Chicory as summer crop
One response to tight economic circumstances for many dairy farmers is to look at reducing the amount of feed they buy in for their cows, says fertiliser co-op Ravensdown.
It’s all to do with fast establishment, high yield and a deep tap root that keeps 501 Chicory lush and green when grasses turn brown.
Your animals will thank you, and you’ll sleep better at night, knowing carbon-efficient homegrown feed is more profitable than supplement, and kinder to the environment.
Irresistible Eating
Animals love 501 Chicory – it’s soft, easy to eat, and good for them, too
Energy-rich, full of protein, and packed with macro- and micronutrients, it is digested quickly. The only other summer feed that can match it for quality is clover.
Plus, it’s safe to graze when facial eczema makes grass high risk; there’s no transition period; and it has a very low worm burden. You don’t have to spray it with insecticides, either.
Graze Early, Earn More
501 Chicory is an annual, so it jumps out of the ground faster than perennial cultivars, and is ready to graze sooner. It’s like the difference between an annual ryegrass, and a perennial.
That gives up to one more full grazing than other chicories, or as much as 550 kg extraDM/ ha.
For dairy farmers, at a payout of $10/kgMS, that extra yield equates to a potential gain in income of $500/ha.
Leach Less
We hear a lot about plantain mitigating nitrogen loss. But science shows us chicory, with its very high-water content, can be even more helpful.
Researchers have found cows grazing chicory have substantially lower urinary nitrogen concentrations than they do when grazing pasture - even lower than those recorded for cows grazing plantain.
With urine patches the major contributors of nitrogen loss from grazed systems, this is a key benefit of 501 Chicory.
Give Grass a Rest
Hot, dry summers are hard on existing pastures. If you want them to persist well, you need to protect them from over-grazing.
Paddocks of 501 Chicory are the ideal antidote. When you graze these, you’re not only looking after your animals, you’re also giving stressed ryegrass a break, so it can bounce back faster after rain.
Mineral miner
That big tap root doesn’t just help 501 Chicory keep growing in dry weather – it also mines the soil for excess minerals like nitrogen and potassium.
Sow it on your effluent blocks, and after grazing, the cows will happily help redistribute those essential nutrients more evenly back around the rest of the farm.
Crops of 501 Chicory are also good for your soil structure. All up, 501 Chicory delivers what every farmer wants - more profit with a lower farm footprint. Quality New Zealand-grown seed is available now for spring sowing.
Article supplied by Barenbrug.
