Grassland Management

Grassland Management

• Grazing Management
  Livestock Units: A livestock unit (LU) is a measurement of livestock grazing.
  One livestock unit (1 LU) is the equivalent of one dairy cow or one suckler cow.
  1 LU requires 12 tonnes of herbage annually.
  Livestock units can be used to determine the quantity of herbage needed on a farm annually.grassland is used for grazing and for silage and hay conservation for winter feed.
  Farmers must determine how much grass is required throughout the year for grazing and conservation.
  The farmer must apply the right amount of fertiliser to achieve that quantity of grass.
  The farmer tries to manage the grass in a way that ensures animals are always eating top quality herbage (young leafy grass).
• Types of Grazing
  Paddock grazing
  Strip grazing
  Set-stocking
  Block grazing
  Zero grazing
  Creep Grazing
  Mixed grazing
• Paddock Grazing
  The farm is divided up into 20-25 paddocks.
  The herd graze one paddock each day (the bigger the herd the bigger the paddocks).
  When each paddock is grazed nitrogen is applied.
  By the time the herd has grazed all the paddocks the first one is ready to be grazed again.
• Paddock Grazing
  Advantages:
  –Fresh, highly digestible leafy grass available every day for grazing
  –No grass is wasted
  –Excess grass can be saved as silage
  Disadvantages:
  –Expensive to set up
  –Roadways/access to each paddock must be created. Fencing and water supply are needed for each paddock
  –Can be difficult to cut for silage if paddocks are small
• Strip Grazing
  A movable electric fence is used to give stock a fresh strip of grass each day.
  Each strip is fertilised when grazed.
  A back fence is used to stop stock from grazing the grass as it re-grows.
• Strip Grazing
  Advantages:
  –Fresh, leafy grass available each day for grazing
  –Cheap
  –No wastage of grass as each strip is grazed bare
  –Grass is not damaged while re-growing as livestock cannot access it
  Disadvantages:
  –High labour is required to move livestock, fencing and a movable water supply each day
  –The use of a fixed water supply means part of the field has to be left as an access route, which cannot be grazed and can be damaged from use
• Set Stocking
  Stock are allowed to graze all of the grass all of the time.
  Little or no fertiliser is used.
  Associated with poor management and low stocking rates.
• Set Stocking
  Advantages:
  –Low-cost system with minimum fencing and water troughs needed
  –Less labour required
  –Poaching is minimised as livestock is not stocked densely on the land
  Disadvantages:
  –Early heading grasses not fully utilised in spring. At peak in summer, grass is not grazed efficiently
  –Grass is wasted and turns stemmy, allowing patchy, unpalatable grass to develop
• Block Grazing
  Also known as field-by-field grazing and is commonly used in Ireland.
  Stock are left in a field until all the grass is grazed which will vary depending on the size of the field.
  Stock are then moved to the next field and the previous one is fertilised.
• Block Grazing
  Advantages:
  –Cheaper than paddock grazing
  –Less fencing is needed
  –Less labour and less movement of animals required
  Disadvantages:
  –Grazing of blocks is not as efficient as paddock or strip grazing
• Mixed Grazing
  Cattle and sheep grazing the same area together.
  Can be used along with other types of grazing e.g. paddock grazing
  Both animals have higher growth rates.
  Sheep grazing close to the ground encourage tillering of grass.
  Sheep eat grass that cattle do not (around dung and urine patches) so there is better utilisation of the grass.
  Dung and urine of sheep and cattle is different and this leads to better recycling of nutrients.
• Zero Grazing
  Cattle are housed all year round.
  Fresh grass or other forage crops are cut and brought to the livestock, where they are fed indoors.
  Cattle do not graze the land.
  Common on the continent but not in Ireland.
• Zero Grazing
  Advantages:
  –Land is not poached by animals
  –Energy is not wasted by animals through movement
  –Access to fresh grass at all times means that the cows’ feed intake increases
  –All fields are accessible for grazing; distant fields can be used which may otherwise be inaccessible to livestock
  Disadvantages:
  –Very high cost system
• Creep Grazing
  A creep gate or gap in a fence is created to allow calves or lambs access to another field.
  This field is disease free and has fresh grass available for grazing.
  it can be used in conjunction with rotational grazing.
  The older animals cannot access the field and the young animals can return to their mothers to suckle.
  Sometimes concentrates are also available to the young stock.
• Leader-follower System
  This system is used in conjunction with rotational grazing where the young animals are grazed ahead of the older animals.
  Young animals are more selective and have access to fresh, leafy grass.
  The older animals will graze down the grass which remains.
  Young animals are always on clean grass which reduces their chances of picking up disease.
  Helps prevent stomach, intestinal and lung worms but does not reduce the incidence of liver fluke.
• Topping
  Grass is mowed to a height of 4 - 6cm.
  Topping cuts grass to the correct post-grazing height and encourages tillering.
  It is carried out post-grazing to remove any remaining grass that is left due to animals being selective grazers.
  Prevents grass from becoming stemmy and less digestible.
  It also help in the control of certain weeds.
• Tillering
  Happens in all grass plants.
  This is the development of side shoots in a plant from the base of the main shoot.
  The tillers remain attached to the main plant but have their own root system.
  The more side shoots a plant produces, the more productive the grass is.
  Tillering can be encouraged by grazing pasture with sheep or calves and by having high levels of soil fertility.
• Fertiliser Use
  Never apply when very wet weather is forecast as leaching will occur.
  Always apply at proper rate recommended by Teagasc.
  Always apply when the grass needs it i.e. when it is growing rapidly.
  Never apply too close to rivers or streams.
  Increased levels of nitrogen will increase the output of grass as nitrogen is needed to make chlorophyll which is used for photosynthesis.