“What to use, and when, will all depend on individual farm goals and weather conditions,” he said.
Low rainfall and drying winds in some parts of the country are slowing grass growth, while in other regions there has been enough rain to maintain good pasture conditions.
He said Ballance can provide the right advice on nutrient choices to keep herds producing.
“Because we cover the complete farm nutrients spectrum, we’re in a good position to help farmers use forage and supplementary feed to keep up production.”
He said the ‘grow your own’ feed approach stacks up competitively when conditions are right.
Products like SustaiN work by reducing ammonia volatilisation, which can be a problem when rainfall does not immediately follow application.
Volatilisation meant the ammonia was lost to the atmosphere.
An average autumn nitrogen response is about seven kilograms of dry matter for every kilogram of nitrogen applied.
“As all farmers know, you need to watch the weather if using standard urea. Without 5-10mm rainfall within eight hours of application, ammonia volatilisation losses from standard urea can be in excess of 10-15% of the nitrogen applied.
“We know from our work with AgResearch and Landcare Research that using SustaiN will deliver about 50% reduction in volatilisation loss, relative to standard urea.”
SealesWinslow consultant nutritionist James Hague said dairy farmers could miss out on a lot of money if they were not providing enough nutrients.
“If cows are milking at just 0.2kg milksolids (MS) below their potential for the remaining 100-110 days left of the season, the 20-22kg MS lost would mean about $180 of income a cow of lost opportunity,” he said.
For a 350-cow herd that’s $63,000.”
Hague and Stafford both advise farmers to look closely at feed plans now, as feed and forage need to work hand in hand for the best results.
