John, It sounds like you've generated a successful 'system' for dealing with
both your environment and your milk market. 'Help', from me or anyone on
this list would require data on production/cow, reproductive efficiency,
forage intake/day, and body condition, all of which will define the
durability of your project. Glad to help,
Dick Conklin
----- Original Message -----
From: "jbrealey" <jbrealey@racsa.co.cr>
To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 6:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Graze-l] Kikuyu Pastures?
> Thanks to all that answered my inquire about Kikuyu pastures. It has been
> very interesting to see the reactions different people have about kikuyu.
> Now that I know what you think, I would like to tell you what we do with
> Kikuyu in Costa Rica.
> With the climate conditions we have, kikuyu is present in every farm
located
> above 1600 meters. Some farms located above 2500meters have a mixture of
rye
> grass and kikuyu. We think it is the best grass for milk production!!!!
It
> grows all year long (a little less during December and January when it is
> cold). Supplemented with concentrates we can get what we think are good
milk
> yields. In my farm, with an all Jersey herd, we have an average of 20.2
> kilograms per cow/day. We supplement concentrates at a ratio of 3.1 to 1
> average (milk to concentrate ratio). Concentrate has 14% protein. Before
> visiting NZ four years ago and again last year, I used to graze kikuyu
like
> Liliana explained they do in Colombia: let the milkherd eat the top
leaves,
> and then dry cows and bred heifers eat the rest to prevent getting a mat.
> Most farmers in CR still do that. We can not use the mechanical mulchers
as
> our kikuyu farms are on the sides of mountains and volcanoes and very few
> have any flat land. In NZ I visited Murray Jaegger's farm near Wangharei
and
> talked to people involved in the"Kikuyu Action Group". I also read what
they
> were doing in Australia. Since then, what I do is change the rotation
time,
> from 24 to 34 days, depending on the time of the year, to prevent getting
> the mat. We aim for 5 leave kikuyu when the cows go in. The pastures that
I
> don't use when my rotation period is shorter, I harvest into silage (50kg.
> bags) that is used during the cold months. This system has worked real
well
> for me.
> Any comments as to how to improve kikuyu pastures management will be
> welcomed!!!
> John J.Brealey
> Jersey Farmer
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Liliana Sotomayor" <whitsot@uio.satnet.net>
> To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 9:15 PM
> Subject: RE: [Graze-l] Kikuyu Pastures?
>
>
> > Kikuyu, love/hate relationship. In more temperate climate like ours
kikuyu
> > is well established and difficult to eradicate. It seems like every
region
> > of the world that has it has developed a way to cope with it and make it
> > produce. Certainly Murray's wealth of knowledge has helped me a lot, but
> > still we haven't gone as far a using a mulcher. In some farms horses and
> dry
> > cows do the job by keeping the mat down to where the ryegrass can
compete
> > with it. We get occasional frosts that retard kikuyu growth and allow
> other
> > grasses to poke out. Good soil fertility is a must.
> >
> > Although a different approach, Colombians love kikuyu and let it get
very
> > tall and graze milk cows on the upper 1/3, then dry cows and maybe bring
> it
> > down with horses. Long rotation intervals, moist conditions, and lots of
> > nitrogen applied are needed in this system.
> >
> > Being a subtropical grass it will not survive freezing conditions for
very
> > long. If you don't have it, definitely don't bring it in! There is a
pest
> in
> > areas of Ecuador at around 1000-1200m that will decimate kikuyu
pastures.
> >
> > Liliana Sotomayor, DVM
> > Quito, Ecuador
> >
> >
> > >Kikuyu is listed as a noxious weed for many states. So check before
> > deciding to try to plant it in your area.
> > --
> > Oogie McGuire - oogiem@desertweyr.com
> > Weyr Associates - Multimedia and Web Authoring Services & Consulting
> > Desert Weyr - CMK Arabian horses and Black Welsh Mountain Sheep
> > http://www.desertweyr.com/
> > Paonia, CO USA
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