Quality and Quantity in the Same Basket.

Quality and Quantity in the Same Basket.

21st November 2011
Peter Burton

Farmers often dismiss the option of changes to their soil fertility programmes on the basis that they would very much like to grow better quality feed and produce higher quality milk, meat, or whatever else it is that they are growing, but they can’t make changes as they cannot afford to grow less.
One of the principles of any soil based growing system is that quality and quantity come in the same basket, a principle that every pastoral farmer observes the evidence of on a daily basis.
New Zealand pastures are naturally unsuited to growing rye grass/white clover pastures.  The conditions under which permanent pastures thrive need to be continuously maintained, with the most favourable conditions providing best performance in all respects.
There are two key visual indicators of whether soil conditions presently favour pasture growth.  The first is the absence of bare patches in the pasture.  When soil conditions favour pasture growth, pasture will cover the entire surface with perhaps the exception of high traffic areas around gateways.
In rotationally grazed pasture the second visual indicator is the size of the clover leaf just prior to grazing.   Where conditions favour maximum growth the leaf will be thumb nail size or larger.
At this time of the year with soil temperatures close to 20°C healthy pastures may be slightly pale.  This is a temporary situation which rapidly self corrects with increased direct sunlight hours, more direct sunlight, and warmer soil temperatures.
The grasses in permanent pastures grow rapidly between 10°C and 20°C, that is between early September and mid-November in most North Island areas.  During this time they will utilise much of the plant available nitrogen available from soil organic matter. 
As nitrogen availability declines and temperatures increase grass growth slows and clover growth steadily increases.  Clovers actively fix nitrogen in response to declining plant available nitrogen so it is important that fertiliser nitrogen is not applied at this time.
Clovers are less competitive for nutrients than grasses and as they contain often three or four times as much calcium as grasses it is important that the levels of plant available calcium in the soil are sufficient for optimum clover growth.
Although new clover cultivars may have advantages over the older species, when soil conditions are favourable clover growth is abundant and largely unstoppable due to the amount of clover seed that has accumulated naturally in the soil over many years.
The higher performing pasture site at the Berryman property near Edgecumbe last season grew 22.2 tonne of drymatter, close to the genetic potential of a permanent pasture, on an area of the farm where pasture has not been renewed for many years.  For more information on growing high quantity and quality pasture, call Peter Burton on 0800 843 809.