Grassland – what is it worth?

Unlike other agricultural produces, grass is rarely sold off-farm, which makes valuing it difficult.

Hence, this precious asset is often undervalued in a livestock enterprise. Appreciating grass at its real value can unleash important earning potentials.

The value of grass

It is often stated that grass is the cheapest source of feed available for livestock enterprises. This table substantiates this claim by looking at the comparative dry matter, energy and protein costs for grass and concentrates.

Cost of Dry Matter (DM), as well as Metabolizable Energy (ME) and Crude Protein (CP) content for different feedstuffs.

Increasing yield can produce fast returns, as demonstrates the comparison between no fertilization and a low input scheme for 1st cut silage.

Farming schemes for grassland

Farming strategies can be built on grazing, hay, silage, as well as a combination of all these. Nutrition plans depend on the farming strategy adopted. Intensive schemes tend to optimize crude protein and dry matter yield with up to 5 cuts. They put considerable strain on nutrient supply and require close control of macronutrient removal from the field.

Comparison of earnings from a sward with and without application of 70 kg of nitrogen. Taking into account harvesting and fertilizer cost (YaraBela 27%), earnings more than doubled.

Dry Matter (DM), Crude Protein (CP) yield and content for different farming schemes in Southern Germany (trials from 2009 to 2012).

Grass Quality

Grass quality Value is not a matter of quantity alone. The nutritional qualities of grass need to be considered. These are made out of several factors: 

  • Digestibility depends on growth stage and nutrition - young, leafy swards have higher digestibility and energy levels than those that have started to head or contain a lot of dead material. 
  • Protein levels depend on grass growth stage. Levels increase in early spring. Protein formation depends on the plant's ability to take up nitrogen from the soil - so can be influenced by nitrogen supply but also by potash and sulfur levels and soil pH. 
  • Dry Matter (DM) content is the most variable and the least controllable. Low dry matter is often associated with wet weather and poor growing conditions. As well as having a direct effect on yield, this also tends to reduce the quality and lead to lower daily intake. Also, in silage too high (>40%) or too low (<30%) dry matter content diminishes quality. 
  • Palatability depends on carbohydrate (sugar) content and affects animal intake. A minimum of 37g of soluble carbohydrates per kg dry matter are needed during fermentation to achieve good silage quality. 
  • Animal health and trace element nutrition should also be considered as an aspect of grass quality. Grazing animals have different requirements for trace elements to those that are required for grass growth. 
  • A nitrate concentration of 0.05% in grass leafs has a stabilizing effect on lactic acid fermentation while inhibiting competitive butyric acid fermentation. It thus increases silage quality. 
  • Inorganic contamination by soil, manure and dust has a negative impact on animal digestion and silage fermentation. Contamination shall remain below 10% of dry matter content. 
  • Sodium is not an important plant nutrient, but increases palatability of grass and manganese absorption by animals. 
  • A balanced availability of nutrients ensures animal health and is even more important on grassland than on arable land.