Grow Grass Grow - dairy farming with Jet and Emma

Getting Down and Dirty on the dairy farm with Emma & Jet www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW

Emma and Jet • My name is Emma I am 16. As part of my HSC I am doing a dairy traineeship at Clover Hill Dairies • My name is Jet. I am also doing a dairy traineeship with Alan and Leesa Swan at Hillview Dairy

Hi I’m Jet Hi I’m Emma

What are Emma and Jet going to talk about today? They are going to tell everyone how the farmer fertilises the pastures and looks after the environment so we have plenty of lush green grass to eat to help us produce lots of high quality milk

Lets start at the beginning • Cows eat a lot of grass per day - over a wheelbarrow load - which means they produce a lot of manure. 100kgs grass per day

Since the cows use the same laneways to get to the dairy each day

and stand in the yards waiting to get milked, a lot of manure collects on the same parts of the farm.

Cows help move nutrients around the farm. When they graze they pick up the nutrients in the grass in one paddock and spread them to the next paddock they graze after milking. Link www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/resources/soils/improvement/plant-nutrients

Adapted from How Now Aussie Cow booklet – Dairy Australia

• Wise use of this manure is a good thing as it contains lots of goodness and nutrients that the cow hasn’t had time to digest. Just think our manure feeds the soil Amazing !!!!!!! The soil feeds the grass and the grass feeds us

• This goodness includes organic matter which helps build soil carbon and keep moisture in the soil. • Manure also contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, nutrients or foods which help plants grow.

This is a map of our farm showing the levels of soil carbon in our paddocks Red = very high pink = high High soil carbon is a good thing isn't it?? Learn all about it here www.csiro.au/resources/soil-carbon Read more: www.amazingcarbon.com/PDF/JONES-Carbon&Catchments(Nov06).pdf

Look what You grow lots and happens when lots of yummy you spread short sweet grass fertiliser and short sweet grass mean we can produce lots of milk and less methane!!!

Wise farmers recycle the manure and urine collected in holding ponds around the dairy. This waste is used to irrigate and fertilise (feed) pastures helping them grow.

On our farm we Emma hosing out recycle 50% of the water we use to produce our milk.

What sorts of fertilisers are there?? To help the grass grow lush and sweet the farmer also purchases and spreads inorganic and organic fertiliser.

We use two types of organic fertiliser Organic fertiliser is at Clover derived from animal Hill or vegetable matter. Dairies The first one you have already seen and the other one is poultry manure

Look at They are our fluffy called chooks Silkies

Our silkies produce lots of manure

Truckloads in fact which we recycle and spread over our farm

We use a contractor to spread our poultry manure and lime. Hi I’m His name is Dave. Dave Here he is looking at the nutrient map with Michael the farmer Hi I’m Michael

Fertiliser is very expensive. How should we To use it in a cost effective and use fertiliser wisely environmentally sensitive way wise farmers test soil nutrient levels and only apply fertiliser to the paddocks that need more nutrients. No guess work on this farm!

Nutrient maps very high high adequate low very low

Nutrient Management Plan A nutrient management plan is a set of conservation practices designed to use fertilizer and/or manure effectively while protecting against the potential adverse impacts of manure, erosion and organic by-products on water quality. To create the plan we: • Soil test • Manure test • Practice erosion control • Manage soil for pH • Time fertilizer/manure application. Link is www.asris.csiro.au/themes/nutrient.html

What Goes in vs. What Goes Out Nutrient budgeting is used by all good farmers. • The process involves balancing nutrients coming into the farming system with those leaving. • The aim is to prevent pollution events and save costs by precisely matching the nutrient requirements of the crop with application of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Links 1. www.ew.govt.nz/environmental-information/Land-and-soil/Managing-Land-and-Soil/Managing-farm-nutrients/ 2. www.sardi.sa.gov.au/__data/.../fact_sheet_1404_nutrient_budgeting.doc

Don’t worry you Mmh this organic wont even notice in fertiliser may be a couple of days good for the and the grass will environment but it’s be all green and a bit on the nose. lush.

Is soil pH important?? The pH of soil or more precisely the pH of the soil solution is very important because soil solution carries in it nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), and Phosphorus (P) that plants need in specific amounts to grow, thrive, and fight off diseases. Coastal soils tend to be acidic and farmers spread Calcium hydroxide (lime) to raise the soil pH Link http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/soil_pH/plant_pH.htm

This is the pH map of our farm pink = very good almost neutral Green = acidic but still very good for growing pasture Blue = acidic and needs attention Yellow = far too acidic and needs a lot of attention

Hi . Dave back again loading the truck up with lime.

This is paddock 51 on our farm covered in lime

• Lime leaves the pasture looking like snow has fallen. • Rain soon washes it into the soil. Oh my golly gosh I need to pay closer attention to the weather reports. Look its snowing over there !!!!

We also use different types of inorganic fertiliser on our farm to grow short sweet grass.

Want to know more…. Both natural and man-made fertilisers are measured by the three MAJOR Nutrients that are in them. These are: - • Nitrogen (N) - assists plants with leaf and stem growth. • Phosphorus (P) known as PHOSPHATE - assists young plants and root crops to develop good root systems. • Potassium (K) known as POTASH - assists plants to produce flowers and fruit.

On our farm we mostly spread urea Want to know how they make fertiliser www.slideshare.net/chalkie28/making-fertiliser

We put inorganic fertilisers on the paddock with a spreader attached to the back of the tractor This ensures even spreading

very high Nutrient maps high adequate low very low This map shows the levels of P on our farm Which paddocks would you put super phosphate on ??????

Helicopters Spreading Nutrients • Sometimes on very large farms helicopters are used to spread the fertilisers. • Helicopter pilots have to be very careful to keep well away from the rivers and stream so the fertiliser doesn't get into our waterways.

Nitrogen Escapes!!!! • It is very important that farmers look after their waterways. • When soil and nutrients fall into rivers, they become murky and it upsets the food balance for all the water-dwelling animals. • Sometimes it encourages the growth of algae that can poison animals.

How does Nitrogen get into water ways Source: www.ew.govt.nz/environmental-information/Land-and-soil/Managing-Land-and- Soil/Managing-farm-nutrients/Managing-farm-nitrogen/

I don’t like the look of that water . Do you ?????? It smells !!!!!!!!! www.toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/eutrophication.html

Hey don’t drink out of there Look how clean it is!!! Lets make sure we help keep it that way for the ducks. Lets go and find a trough to drink out of.

Fertiliser Management Strategies Its no laughing matter Image www.usefilm.com

Laughing Gas – not so funny • Nitrous oxide also known as laughing gas or happy gas is a major greenhouse gas and air pollutant. • Over a 100 year period, it has 298 times more impact per unit weight than carbon dioxide. • Nitrous oxide escapes into the air when nitrogen fertiliser is used. (See next slide)

Nitrogen Cycle This is laughing Gas (nitrous oxide)

Fertiliser – the aim of the game… is to keep the nutrients on the pasture and out of the airways and waterways. So its very important to: measure what goes in and what goes out and only apply what you need, where you need it and not when rain is going to bucket down.

Fertiliser Formulations • Like all things driven by need, fertilisers are being developed with protective coatings to reduce the amount of Nitrous Oxide escaping in the atmosphere. Fertiliser isn't the only bad guy. Did you walk to work today?

Healthy soils and clean waterways means happy healthy cows

Visit our new Website www.dairyyouthaustralia.com.au

Jet and Emma Farm Management Education Series K to 12 Links Milk It www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-milk-it Farm to Factory www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-cups-on-cups-off Grow Grass Grow www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma Seeding Time www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-seeding-time-1236604 How it all began – a Taste for Dairy www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/jet-and-emma-a-taste-for-dairy Dairying for Climate Change. www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-healthy-landscape-1641792 Circle of Life – Calf to Cow www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/circle-of-life-calf-to-cow

Cream of the Crop see the 2009 Cream of the Crop finalists and learn more about farming at www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/presentations .

Visit our Website and Watch our videos www.dairyyouthaustralia.com.au/jetandemma/index.html

Acknowledgements 1. Farm yard animal graphics have been created for the “Jet and Emma Get Down and Dirty on the Farm” series by students from Mt Terry Public School 2. Slides 49,50,52 & 53 have been taken from “Climate Change who Cares” which can be found at www.dairyyouthaustralia.com.au/competition

The Jet and Emma Series is a Dairy Youth Australia inc initiative assisted by Kiama Municipal Council through its Sustainable Living Grants Program.

Watch this space we will be back soon

Grow Grass Grow - dairy farming with Jet and Emma

by LandLearn NSW

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Grow Grass Grow - dairy farming with Jet and Emma Presentation Transcript