Identify opportunities to change the feed supply curve

Rainfall, temperature, soil moisture, soil type, fertility and pasture type combine to drive pasture growth. Although producers can’t change their annual rainfall without relocating their farm, they can rethink their existing pasture species and management systems to suit their location and achieve their enterprise goals: 

• Supply gaps by can be filled in several ways. Use different pasture species and forage crops to provide out-of-season pasture growth.  
• Use nitrogen fertiliser to boost pasture growth during winter and spring. This approach is often more cost-effective than using feed supplements. 
• Growth promotants containing gibberellic acid can be used to boost pasture growth during winter, when levels of this naturally occurring plant hormone are low. However, the additional growth during winter can be at the expense of spring growth.  
• Changes to grazing management can increase pasture growth. Rotational grazing systems that promote higher pasture availability during autumn and winter can increase pasture growth rates by 10–20% compared with set stocked systems.  
• Supplementary feeds can be used to fill feed gaps and harvesting hay or silage can be a way to reallocate excess spring pasture to other times of the year where pasture supply is lower. Keep in mind that supplements need to be adequate for the class of stock being fed.  
• Deferred grazing, through containment feeding, can significantly increase pasture growth rates leading into the growing season and increase total pasture production for the remainder of the season. This can be done through holding stock within containment areas on a full ration, low-cost rations utilising hay or high-quality straw can be supplemented with grain or silage to meet animal requirements through this period. 
• Dual-purpose cereal crops (e.g. grazing wheat) can provide a source of feed for livestock in mixed farming enterprises without impacting on profits and limited affect to crop yields.