NEWS
Figure 2 : The camp on the right has been grazed to the height of a Long Tom beer can lying on its side . The grass in the camp on the left , however , has had an opportunity to start growing again .
a gradient of forage volume as well as quality in your camp system .”
Prof Kirkman emphasises that , in mixed veld , producers need to use palatable species in order to measure growth . Once these species reach beer can height , they can go back to that camp . The quality of short grass is high , such as in the first paddock , but the quantity low . At the other end of the available paddocks , camps 6 to 10 for example , the grass would have grown quite tall , leading to low quality but abundantly available grass .
“ Should there be a dry spell during summer , with little growth , you have those tail-end camps available . Although the quality will be low , you will at least have feed available for the animals .”
Navigating winter veld
When planning fodder flow for the year , the main thing to determine is the amount of feed the animals will require during winter . Ideally , livestock should not graze the camps set aside for winter during the summer .
“ These winter camps will not have highquality grazing , but enough of it will be available . Because there is no regrowth during winter , producers do not need to follow the same dynamic rotation system employed in summer . They can start in one camp and when the grazing is finished move to the next one until the last of the winter camps is reached . At the end of winter , they can move back to the summer veld .” come back to camp 2 every time the grass has reached Long Tom height . Camp 1 becomes the last camp of the winter veld . The following summer , camp 3 becomes the first camp , and so on . The implication is that every camp in a ten-camp system will be the first camp that is grazed every ten years . Camps will therefore have the opportunity to rest for a full growing season for a good half of those years .”
This system offers the best of two worlds . From an animal production point of view , producers can provide high-quality veld throughout summer , while abundant veld is available in winter . From an ecological perspective , producers are improving their veld because they are not treating a particular camp the same way year after year . The grass can grow out , replenish its root system , and produce seed . It can continue its full growth cycle without being interrupted .
Fodder flow planning
As every year is different , it is critical to timeously assess the amount of feed that will be available in winter , while taking into account the amount of feed the animals will require .
“ Let ’ s say that you normally move over to your winter grazing on 1 April . During a dry summer , it might be that you have to start grazing the first winter camp in March . This means that you would be a month short in terms of winter grazing . However , because production during summer was less than optimal , you need to move through the winter veld much quicker than usual as well . This could mean that you will be two or more months short in terms of winter veld . This offers an advantage , though , in that you will be able to determine with some accuracy how much extra feed would be needed .”
Based on this assessment , producers can decide which measures to implement to alleviate the problem . “ Producers can either reduce their livestock numbers , buy in feed or lease extra land . The point is that it gives a few months warning before they run out of feed , which means they can plan accordingly .”
The correct stocking rate
In a rotational grazing system that utilises a number of summer camps and a number of winter camps , it becomes much easier to determine the carrying capacity of a farm .
“ If you run short of summer grazing in most years , you know that you are carrying too many animals . If , on the other hand , your animals can be comfortably moved onto winter grazing at the planned time , you know that the stocking rate is correct for the farm . If you have grazing left over in the summer areas at the start of winter , you know that you can carry more animals .”
This dynamic rotational grazing system is a good way of determining the correct stocking rate for a particular farm . It is also a good way of planning for drought . Producers will also find that veld rested for a full growing season is more productive the following growing season , Prof Kirkman says . This system will thus improve the farm ’ s carrying capacity over time .
For more information , send an email to Prof Kevin Kirkman at kirkmank @ ukzn . ac . za .
Although not always practical , Prof Kirkman says , it would be ideal to switch winter and summer veld every year . A more viable alternative is to move the first summer camp forward every year in the rotational grazing system .
“ Next summer you start in camp 2 and
Figure 3 : Winter veld is low in quality but high in quantity .
27 Grassroots Vol 21 No 1 March 2021