1-68 Integrating turnips into your farm system Why grow turnips?Turnip - PDF document

1-68 Integrating turnips into your farm system Why grow turnips?Turnips are grown on farm to: Help bridge a summer feed shortage Provide a high quality summer feed to maintain or increase milk production Introduce new pasture cultivars containing novel endophytes To reduce the proportion of pasture consumed that may be high in fungal toxins, such as facial eczema and wild endophyte toxins Help establish new pasture by contouring and cleaning the soil of pests, weeds and diseases Reduce the amount of surplus pasture needing conservation in the spring, thereby improving pasture quality and production What to consider before integrating turnips into your farm system Getting maximum profit and associated benefits from growing an area of turnips requires planning, a high conversion of crop into milk and good management of subsequent new novel endophyte perennial pastures. Consider how turnips will fit into all areas of your farm system: Economics, people, land and stock. Consider the full cost of growing a turnip crop and returning the area to pasture. Check that the farm cash flow will cope with the extra costs. For a full breakdown of costs refer to FarmFacts 1-62. The profitability of growing a turnip crop depends largely on the economic conversion of the crop into milk and the future pasture management to capture the benefits of the new pastures. This can be maximised by: 1. Filling a feed deficit with a crop, that is high in feed quality. Begin feeding turnips in mid January to hold total feed quality and reduce decline in milk production. 2. Minimal intake of pasture in the summer – autumn is about 12 kg DM/cow/day. Feeding turnips above this level is likely to increase milksolids production and pasture cover. This substitution effect may be beneficial if pastures are novel endophyte, tetraploid ryegrass 3. Using the turnip crop to increase cow days in milk. Maintain a base intake over the summer to keep more cows milking so the maximum number of cows reach autumn, in milk. 4. Achieving a low cost per kg DM crop (less than 14 c/kg DM). Use best practice methods to grow a high yielding crop. A cost of $1400/ha for a 12 t DM/ha crop is 12 c/kg DM. See FarmFacts 1-625. Use nitrogen fertiliser on BOTH the crop and whole farm area to increase crop yield and lift pasture cover. Total crop yield must compensate not only for lost pasture production but also for the effect of the increased stocking rate during the crop establishment period on pasture conservation, farm cover and per cow performance. Yields of 8 t DM/ha are required for turnips to be breakeven FarmFact 1-68 Page 2 Who will be managing the turnip crop when it is growing? Have they got sufficient skills, knowledge, resources (machinery) and expert advice to do this well? See FarmFacts 1-62for advice on growing a turnip crop. Who will be allocating an area of turnips to feed the herd? Have they got sufficient skills, knowledge, and expert advice to do this well? See FarmFacts 1-67: for advice on feeding a turnip crop. The area used to grow turnips depends on why turnips are being grown (see above). Plant 2.5 ha per 100 cows to get enough turnips for 60 days feeding. With a crop yield of 12 t DM/ha and 80% utilisation, this will allow 5 kg DM/cow/day offered. To work out the area of turnips needed FarmFacts 1-62Stocking rate will be higher than normal during the period when the paddocks are out for growing turnips and new pasture. Ensure: Feed demand and supply are balanced over this period Paddocks close to the turnip area have sufficient pasture cover to provide feed to complement the turnips Paddocks used are strategically placed to minimise walking distance Turnips and pasture renewalGrowing a turnip crop significantly reduces nematodes, clover root weevil, wild endophyte perennial ryegrass and perennial weeds. This is particularly important to the successful establishment of a new pasture sward of clover and novel endophyte perennial ryegrass. There is evidence that the control of weeds and pests in the pasture sward is improved by spraying out the area to be sown in turnips in the preceding autumn. This area is planted into an Italian or short rotation winter ryegrass prior to sowing summer turnips in November. This has several advantages: Offers greater amounts of winter forage Improves perennial weed, and clover pest control Planning is well advanced, allowing early application of capital fertiliser and drainage etc. After the turnip crop the paddock is then planted with new perennial, novel endophyte pasture Stock Turnips are fed to cows by break feeding. Some hints for feeding out include: Make breaks long and narrow, to minimise wastage by cows treading on the turnips. Fencing down the length of a paddock, rather than across the width, is the best. Grazing a long thin face gives less wastage than a square block. Introduce cows gradually to your turnip crop. Offer a maximum of 2 kg DM/cow/day, or 1 hour grazing, in the first five days. Increase feeding level gradually over the next five days, up to 5 kg DM/cow/day. Turnips should make up no more than a third of daily ration. With good management up to 90% utilisation can be achieved1. FarmFacts 1-67