Best practice in Dairy
systems – Case study
MANAGING WET SOILS
TIM AND GRIT CASHIN – LEONGATHA SOUTH
Tim and Grit Cashin have been farming on their 200 ha leased property for the past
7 years. Tim completed his Agricultural Science degree at Dookie College Campus
in 2000. This led into a position as a field officer with Murray Goulbourn Cooperative at Koroit where Tim worked until the family farm required his involvement.
There are 3 parcels of land which Tim and Grit lease to run their 280 cow herd of
Friesians and cross-breeds. A 121 ha ‘home block’ is leased from Tim’s mother
where the dairy is located. In addition to the home block, 40 ha was leased from a
neighbour with an extra 40 ha at the back of the farm leased in November 2012 for
an out-paddock.
The majority of the farm (121 ha) is on clay loam soil with the remainder of the
milking land (20 ha) on ‘red soil’. Unlike the clay loam soil, the red soil is well
drained and productivity has increased on those paddocks in wet years.
In recent years, the combination of Leongatha’s high winter rainfall, the farm
Photo- Tim Cashin
location and clay loam soils has resulted in the need to effectively manage wet
winters where the soils were reaching saturation earlier than normal. When very wet, the paddocks are prone to becoming
severely pugged with associated damage to soil structure. Tim and Grit decided to implement a number of strategies to
minimise damage to the pastures from pugging and soil structure deterioration so they could remain as productive as possible in
wet conditions.
Grazing management
The Cashin’s are quick to alter their grazing rotation if wet conditions
require reduced time spent on paddocks. In a dry season Tim runs a longer
rotation than in a wet season. This is an important aspect of their pasture
management which aims to preserve soil structure and avoid pugging. Now
that Tim and Grit have acquired more ‘red soil’ paddocks, they can run a
tighter rotation on the clay loam soils when conditions are wet and use the
red soil paddocks as night paddocks to take pressure off the clay loam
paddocks. This reduces the time that cows need to spend on the less
suitable, poorly draining soils.
Photo - Dry cows/springers being held in dairy yard
Managing Wet Soils – Cashin
As part of the wet soils grazing management strategy, in wet conditions springers are brought to the dairy after milking,
remaining on the cow yards all day after receiving lead feed, mainly grain. They are then returned to a paddock which contains
a fresh strip of grass along a makeshift electric fence line. Hay is also fed out onto the fresh grass strip to reduce cows’
trampling the fresh pasture. This results in cows that are content at night and are not searching for feed, further damaging
paddocks. The yards are kept clean of sand / stones to minimise sore hooves but Tim says the cows tend not to move too much
in the yards, being content to be on relatively dry concrete compared to sinking into wet soils.
Nutrient management
It is impossible to apply fertiliser via a tractor and spreader on areas of land which are severely waterlogged. The Cashin’s
close proximity to a local aerodrome (6km), the low fertility of some of the clay loam soils, and the chronically wet soils in winter
makes their property ideal for the use of aerial fertiliser application. Bogged equipment, deep wheel ruts and damaged pastures
are the result but aerial applications avoid this problem. Planes can also cover a large area in a short time, as well as saving
labour which is time-poor in wet conditions. With aerial application there is no pasture damage thereby avoiding the expense of
pasture renovation.
They began using this strategy four years ago. A typical use has been one aerial
application of 100 kg 2 & 1 and 100kg N/ha. However in very wet years up to three
aerial applications have been required. These nitrogen applications allow pasture to
recover faster when conditions dry out.
Once bins of fertiliser have been sent to the aerodrome, Tim usually awaits for windows
of opportunity when the weather outlook will be good for 5/6 days following application.
The Cashin’s have found it useful to maintain a good relationship and close contact with
Photo- Aerial spraying of pasture
their aerial spreader and fertiliser company.
Applying the fertiliser by air increases the cost by two-thirds in comparison to
conventional land based spreading. However this cost is dependent on farm location
relative to the airport and will not be feasible on all farms. Parts of this increased cost are recovered through avoiding damage
caused by ground-based spreading and maintaining production during wet periods.
Concrete Causeways
Instead of having culverts with gravel on top across the drains and in gateways,
the Cashin’s use concrete causeways. This provides the cows with a firm base
for walking across the drains and gateways and in very wet conditions their
hooves do not go through the bottom of the drain.
These were initially laid across parts of the farm 15 years ago by Tim’s father.
Since then part of the farm has been re-fenced and in the process additional
causeways laid. Tim has carried on this practice as they have proved to be cost
effective and have longevity, without needing to be touched up every 5 years.
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary
Industries Melbourne, November 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2013
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except
in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Print managed by Finsbury Green November 2013
ISBN [Insert number for print and/or online]
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Photo - Concrete causeway across drain inside gateway
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Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind
or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.
Managing Wet Soils – Cashin
This is a great innovation which could be used by many farmers who have land on flats.
The causeways are simply a few meters of concrete poured over a sheet of re-enforcement mesh, taking 1-2 hours to lay. Only
about 150 mm depth of concrete is required. Boxing of the concrete is only required if the concrete is to be poured on steepish
slopes. It is important for the bottom of the existing paddock drain to be flush with the top of the causeway. This allows for all of
the water to flow across the causeway and prevents water remaining in the drain.
Within a short time of construction, the causeways become covered with silt and sand, further reducing lameness problems.
Thus causeways are only required to be roughly laid, such as using a rake or back of a shovel, to achieve the desired surface.
Gateways
Two years ago, the Cashin’s implemented an innovative way of
managing herd traffic into and out of paddocks. This was achieved
by adjusting the gateway entrances / exits to minimise pugging and
gateway pasture damage. Traditionally the herd would enter and
exit the paddock through the same gate. In the wet, this would
cause severe trampling and even death of the pasture near the
gate and the soil structure to be completely degraded. This also
results in these areas becoming even more prone to pugging and
damage with light rains later on and causing associated animal
and production issues.
To alleviate pressure on the gateway entrance and exit Tim placed
an additional strainer post in the fence line leading up to the
gateways. This newly placed strainer post allows cow entry into
the same paddock further down the laneway thereby halving the
hoof traffic in / out of that paddock and results in half the damage
at the gateways.
Diagram- Herd movement through innovative gateways
As sections of the farm were re-fenced, twin entry gateways were installed requiring only the cost of one extra strainer post. In
addition to the reduction of trampled pasture, having the ability to open up all the gateways at once enables machinery to easily
move between paddocks such as for fertiliser application or fodder conservation. When renovating the tracks or cleaning out
the drains, the grader has more room for manoeuvring reducing associated costs.
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary
Industries Melbourne, November 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2013
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except
in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Print managed by Finsbury Green November 2013
ISBN [Insert number for print and/or online]
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format,
please telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email
customer.service@dse.vic.gov.au (or relevant address), via the National
Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au This document is
also available in on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind
or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.
Managing Wet Soils – Cashin
Photo- Gateway with adjustable paddock entrance on one of the Cashin’s red soil paddocks
Calving down pad
In 2011 the Cashin’s hay shed was converted into a functional calving down pad. Cows which are about to calve are housed in
the calving pad overnight. The pad is adjacent to the dairy. This enables the closest springer cows to be run into the cow yard
once milking of the main herd has finished. They are able to stand there for the rest of the day before the milkers return. Cows
can then walk around the corner and return to the calving down pad where hay is free-fed.
Housing the close springers makes separating calves and cows easier. In wet seasons this reduces pugging and prevents
cows calving in mud thereby reducing calving mortality. It also reduces stress for the animals and the farmer who can now
monitor calving cows close to home. Keeping the pad clean and use of teat seals are effective strategies to manage mastitis.
The cows are happy to remain in the calving down pad as they can rest on rice hulls which Tim has provided as the base of the
pad. As the shed was already established, the only cost involved in the establishment and maintenance of the pad is
procurement of the rice hulls, topping up of hulls and cleaning out at the end of calving down.
The Cashin’s prefer rice hulls as their experience with saw dust is that it packs
down too much. Wood shavings or chips are a viable alternative to rice hulls
but at times these have been hard to source locally. One hundred cubic
metres of rice hulls are delivered on farm at the cost of $2000. Two thirds of
these are stockpiled in a bunker and one third is spread over the pad floor.
If the rice hulls become really wet and trampled, spoiled hulls are removed by
front end loader. The rest of the bedding remains, continually being topped up
until in the second year when the bedding and its associated nutrient content is
spread over the paddocks. In 2012 the old hulls were used as a nutrient
source for the hollows in the humps and hollows of the Cashin’s poorly draining
paddocks.
Photo- Calving down pad located adjacent to milking shed
Humps and Hollows
Parts of the Cashin’s land on the clay loam soil have extremely poor drainage and in wet conditions become difficult to graze
without causing severe pugging damage. When these paddocks finally begin to dry there is only a short window of grazing
opportunities before the soils dries out reducing pasture growth. After this they begin to crack and become unproductive. In
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary
Industries Melbourne, November 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2013
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except
in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Print managed by Finsbury Green November 2013
ISBN [Insert number for print and/or online]
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format,
please telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email
customer.service@dse.vic.gov.au (or relevant address), via the National
Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au This document is
also available in on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind
or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.
Managing Wet Soils – Cashin
2012, to enable this land to be utilised more efficiently, Tim decided to trial humps and hollows, sometimes referred to as
“Ploughing in Lands”. He converted 16ha of the problematic clay-loam paddocks to the hump and hollow design. Properly
designed humps encourage water to flow quickly into the hollows which drain excess water into open drains at the ends of the
paddocks. To begin the hump and hollow process the whole area was hard grazed, then rotary hoed. This reduced the chance
that pasture roots and pasture clumps would interfere with the grader. Two graders worked for a week on the farm converting
the paddock, which already had a 15% natural gradient, into ‘humps’ - raised soil, and ‘hollows’ - drains running parallel to
humps. From drain to drain, the humps were 12 m wide. This is considered a narrow spacing but is required due to the degree
of paddock wetness usually experienced. The width was governed by 3m increments as the majority of equipment used on
farm will work to a 3m width.
During the formation of the humps, 9-10 loads of old calf shed material was also incorporated. Before pasture renovation,
gypsum and lime was applied. Four t/ha of lime was applied to the humps as the highly acidic sub soil had been mixed into the
humps. Two t/ha lime was applied to the hollows. Gypsum was applied at the higher rate of three t/ha in the hollows and one
and a half t/ha on the hump. The approximate cost of the entire process was $1,950 ha - $1,000 for the grader, $200 for rotary
hoeing and $750 for the lime and gypsum and re-sowing. Not all paddocks would require such a large input of lime and gypsum
as this is dependent on the pH of the soil.
The humps and hollows provide greater soil depth for pasture growth and a
pathway for water to drain off the paddock. Improved drainage enables the
herd to utilize pasture on the humps without pugging up the soil and
destroying its structure.
Cows were first put into the renovated paddocks in September. In their first
season, the hump and hollow paddocks grew more grass in two months
than they had in the whole previous year. As it was the first year of
establishment, Tim regularly checked the paddocks to ensure that they
were not too wet and were able to support the herd.
Photo- 2013 newly renovated hump and hollow
paddock
Initially Tim was just checking the front quarter of the paddock. This was found to be
ineffective as the paddocks were
presenting as wet in the front but were found to be reasonably dry at the back. This resulted in pasture being under-utilised as
the herd was being pulled out prematurely. The Cashin’s will look to maximise grazing times by temporarily fencing off the front
half of the paddocks until soil moisture conditions improve.
There hasn’t been an observed increase in milk production to date. However the Cashin’s have noted that using these
paddocks has freed up other parts of the farm from intense grazing. This has been equivalent to approximately 8 night’s worth
of grazing. Over all the Cashin’s have been very impressed with the performance of the humps and hollows. They have set up
a trial of 18m hump and hollows on an additional one hectare paddock.
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary
Industries Melbourne, November 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2013
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except
in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Print managed by Finsbury Green November 2013
ISBN [Insert number for print and/or online]
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format,
please telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email
customer.service@dse.vic.gov.au (or relevant address), via the National
Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au This document is
also available in on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind
or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.
Managing Wet Soils – Cashin
Photo- Paddock on left is a 2012 hump and hollow paddock. Paddock on the right has yet to be renovated
As demonstrated by the Cashin’s, managing wet soil conditions is best achieved by the combination of a variety of
complementary management practices. Through new innovations, careful land selections, and good nutrient, grazing and land
management, along with a little creativity and a willingness to try new approaches, the Cashin’s have adapted their farming
system to better manage challenging seasons.
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary
Industries Melbourne, November 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2013
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except
in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Print managed by Finsbury Green November 2013
ISBN [Insert number for print and/or online]
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format,
please telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email
customer.service@dse.vic.gov.au (or relevant address), via the National
Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au This document is
also available in on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind
or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.