Grazing stubbles at Christmas.
What a Christmas treat - I love it when the farmers and the agronomists let us put livestock on stubble! The nutrition is good for a period, and it’s a great way of allowing undrenched sheep to expel lots of worm larvae onto the hot, bare ground without relying on drench, and spell some other paddocks! Of course, there are few things to consider when putting stock on stubble, and it’s something that I’ve had lots of calls about over the past week.
The plant stalks themselves often aren’t great quality, and grain will be the most significant contributor to the nutritional value of the stubble paddock. Once the grain and green pick is gone, the stubble will be of low nutrient value and the stock would benefit from being moved to better feed, or supplementary fed with grain while on the stubble.
Remember, growing stock and heavily pregnant or lactating stock require higher amounts of energy and protein, so allocate your paddocks accordingly. Condition Score your animals before they go onto the stubble, so you can check if they’ve gained or lost weight over the grazing period.
If putting livestock onto wheat or barley stubble and there are unharvested areas or large amounts of spilt grain, inducting them onto cereal grain over a week is a good idea. This can just be a trail feed once or twice a day over 5-7 days until they get up to around 500g per head per day (sheep) before putting the stock onto the stubble. This will be much easier if your livestock were imprinted while they were on their mothers!
Supplying a lick such as lime and salt near the watering points can help buffer the rumen, encourage the stock to drink more and avoid urinary stones (waterbelly) developing and avoid hypocalcaemia. You may also choose a lick that contains molasses or urea to help with stubble utilisation.
Have a good look at what weeds and other plants are growing in your paddock. Domination by poisonous weeds such as heliotrope or cathead could be an issue if the stock are left in the paddock to graze these plants in large amounts. Beware nitrates, reshot plants such as canola and funguses on stubble.
Finally, stubble paddocks are dry, hot places and the feed is fibrous! Good access to clean water is essential for livestock performance. Keep an eye on dams for bluegreen algae, make sure the troughs are cleaned out and that the dirt around them is not dished out around the base to the point where the stock (especially sheep and calves) cannot reach in for a drink. Sounds simple, but it’s important!
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