Profitable solution for the winter feed gap

Beef production in the NSW Northern Rivers region, and more widely the lands east of the tablelands extending from Gympie to Newcastle are based on tropical grass pasture species.

There is a deficit in pasture growth and/or quality in this region during late autumn, winter and early spring. This feed gap results in multiple productivity issues in beef breeding herds which include a decrease in:

• the year-round stocking rate
• the condition score at calving and a delayed and decreased re-joining rate
• conception rates
• milk production and calf growth rate
• pasture quality and ground cover.

An MLA Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project demonstrated the impact of filling the winter feed gap with annual forage such as ryegrass or oats which has led to an increase in profit of up to $656/ha.

Tom Amey, the PDS project facilitator along with his son Callum had one of the core sites on part of their Dyraaba property.

 “I have been direct drilling ryegrass into my setaria pastures for several years. I knew I was gaining some benefits, but I didn’t analyse the system to quantify the benefits,” Tom said.

“I was pleasantly surprised when the three-year results were analysed – the results from the other three core sites were also very pleasing.”

Boost carrying capacity

The outstanding impact was the increase in the annual carrying capacity. The 40ha site of tropical grass had 16ha direct drilled with ryegrass and oats and carried an average of 38 breeding cows throughout the three years. This was double the carrying capacity of other parts of the property without winter forage.

“This allowed me to concentrate some of the breeding cows on a smaller area and use the freed-up land to grow out my heifers,” Tom said.

An increase condition score of more than one at calving compared to the non-winter forage group flowed on to give benefits such as:

• earlier return to service
• higher conception rate
• allowed the cows to produce more milk and increase the weaning rate of their calves.

The quality of feed produced from the setaria pasture also increased due to mulching in late summer in preparation for drilling the ryegrass – and later accessing the residual nitrogen at the end of spring.

Sustainability benefits

In some paddocks the soil organic matter has increased to 11% (12cm sampling depth) over twenty years due to the increased pasture biomass and increased plant material on the soil surface. The surface organic matter gives many benefits such as:

• soil moisture retention
• decrease erosion
• decreased weed invasion
• reduced trampling.

“I have used the carbon calculator developed by the University of Melbourne and the project results have encouraged me to further increase the productivity of my properties,” Tom said.

Tom explains the Dyraaba property is 179t of Net Farm Emissions ahead while the Simpkins Creek property is 338t Net Farm Emissions behind.

“I only need to reduce the total emissions by 159t to be carbon neutral. I have a plan for this over the next two years and I have been paying a lot of attention to the biodiversity on both properties,” Tom said.

“I can increase my profitability and increase the quality of habitat for all the creatures.”

A lifesaver during drought years

Tom found the drought year of 2019 enlightening with the 40ha trial area carrying 37 breeding cows with no supplementation.

“They did lose about 80kg live weight from calving to weaning however, they were still very strong and fertile.  The conception dates and rates moved forward to give an earlier calving the following year.

“Other groups of breeding cows without access to winter forage consumed up to $300 worth of pellets/head (12MJ ME and 14% crude protein).

“It’s great to get productivity benefits and sustainability benefits such as increased soil organic matter. However, my beef enterprise is a business and in the drought year of 2019 the difference in profit from the winter forage group and the others was a profit per ha of $42.00.

“Carrying the cows through the drought year allowed me to capitalise on the better weather conditions and cattle prices in the following years so in 2020 and 2021, the benefit was $547/ha and $656/ha respectively.”

The PDS trial was an important part of the Casino MeatUp forum held at the end of 2022.  The productivity drivers were discussed and related to the whole farm system. Watch the video below to hear from the four core producers involved in the trial.