“Today we produce 5,050 kg of milk from forage. And we save costs.”
How can grassland yields be increased significantly? Matthias Heckenberger has shown the way. The 27-year-old master farmer and winner of the 2015 Ceres Award (Young Farmer category) runs a dairy and arable farm in Biberach. Improving the grassland brought the biggest gain in performance.
Various methods were tested.
The young farmer describes the most successful one like this: “We comb through the fields three times with the GÜTTLER harrow. The combed-out rough meadow-grass (Poa trivialis) is carted off. Overseeding then takes place after the first cut with the GÜTTLER combination of a 6 m harrow and overseeding equipment, plus the GÜTTLER roller.” In this way, 222.2 dt (decitonnes) of dry matter were harvested in 2015 – compared with 99.78 dt in 2013. Forage efficiency also improved significantly. “Today we produce 5,050 kg of milk from forage,” says a satisfied Heckenberger. “And we save costs.” Concentrate consumption has fallen from 430 g/kg of milk in 2008 to 225 g. A welcome side effect: healthier animals, with the replacement rate more than halved to 20%.
Field report from the farm
