Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 11
Pasture and fodder production for livestock – Week 7 focus
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Pasture and fodder production for livestock – Week 7 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Agricultural Management Practices
Class: Grade 11
Term: 2nd Term
Week: 7
Theme: General lesson support
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Pasture and fodder production are crucial components of successful livestock farming in South Africa. As future agriculturalists, understanding these practices will enable you to sustainably manage grazing lands, ensure consistent feed supply for livestock, and ultimately contribute to food security and economic growth within our communities. Many rural South African communities depend heavily on livestock for their livelihoods; therefore, mastering these skills is directly applicable to improving their quality of life. Mismanagement can lead to overgrazing, land degradation, reduced livestock productivity, and financial losses.
2.1 Improving Pasture Utilisation: Pasture utilisation refers to the efficiency with which livestock consume the available forage in a pasture. Poor utilisation leads to wastage, uneven grazing, and ultimately reduces the carrying capacity of the land.
Rotational Grazing: This involves dividing the pasture into several paddocks and rotating livestock among them. This allows grazed areas to recover, promoting regrowth and preventing overgrazing. The optimal rotation period depends on the pasture type, growth rate, and stocking rate.
Why it matters: Reduced soil erosion, improved forage quality, increased carrying capacity.
How it works: Observe the pasture recovery rate to determine when to move the animals.
Strip Grazing: This is a more intensive form of rotational grazing where livestock are given access to a narrow strip of pasture each day, using a movable fence. This minimises selective grazing, ensures more uniform utilisation, and reduces wastage.
Why it matters: Highly efficient forage utilisation, reduced trampling.
How it works: Calculate daily forage requirements and allocate a corresponding strip of pasture.
Deferred Grazing: Delaying grazing on certain areas of pasture until later in the season allows plants to mature and build up root reserves, which improves their long-term productivity.
Why it matters: Enhances pasture resilience and seed production.
How it works: Identify key species and their growth stages to determine deferral periods.
Creep Grazing: Providing young animals (e.g., calves, lambs) with access to a separate area of high-quality pasture that is inaccessible to the mature animals. This ensures they receive adequate nutrition for optimal growth.
Why it matters: Improved growth rates for young animals.
How it works: Use a fence with openings large enough for young animals but small enough to exclude adults. 2.2 Stocking Rate Calculations: Stocking rate is the number of animals grazing on a given area of land over a specific period. It is crucial to determine an appropriate stocking rate to prevent overgrazing and maintain pasture health. Overstocking leads to land degradation and reduced livestock productivity, while understocking results in inefficient pasture utilisation.
Key Terms: Grazing Land Area (GLA): The total area of land available for grazing (in hectares).
Pasture Yield (PY): The amount of dry matter forage produced per hectare per year (in kg DM/ha/year). This can be estimated through pasture cuts or using visual assessments.
Utilisation Rate (UR): The percentage of pasture yield that livestock actually consume (expressed as a decimal). A common figure is 0.5 (50%), accounting for trampling, fouling, and uneaten plant parts.
Dry Matter Intake (DMI): The amount of dry matter feed consumed by an animal per day (in kg DM/animal/day). This varies depending on the animal type, size, and physiological state (e.g., lactating cows require more DMI).
Animal Unit (AU): A standard unit used to compare the grazing pressure of different livestock types. Typically, one AU is equivalent to a mature 500 kg cow.
Formula: Stocking Rate (Animals/ha) = (Pasture Yield x Utilisation Rate) / (Dry Matter Intake x Grazing Period) Or, in shorter form: SR = (PY x UR) / (DMI x GP)