Macalister Demonstration Farm Update 560 (11th March 2022)
The Macalister Demonstration Farm is very wet after 65 mm of rain, parts of the farm having been irrigated only 4 days before the rain. This is the circumstance when functioning surface drains (spinner cuts) would have had a great benefit, taking the surplus water off the paddocks quickly, minimising water-logging.
The C4 (tropical) grasses (e.g. paspalum, distichum, wild millet) are dominating many paddocks. They compete well in the warmth, and don’t mind water logging as much as ryegrass, a C3 or temperate grass, does. C4s can even cope with dry periods better, because of their toughness, and deeper rooting. The C4s are tough plants with thick cell walls. The cell walls are the fibre part of the plant, the parts that are less digestible for the cow. So, the cows are being offered grass that is well down their preferential scale: muddy, high fibre, low energy, and tough. This can only mean lowered intake, and in that lower intake quantity, lower energy density. All leading to lower milk, as seen by the numbers in the table.
| FEED MARGIN PERFORMANCE | MDF THIS TIME LAST YEAR | MDF TEN DAYS AGO | MDF THIS TEN DAYS | Units |
| Ten days to date: | 10,Mar,21 | 28,Feb,22 | 10,Mar,22 | |
| Milker graze area | 61 | 71 | 67 | Ha |
| Milkers | 282 | 300 | 300 | Head |
| Stocking rate | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | cows/ha |
| Average graze rest time | 31 | 33 | 33 | Days |
| Estm’d pasture consmp’n | 35 | 35 | 30 | kg DM/ha/day |
| Pasture consum’d per cow | 7.6 | 8.3 | 6.7 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Pasture growing spend | $6.19 | $8.60 | $8.60 | $/ha/day |
| Estm’d pasture price | $176 | $245 | $287 | $/T DM |
| Conc (incl additives)supp fed/cow | 6.8 | 6.3 | 6.8 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Conc (incl additives)supp avg price | $393 | $430 | $430 | $/T DM |
| Hay/silage supp fed/cow | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Hay/silage supp price | $267 | $280 | $/T DM | |
| Feed Conversion Efficiency | 103 | 101 | 97 | kg MS/tonne DM |
| Total feed intake/cow | 16.2 | 14.4 | 13.9 | kg DM/cow/day |
| NDF Fibre in diet | 31.2% | 30.0% | 28.9% | % NDF |
| Litres/cow | 20.5 | 17.7 | 16.2 | l/cow/day |
| Fat test | 4.61% | 4.77% | 4.93% | % |
| Protein test | 3.80% | 3.54% | 3.60% | % |
| Milk Solids per cow | 1.72 | 1.47 | 1.38 | kg/cow/day |
| Milk price (less levies)/kg MS | $6.75 | $7.18 | $7.17 | $/kg MS |
| Milk price (less levies)/litre | $0.57 | $0.60 | $0.61 | $ per litre |
| Milk income/cow | $11.60 | $10.56 | $9.90 | $/cow/day |
| All feed cost/cow | $4.63 | $4.74 | $5.03 | $/cow/day |
| Margin over all Feed/cow | $6.97 | $5.82 | $4.87 | $/cow/day |
| MOAF /ha /day | $32.22 | $24.57 | $21.81 | $/ha/day |
| Farm MOAF per DAY | $1,965 | $1,745 | $1,461 | $/day |