“The underlying message is that any increase in pasture renewal rates is good for your business.”
Because all farms are different there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
“We don’t want farmers to get too hung up on the 10% figure but we believe that 10% or greater is where it needs to be to significantly lift productivity on farms.”
Whatever way farmers look at it pasture renewal pays, Wood says.
“If the best paddock on your farm is likely to be producing double what your worst paddock is then renewing pasture has got to pay. Research says that new pastures that are established properly will yield 20-100% more compared to previous pastures,” Wood says.
A consultant’s view
Total Ag agribusiness consultant Rob Macnab says providing people get pasture renewal right it generally pays off and gives a good return on investment.
“In one of my cases this morning there’s a 52% increase in production and potential profit from changing a low-performing producing grass. It was doing 6.5 tonnes per hectare, now it’s doing 9.5t/ha and that’s a 52% return on investment,” Macnab says.
The investment might not always be solely in grass – it could be in fertility, subdivision and sometimes water as well. But the key driver was changing the grass.
According to a 2009 BERL New Zealand sheep and beef farmers only renew 2-3% of pasture annually.
