New Zealand Grasses and Dairy Farm Cows
Collecting the relevant information on both of these topics was hard because of the trade secrets that are kept from the public’s eye in these sectors. The information that I did find on both New Zealand grasses and dairy farm cows helped me understand what is involved in these fields and got me thinking about what is needed to improve these fields.
New Zealand Grasses:
There are many different types of grasses that dairy farmers use to produce the best yield. These different types of grasses all depend on the environment. This means because of the unpredictable environments of the North and South island of New Zealand, it makes it difficult to grow the same types of grasses in New Zealand. The types of grasses used on dairy farms in New Zealsnd are as follows:
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Pyrennial Ryegrass
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Italian Ryegrass
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Tall Fescue
Dairy farmers use two main methods of improving the growth of these grasses. One of these methods is irrigation, where water, effluent or a mixture of both is redistributed using pipes and sprayers to different parts of the farm to maximise the growth of the grass. This method of growing grass is a very good way of maximising the growth because it evenly distributes the available water on the farm which minimises certain areas of the farm getting better growth than others. The downside of using this grass growing method is the water needed to supply the irrigators. In a time of drought, it will be hard to supply the irrigators with the water needed to irrigate the farm because of the restrictions put on farmers by councils.
The other main method of improving the growth of grass on New Zealand dairy farms is by using fertilisers. A fertiliser is a type of powder laced with chemicals like phosphate to help increase the growth of the grass on the farms. The method of applying the fertiliser to the farms can be done by either spraying the ground from the air by either using helicopters or planes or by spreading it from the ground. Both ways have their benefits and disadvantages. Spreading it by air does allow a dairy farm to be spread with the chosen fertiliser quite quickly but minimises the effectiveness of the fertiliser because it is being spread by air. Spreading the chosen fertiliser by ground spread maximises the concentration of fertiliser that can be spread but the time and amount of fertiliser needed puts this method at a disadvantage.
New Zealand Cows:
There are two main types of cows used on dairy farms to produce the best yield of cow. The two main types of cows that are used by New Zealand dairy farmers are Friesian’s and Jerseys. These two types of cows produce the best yield year in year out which consists of the size of the cow, how well they reproduce and the milk that they generate.
To maximise the yield, farmers create strategies which help improve the cow’s size and wellbeing. One thing that dairy farmers do is grow crops. Crops are different to grass because of their nutritional value to the cows. The vitamins and minerals that the cows get when they eat the crops have a positive effect on the cows because these vitamins and minerals help with the quality of milk that is produced by these certain types of cows.
Another strategy that is used for cows in dairy farming is bringing in supplement from outside sources. By feeding the cows supplements like Palm Kernel. It gives the cows a different type of meal on top of the grass that they already eat daily. This starts to increase the size of the cow which automatically increases the amount of milk that is produced by each cow.