MOST graziers in the high rainfall zones of WA are not using their pastures to the best of their advantage.
That is the message coming from business consultant and educator Chris Scheid from PrincipleFocus, Adelaide on a recent tour of the WA medium to high rainfall zones with local grower groups.
“From my experience in working with graziers in south eastern Australia, grazing management practices appear to be similar to many in the medium to high rainfall zones of WA,” Mr Scheid said.
“WA graziers are missing out on productivity and profitability gains.
“In south eastern Australia, we renovate our ‘permanent’ pastures every seven-10 years.
“But we often fail to ask the question of why have they declined?
“When we do ask this question, we are often quick to blame the season, or pasture species but in many circumstances we fail to recognise that our own grazing management have contributed to the decline of perennial pastures.
“For those of my clients who are willing to accept that their own grazing management is part of the problem (and wish to make improvements), there’s no reason why the next time perennial pastures are sown that it is the last time they are sown – permanent perennial pastures.”
To enable resown pastures to be ‘permanent’ Mr Scheid said he discusses with clients the need for grazing management practices to be altered.
“I teach and work one-on-one with clients on establishing and understanding a set of cell grazing principles,” Mr Scheid said.
Cell grazing or ‘wagon wheel’ grazing after the description of a water point at a cell centre and fences radiating out from the cell centre involves moving livestock according to plant growth rates.
“When plants are growing slowly, livestock move slower,” he said.
“Faster plant growth requires faster moves.
“It is different to ‘rotational grazing’.
“Many rotational graziers move according to livestock performance – moving livestock every two or three days results in good livestock performance.
“Cell graziers focus on livestock performance and perennial pasture persistence and business profitability and ‘people balance’ all at the same time.
“It’s a more holistic focus with cell grazing – getting everything in balance – livestock production and performance, pastures production and persistence, business and people.”
Some ‘different thinking’ on capital priorities is required to pay for the fencing (usually two hot wires, one earth) and any new water points.
Mr Scheid said the usual cost to set up new cell grazing fencing and watering points was equivalent to a year’s capital spent on pasture fertiliser.
“I find that many clients are happy to forego one year’s fertiliser, invest this capital into grazing management infrastructure (fencing and water) with the knowledge that this is a once-off investment and then by following a well defined set of cell grazing management principles, clients will see permanent pasture productivity and profitability improvements,” Mr Scheid said.
The permanent pasture productivity and profitability improvements arise as a result of improving pasture utilisation - more, smaller paddocks means bigger mobs of livestock use more of the grass that is grown and more grass is grown because more of it is resting at any one time.
“Some of the pasture utilisation rate improvements are staggering – from 20 per cent or 30 per cent up to 40 per cent,” Mr Scheid said.
He said some clients he had been working with in redesigning their grazing management systems had continued to not apply fertiliser.
Rather than focusing on fertiliser, they are focusing more on the cycling of minerals (litter, stubbles, dung and urine) and allow perennial plants and livestock to do the work rather than rely on fertiliser alone.
“Ten years down the track, they are still in business, as productive and as profitable as their neighbour with permanent pastures,” he said.
“This is the focus of some clients, but not all clients.
“The fertiliser question is ‘client specific’.
“Other clients have recognised that their ‘next best investment’ (after grazing management redesign) is in growing more pasture (using fertiliser).
“As capital re-prioritisation into better grazing management practices has resulted in up to 40 per cent utilisation of grass grown, instead of 20 per cent to 30 per cent, growing more grass with the addition of fertiliser or pasture renovation is once again a profitable investment.
“They can now use up to twice as much grass for the same dollar of capital invested in fertiliser or pasture renovation.
“On my visit to WA, I saw these very same opportunities available to WA graziers.
“To get these results it just comes down to two things - a mental shift, asking the question ‘why are my pastures in decline?’ and a once only re-prioritisation of capital.”
Chris Scheid will conduct a three-five-day cell grazing focus course at the RSL Hall in Kojonup from August 16-19 in collaboration with a local farmer group.
Source: farmonline.com.au
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