MS&A Farm Systems - Agronomy: Pastures and Grazing Systems

In the medium to high rainfall zone of Australia, the single most important determinant of profitability is stocking rate. The key factor which underpins stocking rate is the length of growing season. Capturing the potential of the growing season means you need pastures, which:

· Can jump away early after the Autumn break
· Be productive and grow through the Winter
· Hang on late into the Spring.

In order to have pastures which will extend the growing season you need to have:

· The correct species
· Species matched to soil type, temperature, and rainfall
· Adequately fed with appropriate fertiliser.

The essential aspect of grazing management is to ensure that you have control. Control means that animals:

· Eat what you want them to eat
· Eat all of what you want them to eat
· Do not eat what you don’t want them to eat
· Eat as much as you think they should have, not as much as they would like to eat.

It’s easy to kill a young and emerging pasture by grazing it inappropriately. It is very easy to get into a situation where you have overgrazing and understocking at the same time. This occurs when you’ve got a small number of animals in a set stock situation in a paddock, where they are likely to selectively graze the species they like and ignore the species that they don’t like. A sustainable grazing system requires having mob and paddock sizes so that you can control their intake.

Grazing management programs which have control don’t necessarily mean a huge amount of re-fencing. Much of the management can be done by combining mobs.

MS&A Pasture Advice
The team at MS&A can undertake a paddock by paddock audit to assess the treatments required to make pastures more productive and profitable.

MS&A will:
· Recommend a planned program where all of the right things are done at the right time and in the right order, giving you a much greater chance of success.
· Recommend appropriate growing, herbicide, fertiliser, and plant species advice.
· Design an effective grazing system for your situation.

So why choose MS&A Farm System Advice?
MS&A’s team of consultants are specialists in their fields. Be it agronomy, livestock production, business planning, human resource management, or financial analysis; MS&A knows Australian agriculture.

MS&A’s integrated approach gives you the access to a team of expert consultants, ensuring that you receive specialised advice across your business needs.

MS&A is all about providing Independent, Integrated, Client-Focused Advice.

Last updated: [ ] by Mike Stephens & Associates Pty Ltd