Supplmentary Feeding and Management Strategies to Overcome Drought Situations on Three High Producing New Zealand Seasonal Dairy Farms

This paper investigates the outcomes of the management strategies to overcome dry summer conditions on three New Zealand seasonal supply dairy farms where the summer management philosophy is towards production rather than survival aimed at giving the farmer control rather than accepting the unreliable production outcomes often achieved. Actual data collected from the case farms as part of a large on-farm monitoring programme was used to model the dry 1998/99 season. This was compared with simulated models for an average season to estimate milksolids responses (g milksolids (MS)/kg DM) and net returns (cents/kg DM) to the additional feeds used. In response to a 30% reduction in summer pasture growth, farmers fed more additional feeds (542 kg DM/ha) and achieved fewer lactation days/ha resulting a reduction of 12.5% in per cow and 19.8% in per hectare milksolids production. The average response achieved to the addition feed was 104g MS/kg DM at a net return of 20.6cents/kg DM fed above the cost of additional feed. It was concluded that the management strategies achieved the target of having cows in good condition and at a satisfactory level of production at the end of summer to enable autumn milk production to be captured and that farmers should look at further increasing the level of supplement fed in dry summer conditions