After being ''talked into'' growing fodder beet by a neighbour in 2011, South Canterbury farmer Warren Leslie is now heavily involved.
He hosted a Beef + Lamb New Zealand ''Farming for Profit'' field day at his 600ha Greenhill Farm near Cave on August 22. It focused on his fodder beet trials, investigating different varieties, sowing and growth rates, and production costs.
Of 37 trial plots in Canterbury, his was extensively measured for yield and germination, he told the gathering of about 200 people. Three seeding rates had been used - 80,000, 90,000 and 100,000 seeds per hectare.
''The germination rate was in the low 70s.''
Hoggets had been grazing the Brigadier cultivar, leaving behind only 2% to 3%, Mr Leslie said.
Murray Grey yearling heifers were on Brigadier until three weeks before the field day. They then went into a paddock of three mixed fodder beet varieties: Brigadier, Lifta and Blaze. Brigadier was the most upright, producing 12% to 13% dry matter. Lifta had a higher germination rate and 17% dry matter.
The cost of planting the heifer paddock was less than $2100 per hectare, Mr Leslie said.
His heifers were ''doing double what they need to be doing'' in liveweight gains.
The heifers were being given a strip of crop measured out by ''four easy paces a day''. The aim was to leave 25% of yesterday's feed behind when today's was allocated.
Lincoln University livestock health and production senior lecturer Jim Gibbs said the stock would chew the leaves first, then eat the older beets preferentially. During a wet period, the beets furthest out of the ground would be eaten more fully.
Older cattle did not seem to mind the sourer varieties, but younger cattle and sheep preferred the upright, softer, more palatable Brigadier, Dr Gibbs said.
There had been comments in recent years that fodder beet had low crude protein. That was true of the bulb, but not the leaf. Taking the whole plant into account, most cultivars had 11% to 13%.
''There's no class of liveweight it doesn't support, except lambs,'' Dr Gibbs said.
''You can optimise growth rates by supplementing with protein, but you won't make more money.
''Grass silage is usually fine to supplement; you don't need expensive lucerne silage.
''The other option is to increase the stocking rate, rather than getting stock up to 1kg gain a day.''
There was a common sentiment that animals would regulate their own intake of supplement, he said.
''They don't. They will eat to make you broke. If you give them supplements, they will eat it instead of eating beet, which is cheap and high-energy.
''Supplement is many times more costly. There is no rumen benefit in having more supplement.''
He recommended 1kg for young stock and no more than 2kg for adult stock.
Another concern, that stock on fodder beet would have problems with soil in their rumen, was ''not an issue in any way, shape, or form'', Dr Gibbs said.
Seed Force representative David Walsh said stock at the Leslies' farm had left behind about 1kg of the Brigadier bulb, about 8kg of the Blaze and 6kg of Lifta.
The yield advantage of Lifta versus the utilisation of Brigadier would be a discussion point, he said.
- by Sally Brooker