1. Measure your yield accurately

• This is particularly important for the area that you will be transitioning on. Get an expert to help and make sure DM % is measured at a lab.

• Rows are generally planted 50cm apart so there are usually two rows per metre square. A 25-tonne crop should contain 2.5kgDM/m2 and 1.25kgDM/linear row metre respectively. Note some drills are now planting 45cm rows spaces.

2. Allow at least 1 linear metre/cow along the face of the crop

• The 1m spacing means all cows can reach the face. NOTE -any time a practice leads to variable intakes (i.e. shy cows unable to access crop, dominant cows eating more than there allocation) then you increase the risk of acidosis.

3. Ensure there is a 6m (minimum) to 10m headland that can be used for transitioning

• The headland provides space for cows to access the crop face and turn (important for less dominant cows). Use a beet bucket to harvest bulbs and create a headland. The headland can also act as an area where supplements can be fed.

4. Start at 1kgDM/day and stay there for 3 days until you are sure all cows are eating the beet and then increase by 1kg every second day

• It takes over 14 days to reach intakes of 8-9kg. Cows which have never eaten beet before may take 21 days to achieve this (A true ad-lib intake is 10-12kg -depends on breed size).

• Cows should not enter the crop already full on grass or supplement. Full cows will not eat their allocation allowing others to eat in excess.

• Train cows to stay and eat their allocation before shifting them back to grass. Even if most is eaten in 20 minutes, cows should stay on the break for 2-3 hours so they all learn that they need to eat. Moving the herd onto a new break (on mass) straight after milking works well.

5. Setting your allocation

• Cows can comfortably graze 18 inches under a wire. Set your fence 12 inches back from the row you wish to graze.

• Keep it simple – if you know your tonnage/ha, this will covert to kg/linear metre divided by two. Graze rows lengthwise and calculate the total linear metres required for allocation.

6. Feed a good quality supplement, but do not overfeed this.

• For dry cows, feed about @ 7kg of supplement initially. This should be a good quality supplement (not just Barley straw). Keep the supplement levels up around 7kg until the cows reach around 4kg of beet.

• Once at 5kg of Fodderbeet the supplement can be reduced to 4kg (assuming it’s not just barley straw!). Then keep the FB climbing

• 2-3kg of a hay or straw should be maintained even with cows at max feeding levels.

7. If you find beet remaining after the allocated daily grazing time during the first day 7s, pull back – you are over allocating!

• You typically see the biggest issues with acidosis and deaths at day 7-10 of transition. Cows which have been shy eaters or unable to access the crop face may suddenly take a liking to the crop at the same time as break allocations increase. Their intakes may suddenly rise exceeding the rumens capacity to deal with acid production.