Description

Practice abstract

Martin Ivarsson in Köinge in Southwest Sweden runs a farm with certified organic dairy production with 100 cows and 200 ha arable land. Martin’s goal is an optimised grazing management using as much grazing as possible. He is continuously improving the system. Concentrating the calving to the right time for maximum grazing is one of the improvements. Managing the pastures for maximum quality and fodder intake is another. 

The animals graze less when they return to a paddock that has been grazed before. The grass is less tasty and the animals eat less. Martin discovered this when he had cut one half of a paddock and let the other half being grazed. When the cows returned to the paddock, they only grazed the half that had been cut and not the half that had been grazed before. 

As an innovative solution Martin introduced two cuts between grazing. One part of the land is grazed in spring and the rest is harvested and grazed after that. Grazing and harvest are alternated so that each paddock is cut at least twice between grazing. The paddocks are grazed one week each. The paddocks that have been grazed are harvested as round bale silage. The hygienic quality has not been impaired from the grazing animals. As the paddocks are cut twice between grazing there are no ungrazed spots left in the sward and there’s a much better forage intake. 

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