Wet weather has made early spring quite a challenging one on Stratford's Demonstration Farm as well as other farms in the district.
The wet conditions have resulted in a lot of pasture pugging and feed wastage, however it has been ideal conditions for the current trial evaluating the benefits of a covered winter shelter pad.
There has been around 750mm of rain over the past 10 weeks. This is around 50 per cent more rain than normal over a period which is generally very wet anyway.
Temperatures were above average in August but quite cool for the second week of September.
Pasture growth on the farm for August was about average at 22kgDM/ha/day.
The nitrogen fertiliser response has been slow in early September thanks to wet soils, cool weather, late nitrogen applications and pugging damage. One good week however, will see it rebound.
The Stratford Demonstration Farm is operating a wintering pad trial this winter and will continue doing so during the next three or four years. This is a two-herd trial with both herds equal in stock numbers and having equal feed inputs.
One herd is using the covered stand-off feed pad every night over the winter - while the control herd has been on standard paddock wintering.
The aim of the trial is to assess the pasture pugging, pasture growth, supplementary feed utilisation, milk production, stock health and calculated environmental effects of the covered pad wintering along with any other issues that may arise along with the economics.
Calving on the farm generally went well and at a good rate with 80 per cent calved in five weeks. However, the remaining 20 per cent are calving slowly through to mid October.
Mid-September average pasture cover is around 1950kg DM/ha which is less than normal and desirable but just adequate.
Silage available for milkers has just run out but still have 50kg PKE/cow on hand to use through to early October.
The milkers have been holding to the planned spring rotation and are currently on a 30-day rotation and will hold to this until reach a good pasture cover and can feed well on all grass feeding.
Urea applications have been behind schedule with the difficulty to get it applied in the very wet conditions but is being done and have 45kg N/ha applied so far.
After starting in June with equal pasture cover, cow weight and condition, the winter pad herd was a significant 22kg heavier and half a condition score better at the end of August.
It also had 200kg DM/ha better pasture cover than the control herd showing quite a significant benefit to using the covered pad.
Milk production however is only showing a small advantage to the pad group to mid September with both herds milking reasonably well at around 1.7kg ms/cow/day in mid September but the control group will struggle to hold this.