Conexiones Soldadas

Theoretical Proposition: Timing and attention to detail are essential to achieving sustainable outcomes with DSL.

Rival Explanation: Under some circumstances, timing and attention to detail are not essential to achieving sustainable outcomes with DSL.

There was strong evidence that timing and attention to detail was important to success with particular key tasks or key areas of management. Areas that appear to require attention to detail include crop establishment, maintaining pasture quality in spring and soil protection. There was also evidence that a lack of attention to detail would lead to losses as resources are expended for sub-optimal results.

Timing and attention to detail is the key to achieving excellent results:

‘The difference between 1200 a hectare (and 1000) … it doesn’t cost you anymore to do it… it’s just through getting little things right.’ [3A]

There are certain tasks that require a high level of attention for short periods, the application of fertiliser for example:

‘Make sure urea gets put on right behind those cows, that’s why I like having my own spreader, so as soon as those cows come out of that paddock that machine’s going in there. We’re not losing a days growth, it’s getting into that system a day earlier, you

know what I mean?’ [3D]

In systems that rely on crops it is very important to pay attention to detail at the time of crop establishment:

‘The swedes are all ridged (Plate 6: Ridged Swedes) it is conducive to growing bigger swedes which cows do utilise better than a whole lot of wee dudes. They don’t waste as

many by standing on them. With ridging them you do get better utilisation, you are

normally guaranteed at least an average crop’ [4C]

With grass, it is important to monitor quality and quantity to ensure adequate feed is transferred to winter:

‘You’ve got to have your timing right to make sure you’ve got enough feed here through

the winter. Early autumn is crucial and that leads in from your summer. Pasture quality

and quantity, if you haven’t got that right by the 10th of May, then you are not going

to.’ [1B]

Attention to detail was also important to avoid damage to soils and pasture; to be aware of soil characteristics, stocking rates and soil moisture and respond appropriately. Strategies to protect

This is where cows have been wintered, there’s been a lot of back fences put up there and that ground there is absolutely spot on. No problems whatsoever. You don’t see a

whole lot of tracks there from machinery, we use silage, not balage, but he uses fairly

big machinery to pull the silage around. You can see he’s got back fences up. (Plate 7: Post Grazing). *Post grazed soil to have an appearance and texture as if it had been

worked up, rather than pugged. [4A]

…and feeding silage out in ways that avoids pasture damage:

‘We try to feed the silage as thin as we can on the paddocks… and don’t feed against

the fences, because if you feed against the fences, all the cows want to stand there and they will muddy up and you don’t want to have to go round all the fence lines with the

direct drill.’ [3E]

There was extensive evidence that a lack of attention to detail will lead to losses. Examples

included a missed silage cut leading to a paddock being damaged by grassgrub…

‘… for some reason the silage contractor forgot to do this one paddock and grassgrub

just love long grass (Plates 8 & 9: Grassgrub). When the beetles are flying they lay

their eggs in the tall grass.’ *Observed pasture that had been almost completelykilled by grassgrub, with root mass completely consumed. [1C]

…and a lack of time to do proper preparation leading directly to poor crop yields: ‘Slightly better crops here, we are doing about 12 tons. (Plate 10: 12 ton crop *Observations indicate that this may be an optimistic estimate) They put this crop in

with the intention of being a 25 ton crop from what I understand, it wasn’t double sprayed and it was put in when conditions weren’t ideal (too wet).’ [4B]

Case 3D was an example of a system where the focus of attention to detail was on controlling costs. Farmer 3D believed that a little care taken with grazing management or monitoring contractors is needed to save greater costs later:

&DVH([DPSOH$WWHQWLRQWR'HWDLOWR&RQWURO&RVWV

Farm 3D consists of a 400 hectare milking platform with 423,000 kg MS total production and DSL areas that winter 2000 cows; 360 calves and 350 heifers grazing year round and 2500 tons of silage is made every year.

A new operations manager has improved many areas of practice, which provides an opportunity to compare past practice with current (improved) practice. Farmer 3D has focused on achieving a low cost operation with a focus on maximum benefit for minimum inputs.

Good grazing management with grazing to low residuals and short rotations has contributed greatly to improved production; ‘They said you could never graze more than 1200 cows on here, we have 2000 cows

plus young-stock… it gets so far and it just stops, you could leave it for a week and it wouldn’t do

anything, you’ve just got to be on a short (25 day) round.’

Disciplined grazing to low residuals is very important to maintain quality and avoid wastage and/or running out of feed. Even though there is a large amount of land available Farmer 3D restricts the MP area to 400 hectares so as to guarantee there is enough grass to feed young-stock and reserve feed for wintering. Care is taken with herbicides to avoid loss of clover (if pasture is productive, the silage chopper will kill thistles) and to avoid grazing heavy soils in wet conditions.

Farmer 3D also believed that it was important to have the right resources or relationships in place to ensure tasks are done well and on time. For example, investment in a fertilizer spreader was justified as it ensured nitrogen is applied in the exact amounts and at the exact time that it is needed. Spending a small amount of time in monitoring contractors as they work and building relationships with good/reputable contractors were also seen as important to avoid (potentially very expensive) mistakes with new grass or crops.

Summary of evidence on Proposition 2.6

ƒ The key tasks relate to controlling the process of growing and transferring feed to winter.

ƒ Forage crops require timely and thorough preparation at the time of crop establishment.

ƒ Success with grass depends on maintaining pasture quality and pasture yield.