Time ripe to turn grazing upside down

Desperate times call for desperate measures. That's the old saying. And farmers on the east coast of the North Island are pretty desperate reports The Dom Post.  The latest rain, though heavy for a normal year, has sunk in only up to a spade's depth. After three droughts in a row, the soil organic matter - the decayed vegetation that microbes convert into nutrients for pastures to feed on - is hardly discernible on many farms.So bad is it in the drought epicentre in central Hawke's Bay that the soil biology has become so distorted that some soils are becoming hydrophobic - they don't absorb the rainwater, it just runs right off. So, desperate measures are being suggested. The latest, which came from a series of sheep and beef council seminars, is to turn normal grazing practice on its ear - allow pastures to grow long in spring and summer and then graze them hard in winter. This is the idea of Hawke's Bay Regional Council land management officers Chris Perley and Ian Milner and comes under the heading of innovative farming practice that Agriculture Minister David Carter has called for. The trouble is, this might be too innovative for farmers. The radical grazing change could create more problems than it solved, though it could also help fix the most pressing - the drought-stressed pastures and soils. Many farmers at the seminars were sceptical. Dannevirke-based consultant Greg Sheppard says he found it stimulating and thought- provoking, but his main objection is that, although the research is impressive, no financial studies have been done on whether it could be viable. Mr Perley and Mr Milner base their idea on the old practice of coppicing willows. This is where a tree is cut off at ground level in midwinter when its energy reserves are at their highest. The energy is released in spring in the form of new shoots growing out of the stump. They suggest that the same effect will occur if pastures are grazed hard in winter. A big spring burst will result. However, rather than plunder this growth surge, much of it should be left so that energy can be stored through summer for the next round of autumn- winter feeding. At present, the farming year is centred on a spring flush that comes as lambs and calves are growing and mature animals are recovering from the demands of winter. Then pastures are maintained through summer by steady grazing so they will be ready for a new burst when the autumn rains come. Unfortunately, those rains haven't turned up in recent years. Mr Perley and Mr Milner were careful not to make recommendations, but based on the science they presented, it seems that a low stocking rate in spring and summer would be needed so the pasture could build up root reserves and retain moisture. Then the stocking rate should be lifted in autumn and winter for hard grazing. Switching the feed peak to winter would probably mean changing the reproductive cycle to match, something not achieved easily within one or two seasons. On the plus side, producing lambs out of season means a greater chance they will fetch higher than mid- season prices.  Mr Sheppard thinks it is unlikely many, or any, farmers will want to change their whole farming system over, but it may be worthwhile to try it on some parts, such as north-facing blocks. Mr Perley and Mr Milner showed the results of a trial comparing the pasture growth on two blocks. One was grazed to a low 25mm through summer and the other was grazed to a high 75mm. The high pasture grew 19 per cent more dry matter over the following 12 months, with the biggest differences in growth rate occurring in the autumn and early spring periods. Soil moisture in the high grasses was 24 per cent greater.For the drought-weary farmers this was startling news. It could mean that the past two years of poor springs owe more to their pasture management than the weather.