Managing stock in drought or near drought conditions

Colman Purcell, Nutritionist with Dairygold Agri Business, joins Stuart Childs to discuss managing stock in drought or near drought conditions.

Colman praises the farmers in the Dairygold catchment who have been affected by the dry weather for how they have dealt with it up to now, maintaining milk and protein performance, a response that he credits to their knowledge of how to react in these situations due to their experience of them in the last decade.

Colman says that it is important to maintain cow performance by avoiding feed shortages with the priority being to maintain dry matter intake and milk production by supplementing early. Monitor milk yield and milk proteins and react quickly if performance drops as these are good indicators of nutritional status.

Filling the gap created by the lack of grass will depend on how severe the grass deficit is and what the help and facilities on the farm are like. In some cases, feeding will be pushed as high as 9kg in the parlour feed due to an inability to feed outside of the parlour. People will need to see what will work best for their farm. Concentrate protein should be ok at 16% but an 18% protein ration may be appropriate, particularly where cows are receiving significant forage. Again, monitoring the performance of the herd will help decisions here.

Young stock while appearing content in the current conditions will still need to be fed in order to keep them growing, so supplementation will be necessary where there is grass shortage for these animals. Forward beef cattle that are based on weight are forward enough to start on finishing diet and should be started on this to reduce stocking rates and avoid these animals slipping back which would delay their finishing later in the year. With demand increasing, delivery logistics may become more challenging. Farmers should calculate feed requirements and order well in advance to avoid running out.

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