Article Summary: Autumn in New Zealand presents a prime opportunity to revive summer-stressed pastures, build feed reserves, and set cover targets for winter. With cooler temperatures and revived soil moisture, maintaining a longer rotation, measuring paddock growth, and grazing ryegrass at the 2.5–3 leaf stage are key tactics. Aim for around 1500 kg DM/ha in post-grazing residuals, supplement when necessary, and be prepared to harvest any autumn flush as silage. Clear objectives, efficient stocking practices, and infrastructure to minimise pugging will help protect pastures for the months ahead and ensure a strong start to spring.
Introduction
Autumn in New Zealand is a critical window for repairing summer-affected pastures and generating feed reserves for winter. As rainfall resumes and temperatures gradually drop, farmers can use this transitional period to boost growth and secure essential feed supplies. This article explores the cornerstones of autumn grazing management—from ideal rotation lengths to assembling a valuable “feed wedge.”
While autumn rains help recharge soil moisture, the root systems of summer-stressed pastures may still need time to recover fully. Monitoring subsoil moisture conditions can guide decisions about timing fertiliser applications or reseeding areas with thin pasture cover.
Understanding Autumn Growth
Improving soil moisture is often simpler in autumn. Cooler days and frequent rains help soils recover from summer stress, providing a much-needed moisture boost. While soil temperatures remain above 10 °C, ryegrass and other cool-season species can still achieve decent growth.
A key management principle here is grazing ryegrass pastures at the 2.5–3 leaf stage. Doing so strikes a balance between ensuring good leaf quality and giving plants enough time to replenish energy reserves.
Monitoring leaf stage can be done via regular paddock walks or using our very own Pasture.io app. Early identification of paddocks lagging in growth allows you to give them extra rest or apply a light nitrogen dressing, speeding up recovery without sacrificing overall feed quality.
Balancing Supply and Demand
When planning your autumn feed budget, it’s crucial to account for gradually slowing growth rates. Regularly measuring pasture cover—using tools like our very own satellite-backed platform, Pasture.io or a rising plate meter—can help you stay on top of paddock-by-paddock variations.
In practice, many farms shift from roughly 20–30-day rounds earlier in the season to as long as 40–60 days by late autumn. This longer rotation slows grazing pressure, allowing covers to build and creating a surplus of pasture (the “feed wedge”) to meet winter feed requirements.
Setting weekly or fortnightly target pasture covers keeps you on track to develop this feed wedge. If actual covers fall short, consider using supplemental feed sooner rather than later, preventing animals from depleting valuable pasture residuals too quickly.
Strategising Residuals and Surpluses
Maintaining a post-grazing residual of at least 1500 or more kg DM/ha helps support rapid regrowth and healthy roots. If animals start to graze below this target, consider offering silage to supplement or moving stock sooner.
In some regions, an “autumn flush” can appear if moisture and temperatures align particularly well. When this happens, decide whether to cut surplus growth for silage (yes this can be done in Autumn, smartly) or leave it as standing cover. Both approaches can help bolster winter feed reserves.
When harvesting surplus for silage, focus on paddocks with uniform swards and minimal weed pressure. This ensures higher-quality stored feed. For standing cover, keep an eye on overall feed demand—excessively tall pasture can lose nutritional value over time if left unutilised.
Planning for Winter
Clear cover targets are vital. Many farmers set a specific average pasture cover by late autumn or early winter, adjusting their rotations and stocking rates to meet these goals. If feed supplies look tight, culling unproductive stock or sending them off-farm can relieve pressure on your grazing platform.
Heavy rains can quickly waterlog soils, so it’s wise to move stock off at-risk paddocks to prevent pugging. Investing in infrastructure such as stand-off pads or back-fencing can also limit trampling damage, preserving pasture quality for winter.
Conclusion
Autumn offers the perfect chance to rebuild pastures and gather the feed reserves needed for winter. By lengthening rotations, keeping residuals consistent, and using technology to monitor growth, you can balance immediate grazing demands with the long-term goal of building a robust “feed bank.” Thoughtful management now will pave the way for a smoother winter and set your farm up for success in spring.
Until we meet again, Happy Grazing!
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-03-13