Pasture: The Green Gold

On June 25th, the Organic Meadow's Francophone Organic Dairy Farming Club met for the third time this year. The day was dedicated to intensive grazing management. We were fortunate to have a warm, sunny and dry day for a change!

The day started with Kornel and Olga Schneider, owners of Ferme La Rêveuse (Dreamers Farm). They first explained the name of their farm, chosen because owning a farm in Canada was a dream they had prior to moving to Canada from Switzerland. Located in Curran in Eastern Ontario, this 75 cow operation is not certified organic. With an excellent PowerPoint presentation they explained the evolution of the farm during the last 15 years. They went from a traditional, extensive Canadian pasture model to an efficient intensive grazing system. As their grazing system evolved and became more efficient, Kornel explained how less and less dependant on corn and grain they had become. Their feeding program is now 95% pasture/forages.

All their pasture surfaces are grazed by one of the three groups of animals: the milking cows, the dry cows and the replacement herd. All the animals are outside year-round and the animals have access to a cover-all type shelter. Kornel mentioned that they preferred to invest their money in an efficient, state of the art milking parlour rather than investing in a building where cows would wait to be milked.

Calves are raised in a group until six months of age. Heifers receive 6 to 10 litres of milk per day during 3 months in a feeding system designed by the owner and similar to a commercially available system.

The free stall barn on packed bedding (straw) provides a clean and dry area for the milking herd. According to Kornel, there are no major reproductive or locomotive problems in the herd. Hoof trimming is seldom required.

Kornel and Olga are very keen observers of animal behaviour and base their decisions on cow needs rather that what is best for the owners. As they mentioned during their presentation, success is the sum of many little things, done the right way. This approach generates a production of more than 8,900 litres per lactation per cow, with a very limited amount of concentrate but a substantial focus on forages and pastures.

We toured the pasture after the Power Point presentation. We saw some newly established stands, seeded with a precision broadcasting seeder, imported from Europe. The uniformity of the stand was truly amazing. The experts present indicated that this was the best stand they ever saw. All the fields, including the older ones were very clean and lush. The Schneider's limit the use of herbicides to a minimum but fields are sprayed to control weeds when needed. The pastures are seeded with various types of mix but they are mainly composed of brome grass, perennial Ryegrass, timothy, Huia white clover, ladino and red clover. They have more than 100 acres dedicated to the dairy cows on pasture. The pastures are on the fields closest to the barn, usually believed to be the most valuable on a farm.

Kornel and Olga say that the secret is to provide a fresh strip of pasture a minimum of twice daily, at the right vegetative state and the proper height. They apply the rule 'from nose to knee' to prevent overgrazing. With time and experience, the confidence level in the grazing system increases and one can manage with flexibility. The Schneider's do not have a precise grazing plan: all is done according to the weather, pasture growth and maturity as well as mood of the day! When we visited the farm, it was estimated that the pasture ready for grazing contained about 3300 kg of dry matter. There are waterlines running along the fence lines in order to make water available in every paddock. They do not have fixed paddock, their flexible fencing system allow them to change the size of the paddocks according to their needs.

Using a formula developed in Québec and based on a 150 day grazing season on 100 acres of pasture, 70 cows producing 29.7 kg of milk per day at 4% butterfat with only 1.7 kg of corn, it was calculated that this herd is producing 26 kg of milk per day from pasture. This is more than 2700 kg of milk per acre or $2000 in gross revenue.

I was particularly impressed by the cleanliness of the animals as well as the body condition of both the cows and the heifers. Although the day was fairly warm, the cows were grazing actively in the new strip provided around noon. A striking point was also the relatively low number of flies present.

When we returned from the field, we were welcomed by a copious meal prepared by Olga and featuring various home made breads, home made sausages and delicatessens, salads, cakes and other goodies.

After this feast, Robert Berthiaume (Ag Canada) had the task of keeping us awake with an excellent presentation on his on going research projects, conducted at the Organic Research Center in Alfred.

Then Hubert McLelland (retired from MAPAQ) made a presentation on a network of graziers that he led a couple of years ago in Eastern Ontario-Western Québec. This network is no longer active because of financial constraints but many participants felt that they would like to see a similar initiative undertaken by the group.

An ingenious homemade fencing system.

Handmade steel loops are attached to an ABS plastic pipe with pipe clamps and the ABS section is then inserted on a T-steel post. According to Kornel Schneider, simplicity and efficacy of the fencing system is the key to efficient intensive pasture management.

Cows doing what they do best: converting grass into money.