Reduce the paddock size and increase the number, smaller and more is better!!! Grass Productivity relies on accurate measuring rather than broadly estimating kgDM/ha on a regular basis – weekly if possible. Besides providing the kgDM/ha, this serves as a guide to the condition of the soil, the herbage and Grass Productivity in each field, as well as confirming the sequence for grazing the fields and the farm’s overall grass wedge. Measuring with the rising plate meter indicates the current position on the growth curve. By identifying this, access to the grazing is commenced at the most productive time, with exit of the pasture also at the right time. This leaves sufficient reserves in the root zone, and growth hormones in the base of the stalk, thus maximizing free solar energy. It is therefore essential not to harvest/graze before the roots and the base of the stalks have stored these essential reserves and also not to graze below the Grass Productivity specified minimum height which also depletes these reserves and greatly reduces the rate of recovery. Another important factor: when pastures are allowed to run to seed, almost all the nutrients are removed from the root zone as well as all the growth hormones from the base of the plant stalk. Without applying Grass Productivity principles, pasture production is greatly reduced. More serious effects are evident at the end of the growth season when pastures become tired, exhausted and depleted of growth hormones and plant root nutrients over the winter months.
The important question is: what is the value of the grass nutrition the animal is ingesting?