About Farming
Pasture Management
Cows get most of their nutritional requirements from grazing pasture (that is, grass). The more pasture the farm grows, the more feed cows have to produce milk.
To grow, pastures need:
- sunlight
- water
- mineral nutrients.
The farmer uses fertilisers to supply the extra nutrients needed for extra growth. However sunlight and water depend on the weather. Water is also supplied to some farms from irrigation systems.
The farmer has to control how much his pastures are grazed by the cows, and ensure the pasture gets enough of a spell between grazings to promote better growth. The farmer does this by moving cows from one paddock to another each day. The number of paddocks or grassed areas the herd grazes each day depends on how fast the pasture is growing. This depends mainly on the season.
Cow Nutrition
Cows need energy, protein and fibre from their feeds. Energy and protein are used to make milk and for skin tissue growth. Energy is also used for activity, eg walking and breathing. Fibre is used to help the cow's stomach, called the rumen, to function. Fibre is also used to help make the fat we get in milk. Like us, cows need vitamins and minerals. Cows are basically herbivores (which means they are vegetarians). Feeds they commonly eat include:
pasture and conserved pasture, such as hay and silage.
cereal grains such as barley, wheat and oats.
some high protein feeds like lupins and canola.
It is the farmer's job to make sure the cows get a well balanced diet with all the nutrients they need, so they are healthy and produce a lot of high quality milk. They also need plenty of water - during the hot summer weather a cow can drink up to 120 litres in one day.
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