RD1 Gold AR1 Pasture Pack

Staunch performer

Six years after his first paddock went in the ground, the reliable, flat-line mix of Alto and Arrow remains Chris Amon's pasture of choice in South Taranaki.

The Waverley dairy farmer and businessman, who milks a total of 700 cows on two different properties with the help of herd managers, says consistency is the name of the game when he can't be on farm all the time.

And in that context Alto/Arrow - part of the RD1 Gold Pasture Pack - is the right mix, not only for Amon, who now has approximately 150ha of it, but also for many others in the Waverley area, according to RD1 Technical Sales Representative Warren (Wazza) Pope.

"It's proven, it's strong locally and people like that," Wazza says.

With his ultimate aims including body condition score (BCS) of 5; early and tight calving; 270 days or more in lactation and 500kgMS/cow, it's no surprise to find that Chris has a generous budget for supplements, including kibbled maize, wheat, palm kernel and summer turnips.

"A skinny cow is a waste of time," he says. "For us it's all about feeding the cows well, year round." The benefit comes in the vat, with the best cows achieving peak milk of 25-27L/head/day and holding at 2kgMS/head/day right through to late December or early January.

At 80%-plus of the diet, grass remains a 'huge' resource, however, in the silage pit as well as the paddock.

Hence his emphasis on renewing as much pasture as practical, especially on his lesser developed lease land which acts as a support block for both herds.

Good pasture management is also a top priority. "We aim to leave post-grazing residuals of 1,600kgDM/ha, and if we're not back in there with the cows at 2,400-2,500kgDM/ha, the paddock will be pulled out for silage. Grass quality is number one for us; it's the key to the whole thing."

In this system, Alto/Arrow pastures can be likened to a 'bull of the day', he says. "It's not the latest new thing available - it's been around, it's been proven, it's reliable."

And it performs. Pasture metre records show these paddocks are consistently grazed more times every year than older, existing pastures.

SPECIES: Perennial Ryegrass

ENDOPHYTE TYPE: AR1

STOCK SUITABILITY: All

DIPLOID/TETRAPLOID: Diploid

SEASONAL GROWTH/FLOWERING DATE: Arrow has a medium-late flowering date (+7 days). Alto is late flowering (+14 days).

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Arrow has excellent year-round growth, and is in the top yielding group in the National Forage Variety Trials (NFVT®). Alto has excellent persistence, high year-round yield and good resistance to rust and plant pulling.

Pack contents:

Agriseeds ALTO Perennial Ryegrass  14kg
Agriseeds Arrow Perennial Ryegrass  8kg
Agriseeds Kotare White Clover  1.5kg
Agriseeds Weka White Clover  1.5kg
Total pack weight 25kg

For more information about the RD1 Gold Pasture Pack, talk to your RD1 team today.