennials and increased the annual and short term ryegrass component to about 50%.
A broad range of better performing ryegrass varieties (Italian, annual and perennial), combined with the strategic use of urea, produces more dry matter and creates a greater feed wedge over autumn and into winter. This can produce a larger feed surplus in the Spring that is conserved as silage for feeding later in the year.
To help fill feed gaps and maintain production levels they also buy in grain and some hay on forward contracts. “In 2006 we realised how vulnerable we were to externalities, such as the availability and prices of bought in grain and fodder. We now have long standing arrangements with particular suppliers to ensure that hay and grain needs are met regardless of the seasonal conditions”.
“Some of the options that we have looked at, coming out of involvement with the 3030 project, have been lucerne and cereal cropping. Planting brassicas with annual ryegrasses in autumn. This has been a big winner for us. It provides us with a really good feed base in the early autumn period for our freshly calved cows”.
What is Project 3030?Project 3030 is a research and extension program funded by Dairy Australia, WestVic Dairy, GippsDairy, Murray Dairy, DPI Victoria, University of Melbourne, and Pacific Seeds Ltd. The aim of the program is to develop forage systems to increase the consumption of home-grown forage by 30% on non-irrigated dairy farms in Victoria to achieve a 30% higher profit. Hence the name of the project, “3030”, which includes both productivity and profit objectives. |
Colac (Shire offices weather station) - Historic rainfall and averages
Forage mix optionsForage turnips and annual ryegrass mix – This mix was dry sown in late March and provided 4.1 tonnes of feed of high quality feed (12 ME and 25% protein) at the first grazing, which was ideal for freshly calved cows. With grazing the turnip component declined and the rye grass increased. Overall it produced a total of 10 t/ha. Mark and Sam were very pleased with these results. Lucerne - Impressed with the lucerne grown by others in the area, Mark and Sam recently planted twelve hectares of a summer active dryland variety. “With the lucerne, we were looking to extend our growing season outside our traditional ryegrass season. Its’ deep roots help to use any stored subsoil moisture left over from the winter and take advantage of any summer rain that we get whilst providing good quality feed” Sam said. Japanese millet planted with Appin/Barkant brassicas - Millet is very water efficient, and able to produce considerable amounts of dry matter per millimetre of rainfall. They think it will be useful for early seasonal finishes and utilising any summer rainfall. Forage Ryecorn - is sown in Autumn and has a relatively short growing period. It can either be grazed or conserved as silage because it finishes by early September allowing them to put a summer crop in behind it. Mark and Sam think that cereal ryecorn looks a promising component of their forage mix. |
Mark and Sam acknowledge that by introducing forages such as lucerne, millet, rye corn and the brassica rye mix, that they may not make the most out of the exceptionally good years (in comparison to straight ryegrass). However they expect that in managing risk in the trend towards reduced and more variable rainfall and drier springs, their production and profitability will improve in the drier years, as well as across the average of all years.
“We’re hoping that with the amount of elements we have within the feedbase, we are now able to make the most of the season, regardless of what it may bring. If it is a dry season or a wet season we have room to react and make the best of the rainfall, and hopefully that will keep the business moving forward”.
Mark believes that the inherent variability in the climate that they now contend with will help them adapt to climate change. “It may get a bit harder and a bit tougher, and make us sharpen our focus further, but there will also be opportunities. Demand for food is expected to rise. Having a sound theoretical basis upon which to make our decisions, planning ahead and paying careful attention to immediate and longer term seasonal outlooks will help us to contend with the likelihood of more difficult seasons in the future.”
For more information call DPI on 136 186
Project 3030
www.dairyextension.com.au (Click Project 3030)
View all the Farmers Taking Action case studies online at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/climaterisk
