Released October 22, 2008

ITHACA, N.Y. — While the use of brassicas as a component of the diet of dairy cows is a common practice throughout Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere in the world, such is not the case in New York State. Recently, farmers have been experimenting with incorporating this high quality feed into pastures. Past trials by farmers have plowed and fitted the soil to plant the brassicas usually with an oat cover crop. These efforts have resulted with high quality forage but the sward is only available for a few months. The objective of these trials is to explore if fall grazing swards containing no-till drilled brassicas are viable pasture options for dairy farmers in New York. It is hoped that such improved fall pastures could reduce the proportion of grain in the ration of dairy cows, while maintaining healthy production in a financially sustainable manner.

First Year Results

The trials were conducted on two farms in New York in early August, the Arnold farm in Truxton and the Benson Farm in Groton. The results to date have been interesting and promising. Our design tried different no-till drills to see what factors impact the establishment of the brassicas.

A field day was held at the Arnold farm September 2. The makeup of the original sward of the pasture was essentially the same with areas of brassicas twice the height of the grasses. The clover had established itself and was about 2 inches high.

To learn more about the New York Organic Dairy Initiative, visit http://www.organic.cornell.edu/organicdairy/Initiative.htm

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http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/

Contacts: Leon Wiles, 864-656-4238, leonw@clemson.edu

Angela Nixon, 864-656-0382, anixon@clemson.edu