Maximising home-grown feed was the topic of on-farm sessions in the Gippsland and Murray regions in June.
Nutritional fundamentals was a two-day course, held in Milawa by Murray Dairy staff, to help dairy farmers increase their understanding about how to use home-grown feed — either grazed or conserved — in the shoulder growing periods, when feed gaps are more prevalent.
In Gippsland, three dairy farms were recruited for a Pasture 101 series of farm walks — the one-day courses were replicated in the Macalister Irrigation District, West Gippsland and South Gippsland.
The workshops were held in response to a perceived need in both regions.
Some farmers were looking for opportunities to refresh their knowledge about growing pasture and optimising nutrition for their cows and calves.
Other farmers were looking for courses to help develop their knowledge.
“We noticed participants came along to do our Feeding Pasture For Profit course, and they may not have had prior experience or knowledge that made it hard for them to follow the learning,” GippsDairy’s Veronica McLeod said.
“Bec Wyper from Murray Dairy had seen the same need in northern Victoria.”
The two teams collaborated to develop a starter course.
“Participants would learn enough to be able to go back to their farms and put the knowledge into practice,” Veronica said.
“We hope they then return to complete the full Feeding Pasture For Profit course, at a future time.”
The pilot programs in each region were very successful.
“We hope we can now develop full extension materials for each short course,” Veronica said.
Participants learned about ruminant digestion, factors that limit feed intake, condition scoring, how to calculate the cost of rearing young cattle, growing pasture, grazing management, managing residuals, creating a feed wedge, feed budgeting and how to balance the cows’ diet, and comparing the cost of nutrients.
The three one-day workshops across Gippsland were attended by 76 people.