For several years Lincoln and Massey Universities, and private researchers and individuals, have promoted plantain, chicory, lucerne and red clover as an alternative to traditional rye grass and white clover. 

Grass and feed supplies are looking good in many parts of the council despite soils drying out fast, says DairyNZ.

With cashflows tight on dairy farms, pasture comes out on top as the cheapest feed source, says fertiliser co-op Ballance Agri-Nutrients.

THERE ARE two key ways to achieve high per-cow performance: getting a good peak production level and having good persistence throughout the lactation. This is achieved by minimising the rate of post-peak decline and achieving a long lactation length. 

Dairy farmers are being told that there are opportunities to increase profitability even when times are tough.

“A lot of people use it just to get livestock through, not worrying about growth rate, but that’s a very expensive way to use feed because you’re not getting any production off that feed.”

FONTERRA’S RECENT forecast of a record milksolids payout of $8.30 is great news for farmers.  

PKE FEEDING out efficiency is raised and wastage reduced with a newly available range of feed trailers imported from the Philippines by Winton Stock Feed, Southland. The company makes them there in its own factory.

The Federated Farmers Grain & Seed led feed operation, which will have shipped some 220,000 small bale equivalents from the South Island, may soon be approaching an end. With demand beginning to slow, Federated Farmers is concerned some farmers may be over-estimating pasture recovery following rain.

THE FONTERRA Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction on February 5 shows a solid rise in the GDT Trade Weighted Index (TWI) which takes in the basket of our dairy products, up 2.4% from the previous auction.