We are in full season verdeos, taking advantage of the precious few kilos of green that are available to our cows...when a silent enemy: the trampling. To harvest much grass of quality it is necessary a high grazing intensity, and an excellent management (assignment daily, time of entry, time of grazing, remnant). In addition, the cows should transform the grass into milk!
It is a karma of the pasture that The cows tread on what they eat! It is impractical to think of a grazing without damage. The act of stepping crushes plants, broken ground, compressed roots and modifies the ecosystem from where the weapon the tapestry plant. Some questions that arise are: how long the damage is damage, really? Can I go to eat and I break a little...or I hope, and I miss the grass?
To begin with, there are species that are more resistant than others. Professor Peter Kemp of Australia made a ranking of the species for tolerance to trampling follows, with the reasons to the right:
To assess the level of damage in a trial in Ireland in 2009 and 2010 it was found that two events trampling mild, separated four months, resulting in a reduction in the annual accumulation of grass of 21%, when the trampling was caused on the species Agrostis. On the other hand, trampling severe as seen in photo 1 on Ryegrass perennial not resulted in reductions in the accumulation of dry matter throughout the year, although the paddocks were slow to recover and produced less in the first two grazing post-damage. The paddocks offset the slump in production by increasing the height of tillers, perhaps to the detriment of the quality. That is to say, there is always a reduction and it is better to manage it, What can we do to minimize the damage? Some ideas...
- Grazing shorts to limit the hike in the field, also called on-off grazing. Work of Kennedy in Moorepark, Ireland, reported that cows in pastures of three hours after each milking arrived to consume almost the same amount of grass that the cows in pastures long. The cows are used to graze more quickly and thus achieved minor damage by trampling.
- Alleys temporary (photo 3) within the paddocks, to lead the cattle to the grazing areas.
- Parcels square.
- Multiple entries to the paddocks.
- Pastures of sacrifice.
All tools require a level of control and management of a team convinced. Without this premise, the trampling will continue to be a hidden cost, a silent enemy.
Photos 1 and 2; trampling severe in Ryegrass with traces of more than 6 cm
Photo 3: alley temporary narrow to minimize the damage
Figure 4: plot square helps to minimize damage by trampling
Gonzalo Tuñón
