The right management choices can make a difference during and after extreme weather events. Here are key areas to consider, focusing on feed and finance:
Three-Step Feed Plan
- Make a feed budget to establish targets and avoid feed shortages.
- Include production targets, feeding levels, average pasture cover targets at different stages, and what’s happening with young stock and supplement strategies.
- Monitor the plan regularly to ensure the set targets are achieved.
Fix Your Finances
- Update your budget and reduce your expenditure accordingly.
- Make sure you confine the financial damage to one year only.
- Perform a cash flow check to find out how much money is available to purchase inputs such as nitrogen and supplements.
- Keep your bank manager informed.
Build pasture cover
- Higher pasture covers provide better protection against pugging. Build this into the feed budget.
Animal Health
- It is vital to keep cows healthy — especially close to mating. Be aware of magnesium deficiency, mastitis, and lameness.
Reduce the number of cows
- The most effective way to improve the feeding of a milking herd is to reduce the number of stock on the property and ease feed demand.
- Graze off late calvers.
- Graze replacement stock off farm.
- Send cows to other farmers in a better position.
- Send early culls away.
- Get non-dairy animals off your farm.
The Dairy NZ website has more wet weather management tips. Call us if you'd like to talk through your budgets.
