Bill Webb Feed Solutions Outlook

Another lift in the Global Dairy Trade auction in December is good news for farmers because it means prices are going in the right direction with, in all likelihood, a payout of $6-plus for the season.

However, the downside for many farmers is their production has dropped – by as much as 20 per cent for some – because of the very wet spring.

For that reason, most farmers will be aiming to keep cows milking for as long as possible into the autumn, by delaying switching to once-a-day or drying cows off. In that way, they may be able to recover some of the income they have lost due to falling production.

That makes sense so long as it is not done at the expense of cow condition and farm cover because it is vital to ensure cows and the farm goes into winter, and the next milking season, in the best possible condition.

Maize silage

Feeding maize silage is one way of keeping cows milking while maintaining or building up their condition, and extending the grazing round, allowing pasture to recover and providing a good feed wedge ahead of the herds for the coming winter.

Grass is, of course, the cheapest feed and it is important to use it first before feeding out supplements. But at this time of year, grass alone won’t keep cows milking well without taking condition off their backs. Maize silage is one of the few supplements that will keep cows lactating while maintaining or enhancing their condition. Again we urge farmers to consider the cost and benefits of the various feed options by going to Dairy NZ feed calculator at: www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/feed-management-tools/supplement-price-calculator before committing to a significant spend on supplements.

It may be necessary to feed out grass silage for a few weeks in summer until the maize silage is harvested, just to keep as many cows as possible in milk.

It is too late in winter or early spring to try to improve cow condition because all you are doing is increasing the size of calves and not helping the cows much.

Future returns

The last few seasons have been, to put it mildly, very hard for farmers. But most have cut costs and thanks to the lift in payout, committing to spending a little more now will help improve future returns.

It’s not too late to order maize silage as we still have some available but should the summer be dry, it will be in demand.

Despite delays to planting caused by prolonged wet weather most of our maize crops were close to fence height before Christmas, which is a good sign. However, plants growing on wet swampy paddocks were struggling as were those in areas around gateways and troughs where the soil is more compacted. An application of nitrogen helped those areas to recover.

Army caterpillar

We had some signs of army caterpillar turn up in our maize and dealt to them quickly. But that’s an indication they could be problem this autumn so farmers would be wise to regularly check crops, lucerne in particular, but also new pastures, as these critters can destroy an entire crop in no time at all.

Early detection is essential and for minimal cost of chemicals and time, the caterpillars can be brought under control.

Meanwhile, 2016 certainly ended with political turmoil on shore and offshore. Few predicted Donald Trump would be the United States president and virtually no one saw Prime Minister John Key’s resignation coming – let’s hope for fewer surprises and more stability in 2017.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, and were able to spend an enjoyable time with family and friends. The break is a great time to reflect on what happened last year and set some plans for 2017, both personal and business.