Article Summary: Seasonal pasture management means lengthening rotations when growth slows and tightening them as grass surges, while using supplements, sowing summer herbs, or standing cows off wet paddocks to protect soil. Spring focuses on stretching limited feed to balance date; summer on preserving quality through longer rounds and shade; autumn on rebuilding covers and correcting swards; winter on soil protection and hitting the three-leaf stage. Regular walks and flexible decisions keep grazing efficient and costs down all year.
Managing pasture on a seasonal basis keeps feed quality high and protects paddocks from damage. While every farm varies in soils, climate, and stocking rate, the broad principles below give you a framework you can adapt to your own conditions. Regular pasture walks and a simple feed budget will tell you when to speed up or slow down; the paragraphs that follow explain the “why” behind each decision.
Spring – Turning Slow Winter Growth into a Surplus Without Losing Quality
Early spring is a juggling act. Cows are calving, daily demand is climbing, and pasture is only just beginning to lift out of its winter lull. At this point the goal is to stretch covers until pasture growth overtakes animal demand―the point often called balance date. Many herds start calving on a rotation of around 55 – 65 days. That long round lets each paddock rest while leaf emergence speeds up, and it reduces the risk of running out of grass before balance date.
As soil temperature rises, ryegrass leaves appear faster and the sward thickens. Once growth outpaces demand, you can progressively quicken the rotation. Moving from a 55‑day to a 35‑day round in the space of three or four weeks is common. Doing so keeps post‑grazing residuals neat (about 1500 – 1600 kg DM/ha) and prevents ryegrass from heading too early. Surplus paddocks should be earmarked for silage or baleage rather than “chewed out”; locking them up early secures clean, leafy conserved feed for summer.
By late October the rotation may be as short as 20 – 25 days. Pastures are growing fast, but they can also lose quality just as quickly if seed heads form. Harvesting the right paddocks, limiting nitrogen to what the soil test says you need, and watching residuals closely will stop quality slipping. Remember, every high‑quality kilogram eaten in spring sets the cow up for stronger production all season.
Summer – Holding Feed Quality When Growth Slows and Moisture Becomes Scarce
From December onward many regions experience dry spells; evapotranspiration can exceed rainfall, leaving ryegrass under stress. The first lever is rotation length. As soon as covers begin to slide behind target, add a few days to the round. Shifting from 25 to 33 days buys the plant time to recover and keeps roots shaded. If soil moisture continues to fall, a 40‑day round is often justified.
Supplement is the second lever. Opening the pit or feeding purchased hay takes pressure off pasture, especially when cows would otherwise graze lower than the desired residual. Feeding rates don’t have to be high; two or three kilograms of dry matter per cow can be enough to protect the sward and maintain milk solids.
Adding or over‑sowing summer‑responsive species can smooth the feed curve in future years. Chicory, plantain, and lucerne all push on when ryegrass idles, provided fertility and soil depth suit them. Farmers often allocate a break of chicory in the morning, then move cows to perennial ryegrass in the afternoon to spread grazing pressure.
Water and shade round out the summer toolkit. Cows under heat stress will graze less and walk more, burning energy. A simple tree line or portable shade cloth, along with troughs that fill quickly, helps animals keep eating and converts every kilogram of dry matter into production more efficiently.
Autumn – Laying a Feed Base for Winter Without Starving the Current Herd
Once meaningful rain returns and nights cool, ryegrass wakes up again. Autumn management has two connected aims: maintain current production and build sufficient pasture cover for winter and for calving next spring. Most farms achieve this by lengthening the round from its summer minimum to 40 – 45 days by late April.
Nitrogen can be valuable provided soil temperature sits above about 6 °C and moisture is adequate. Applying 20–30 kg N/ha after grazing in early autumn often yields an extra 10–15 kg DM/kg N, helping covers lift without compromising cashflow. You can utilise Pasture.io’s nitrogen response calculator within the app to get a better understanding of what your dry matter response might be. Where clover content is high, a light topping after grazing improves light penetration, boosting clover growth and providing highly digestible feed.
Late autumn is a good time to correct pasture composition issues. Over‑sowing with ryegrass or specialist winter cereals can fill gaps left by summer. Rolling after sowing improves seed‑soil contact, and grazing the paddock once the new seedlings are anchored encourages tillering before winter.
Throughout autumn, monitor pre‑grazing covers carefully. Entering winter with 2100–2300 kg DM/ha across the grazing platform gives most herds enough feed to start calving on pasture, reducing the amount of silage needed in July and August.
Winter – Protecting Soil Structure and Setting Up the Next Spring
Winter growth rates in New Zealand can drop below 10 kg DM/ha/day, especially on heavy soils. Because pasture makes feed slowly, rotation lengths often exceed 60 days. Cows receive most of their intake from silage, fodder beet, kale, or other crops, with pasture making up the balance.
Soil protection is paramount. Grazing when the topsoil is saturated causes pugging, which reduces spring growth potential. Many farms use a sacrifice paddock or a stand‑off pad for wet afternoons, sparing the main platform and confining damage to a small area earmarked for re‑grassing. If a herd must stay on grass, choose the driest paddocks first and shift stock before soil damage becomes visible.
Timing each grazing at the three‑leaf stage even in winter improves persistence. Ryegrass plants that are grazed too early lose carbohydrate reserves; plants grazed too late develop stem and produce low‑quality feed. Walking the farm fortnightly, even when it looks bare, ensures you hit the leaf stage more accurately than by using the calendar alone.
Pulling It All Together
Seasonal management succeeds when you:
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Measure covers often. Regular farm walks (weekly in spring and summer, fortnightly in winter) provide the numbers that drive rotation decisions.
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Match stocking rate to feed supply. Use supplements or alter cow numbers before pasture is over‑ or under‑grazed.
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Stay flexible. Weather rarely follows the textbook; adjust the plan quickly when rainfall or temperature deviates from the norm.
By lengthening the round in times of deficit and shortening it during surplus, you keep residuals tight, protect soil, and present leafy grass to the herd more days of the year. Over time, that steady approach lifts total dry‑matter harvested, lowers bought‑in feed costs, and supports consistent animal performance season after season.
Until we meet again, Happy Grazing!
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-07-17