Sam has been involved in the sports turf industry for over twenty years and brings with him a wealth of experience. It all started at his beloved Gloucester Rugby Club where he first became familiar with sports turf maintenance.

He then went on to study sports turf at college and after graduating he landed a job at Tewkesbury Park Golf Club. Sam quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to deputy course manager before accepting the position of golf course manager at Gloucester Golf Club.

Five years ago he moved into a sales and marketing role within the amenity industry but continues to ‘work on the tools’ by offering match-day support for the grounds staff at Gloucester Rugby.

Commenting on his new position at Limagrain UK, Sam said that the opportunity was just too good to turn down.

“It was a very easy decision – all the way through the process I knew that if I was offered the job then I was absolutely going to take it. Limagrain is an outstanding company, in terms of its product portfolio and its reputation – the way it conducts itself is very professional.

Limagrain has always been a leading company in the industry working at the very high end of sports turf, and opportunities like this do not come along very often – I was always going to take it.”

With immediate effect, Sam will now be offering technical advice and full support on products such as Limagrain’s leading brands of MM and Designer grass seeds and Colour Splash amenity flower mixtures.

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website lgseeds.co.uk/mm. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

Dr. Mitrousia takes on the mantle of heading up Limagrain’s highly successful oilseed rape breeding programme from Dr. Vasilis Gegas, who is now overseeing the whole of Limagrain’s European oilseed rape portfolio.

As the only UK-focussed oilseed rape breeding programme, Limagrain has been highly successful in being the first plant breeder to introduce high yielding varieties with traits such as TuYV resistance, alongside a range of other valuable traits such as pod shatter resistance, RLM 7 resistance, and Clubroot resistance.

This approach has led to Limagrain’s oilseed rape varieties such as Ambassador and Aurelia taking top positions on the 2019/20 AHDB Recommended List.

With a background in research in light leaf spot and phoma stem canker from the University of Hertfordshire and the John Innes Centre, Dr Mitrousia plans to develop this approach by continuing to bring varieties to the market that have valuable attributes to growers – making OSR a more profitable crop at a time when it is facing increasing challenges.

She says the opportunity to bring high-level genetic resources into everyday varieties is what excites her about the role.

“It’s all about the connection between understanding farmers’ needs in a changing environment and employment of high-level genetic research that is needed in order to continue to develop innovative varieties that are relevant to farmers. This is what I plan to continue to do in my new role and I am very much looking forward to working with the industry in doing just this.”

Unsure of what they were, we asked our resident bird expert and Grass Seed Manager, Ian Misselbrook, if he could try to identify them?

Ian came back in no time…

“I can’t be sure as little chicks like that tend to look similar but going by the nest, it is too neat and well-constructed to be Skylark. I think that it is most likely to be Reed Bunting. Cock birds sing from the top of the crop and often nest in oilseed rape fields in the absence of reed beds. The cock bird has a distinctive black head and white collar. The hen is more of the LBJ – little brown job!”

Well, we’ve looked them up online and, tell you what, we think he’s right!

Sowing a high feed value forage crop and taking a ‘cereal break’ is a win-win for mixed arable and livestock units.

Give the arable crop rotation a break and sow a forage crop this autumn. This is the advice from Limagrain’s Martin Titley, who says that better weed control and boosting home-grown feed supplies are just two of the advantages.

“Growing a forage crop on arable land post-harvest is getting more and more relevant on mixed cereal and livestock units,” he says. “It will definitely help weed control by breaking the life cycles of some damaging weeds and diseases.

“And the forage crop – and any grazing livestock – will add organic matter to the soils. This is especially valuable in nutrient depleted soils.”
Growing consecutive cereal crops is becoming more challenging. “There are issues surrounding pest and disease control in our cereal crops, and soil structure and condition warrants attention on many arable units,” he adds. “Rotations with forage crops are now far more sustainable than some of our previous arable practices.”

Forage crops, such as fast-growing brassica and root crops, and short-term grass leys can be sown post-harvest to give a much-needed break in the cereal rotation, as well as providing a valuable feed crop.

“Roots and brassicas can be grazed off ahead of a spring crop, or ahead of a grass reseed. And leaving a grass ley down for two years or more will help break the blackgrass cycle too.”

Grass and forage crops boost the soil organic matter and manure from grazing animals is slowly released which can then be used by the arable crops that follow in the rotation.

And the new forage crop varieties with improved growth and feed values add to the attractiveness of post cereal forage crops. These have been shown to promote yields, livestock growth rates and performance.

“A good example is the new rape/kale hybrid variety Unicorn that can be sown until late August. It has produced energy values of 11.2 MJ per kilo of dry matter and dry matter contents of 12.4% on our Lincolnshire trial site, making it one of the UK’s best performing rape/kale hybrid brassicas.”

Unicorn is a fast-growing leafy catch crop and should be ready for grazing within 14 weeks. Sown after cereals, it will give an ideal feed for finishing lambs, ewes or dairy cattle early winter.

“Stubble turnips and forage rape are two more crops that can be sown up until the end of August. They’re also quick to establish and some hardier varieties can be left for grazing over winter.”

A crop of stubble turnips after winter barley is ideal for finishing lambs. It’s ready for grazing by the end of October, and a hectare of stubble turnips will provide 40 days of grazing for 100 lambs. “This is ideal for farmers who are looking to sell lambs early in the season, when prices tend to be higher,” he adds.

And if we have a dry autumn, Mr Titley suggests those with mixed units look at forage rye that can be sown as late as October, following maize or cereals. “This gives an early bite in spring, up to three weeks’ ahead of Italian ryegrass.

“Yields are typically between five and six tonnes of dry matter per hectare. Some farmers will graze the crop, but it can also be cut for forage and stored, boosting conserved feed supplies.”

One of the first crops of the six row BYDV tolerant winter barley, Rafaela, has been harvested in Cornwall with very pleasing results.

The 6 ha field, that followed spring oats, was harvested on the 9th July at 4.50pm at Howton Farm in Saltash, Cornwall and yielded 8.15t/ha with a specific weight of 66kg/hl.

Grower, John Moss believes that the BYDV tolerance definitely kicked in and protected yields. “We thought it would be worth trying Rafaela as we are in a BYDV hot spot – and despite the high BYDV pressure it’s proved its worth – so we’ll definitely be putting some more in next year.”

“It’s been a super looking crop all the way through, tall and stood well, although we didn’t get as much straw off it as we would have liked.”

“Maize should be harvested when the crop combines maximum starch content with only limited leaf die back so maintaining high digestibility in the vegetative part of the plant,” he comments. 

“At the same time the crop must have sufficient moisture to allow effective consolidation in the clamp.  Harvesting a crop too soon will result in sub-optimal starch content, as sugars will not have been converted into starch.”

Mr Copestake stresses the factor determining when to harvest is not the date or contractor availability, but the crop itself.  He says the move to earlier varieties is generally bringing harvesting dates forward, but that increasingly the season is having a marked impact.

There is considerable variation in crop development regionally this year, reflecting drilling conditions and this will affect when crops will mature.  Mr Copestake recommends starting to walk the crop from late August to assess maturity and fitness to harvest, to prevent crops going over.  He advises walking well into the crop and looking at plants in several locations.  Never evaluate plants on the field margins.

He says it is a misunderstanding that maize needs to be dead before harvesting.  The target range for an optimum crop is 32-35% dry matter.  At dry matter levels higher than this, palatability and intakes can be reduced, digestibility will be compromised, and the crop may prove difficult to consolidate, increasing the risk of aerobic spoilage.

“Crops typically dry down at 2% per week but last year it was considerably higher, perhaps as high as 4%.  So, it is important to start measuring dry matter and assessing maturity, sooner rather than later.

“In more mature crops, lignin will increase, reducing digestibility and intakes still further.

To assess the maturity of the vegetative material he advises looking at the flow of juice from the stem.  “Look to harvest when no juice emerges as the stem is twisted, and when the leaves level with the cob are just beginning to turn brown.

Then assess the grains using the thumb nail test.  The grains at the top of the cob should be like soft cheese, the ones at the bottom should be like hard cheese and the ones in the middle should be soft enough to leave the imprint of a thumbnail on.

“By walking the crop and assessing the state of maturity and the rate at which dry matter is increasing, you increase the prospects of harvesting the crop at the optimum stage to maximise the production of high quality forage,” Mr Copestake points out.

Adrian, the man in charge of keeping York Racecourse ahead of the pack, has been the head groundsman for twelve years. He joined York from Aintree Racecourse in 2006 and two years later was instrumental in a huge £2.6 million track development project.

As part of the project, significant drainage works were carried out in order to remove and keep water at bay from the surface, which is situated on an old river bed and flood plain. Although that project was undertaken over nine years ago, Adrian and his team still continue to focus their attention on maintaining and improving the surface and primary drainage.

It could be argued that Adrian is somewhat of an industry pioneer as he continues to adopt new methods, particularly in his decision to embrace the Koro process in order to strip the top of the surface and remove all vegetation and rootzone – something which is practically unheard of in horse racing turf maintenance. As a result, Adrian admits that whichever grass seed he uses, he must have full confidence that it is going to provide him with exceptional results and guarantee a fast return to usability.

“I’ve been using Limagrain seed for about 16 years now and I’ve got every confidence in the seed. I used MM25 when I was at Aintree and then we played around with the mixture here at York to suit our renovations.

“The mixture we use consists of 50% Tetraploid Perennial Rye, 30% Diploid and 20% Slender Creeping Red Fescue – and it’s treated with HEADSTART® GOLD. It’s a perfect mixture here for what we are trying to achieve and occasionally we use 100% Tetraploid when we are carrying out our renovations.”

With the race season at York finishing in mid-October, Adrian typically uses this period to start his renovations. Although renovating this late in the year can present certain challenges, Adrian believes that his Limagrain mixture ensures a smooth process.

“We normally begin our renovations in October after the race season, which is sometimes not ideal, but we have full confidence in the Limagrain mixture that it will begin to germinate.

“This year renovations were very late with the seed being sown in early November. Unfortunately for us, we then had an extreme winter with Beast from the East followed by a very wet start to the spring.  However, the track couldn’t have looked better with a very good coverage of new grass ready for the first meeting of the on the 16th May – this really is testament to the quality of the seed.”

Racecourses have to withstand a high degree of damage from horses over a whole season which means that selecting the right mixture for renovation and divot repair is vitally important. Adrian’s tailored mixture provides him with a dense hard wearing surface which offers quick germination and provides cushioning in the bottom of the sward.

Adrian says, the mixture which is treated with HEADSTART® GOLD – Limagrain’s unique seaweed based seed treatment helps to ensure rapid and even germination. This tried and tested grass seed treatment helps the seed get off to the best possible start – something which Adrian has been quick to notice.

“I use Limagrain because of the attributes of germination, establishment and the quality of leaf. If I put the seed down two weeks before we are racing, I absolutely know that in ideal conditions we are going to get the germination and establishment that is required.

“For me, it’s a year round product that I use. We use the same mix for repairs on the track as well which we apply after every race meeting. It really is the full package.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or click here. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

Launched at the end of January, Frontier is offering an attractive price of £40/tonne* for beans above November wheat futures, with an additional £10/t premium for growers who opt for Frontier’s specialist bean agronomy package and achieve the required 29% protein targets.

This offer comes about with the construction of a new de-hulling plant near Nottingham due to open later this year, where beans will be processed to produce a protein-rich binding agent attractive to the fish farming industry.

For Rob Atkin, it is the perfect opportunity for him to exploit a new market for his bean crop.

“We have grown beans since 2010, and have alternated between springs and winters depending on the rotation. In 2017, with the ban on using PPPs on EFAs, we went back to winter beans as we could use the pre-ems we needed on those,” he says.

Rob Atkin, Grower & Richard Plant, Argonomist, in a field of LG Cartouche

“However, with the opportunity to grow for Frontier’s processing plant which is fairly local, it made sense to opt back into spring beans.”

“As an alternative break crop, they have a valuable place in the rotation and if you get beans right, they can be a profitable crop as they don’t really require high inputs.”

Mr Atkin has chosen to grow the variety; LG Cartouche, as it offers the highest protein content available on the spring PGRO Recommended List 2019, sitting 1.3% ahead of any other pale hilum variety at 29.1%.

“To meet the 29% protein target needed by Frontier, it made sense to start at the highest genetic protein base level.”

LG Cartouche is also high yielding with very good standing ability and is early to mature, and as it is a pale hilum bean, it is also suitable for the premium human consumption market.

“Rob will be following our bespoke agronomy advice, using dedicated yield and protein boosting products to ensure the crop fulfils this potential,” explains Richard Plant, Frontier agronomist.

LG Cartouche

“Initial results from trials indicate that some of the new bio-stimulants have a positive effect on yield and protein. When used early in the growing crop, they have improved rooting and nutrient utilisation which helps in pushing for that extra quality.”

“LG Cartouche responds particularly well to this, with its higher base level protein content.”

Mr Plant points out that should the beans should reach human consumption quality there is still an option to trade them for the more lucrative human consumption market.

The beans were planned for an 8.5ha field of light loamy soil that was cover cropped over the winter; half with an EFA mix, and half with stubble turnips, and then it was finally grazed off with sheep.

“The whole farm has been min-till since 2003, and we will use one of two options for drilling; either run a Cultivator through first and then use an Amazon min-drill, or a Mzuri strip till-drill, which we are still trialling,” says Rob Atkin.

“I’ll aim to drill the crop at the beginning of March but if conditions are not right, I will hang back and wait for a week or 10 days. If the weather turns bad, March can be a long month and it doesn’t make too much difference if they have to be delayed until mid-March.”

“Getting the right establishment is key to a successful bean crop. If the crop starts well, then I would expect the spring crop to yield as well as a winter crop, and with the right nutrition through the Frontier programme, the quality should be there too to meet the spec for the extra premium.”

* Contract premium correct as of 18th February 2019. Premiums can go up or down depending on market movement.

“Most farmers appreciate the improvement in dairy cow genetics and the gains to be made in terms of milk yield, milk quality and management traits such as fertility and longevity and invest in the latest genetics available,” comments Richard Camplin from Limagrain UK. 

“However, every year we still see a proportion of dairy farmers growing long-established maize varieties, many of which have been around for over 15 years, despite the clear benefits of the newer options on the BSPB/NIAB List.”

Mr Camplin says that over the last 15 years rigorous plant breeding objectives have resulted in significant advances in maize variety performance, with increases in dry matter production and starch content from varieties proven at trial sites across the UK.

“Compared to 2004, the average variety today will produce 2.7t/ha more dry matter and 1.1t/ha more starch.  At 11.5MJ/kgDM, the extra dry matter would produce enough energy to produce an additional 5600 litres per hectare.  For top varieties like Prospect, Pinnacle, Glory and Gatsby the difference is more pronounced, often producing 1000 litres/ha more than the average variety.

“Selecting new varieties should be a key component of any strategy to increase forage production.”

The benefits of variety selection were put into clear focus when Devon dairy farmer, Peter Johns grew two different varieties in 2018.

“Maize is a vital part of our system”, Peter comments.  “We look to feed it 365 days a year, at upto 40% of the forage in the diet to our 200 Holsteins, which are averaging 9700 litres.  The starch is crucial to maintain milk quality as we are on a constituent based contract”.

“We ran out for a few weeks last year and when we could re-introduce it to the diet, yields increased by two litres per cow per day.”

With land limited and farming at 540’ above sea level on heavy soils, variety choice is key for Peter who wants high yields and quality, combined with early maturity.  He has had great success with Ambition, but in 2018 was encouraged to try another variety as well.

“It is the first time I have grown two varieties and was genuinely surprised with the difference.  I drilled all the fields with the two varieties side by side and throughout the season the Ambition was stronger.  At harvest, it was over 30cm taller and the fields all looked like waves.  The cobs were also bigger on the Ambition plants, meaning I had compromised quantity and quantity by not sticking to Ambition.

“Working with Glen Johns from Harpers Feeds who supplied the Ambition, we calculated that over the 84 acres of maize grown, we lost around 100 tonnes of forage due to the shorter crop and smaller cob size and ME content will also have been lower.

“The lesson I have learned is to identify the variety best suited to the farm and to make sure I get seed ordered well in advance,” Peter admits.

According to Tim Richmond, Maize Seed Manager for Limagrain UK, many farmers hold back from ordering their maize seed.  He says the typical pattern of maize seed sales is that only around 50% of seed is ordered by the end of February, with the balance ordered late, often in April.  Most years farmers are able to get most, if not all the seed they require, but he says this season looks like it will be different.

“Demand for maize seed is likely to increase as farmers look to rebuild forage stocks.  With forecast tightening of milk prices and likely feed cost inflation fuelled by exchange rates, milk from forage will be even more important.

“Growing extra acres of maize is a good way to increase total forage production and there is increased interest in growing maize on contract as a way to increase 2019 output.  Increased demand could mean that stocks for some varieties may be in short supply later in the season.”

Farmers saw the benefits of early maturing options with good early vigour last year with crops getting established and away quickly.  The earlier harvest also means crops are taken in good conditions and with silage made sooner, it can be incorporated in diets quicker.

“The market has been moving towards earlier varieties for several years.  If demand remains high, those looking to buy seed late may find that only later maturing options are available.  If, by ordering late you miss out on the better performing varieties, the consequence will be that you may have to grow an older variety with a resultant reduction in yield, feed value and milk from forage.”

In addition, this year sees the most widely used maize seed treatment being phased out.  Mesurol, which is extensively used to reduce problems with frit fly as well as bird damage will no longer be available.  The supply of treated seed is unlikely to continue into April, particularly for the most popular varieties.

“Seed houses will be running down supplies of Mesurol treated seed because any stocks left at the end of the season will have to be destroyed.  For the same reason, distributors will be reluctant to carry excess stocks as the season progresses.  Together these mean that the supply of treated seed will be reduced as the season unwinds.

“Sowing untreated seed will increase the risk of poorer establishment and greater losses as a result of bird damage.

“By ordering early you will be able to ensure you get the variety you want, and that the seed has been treated to help promote good establishment.”

As all maize seed either originates in, or is packaged in Europe before being shipped across the channel, Mr Richmond also warns that depending on the terms of any Brexit deal there may be an impact on maize seed into the country.

“Any increase in border and customs checks will potentially delay seed getting to distributors and onward to farm.  As yet, it is impossible to predict what may happen but it may be prudent act early to reduce the risk of disruption.”

“The benefits of getting maize ordered early will far outweigh any potential benefits of a delay.  The most common justifications for late ordering are the hope of late season deals and avoiding having seed in store for too long.

“When set against the prospect of getting the variety you want and with that seed being treated, the benefits of delaying are insignificant this year.”

Keith Exton has enjoyed a long and prosperous career in the turf industry and Alex, long inspired by his dad, is now carving his own successful path in the industry. However, he admits that he would be foolish to not soak up some of the wisdom Keith has accumulated over the years.

“I first heard about Limagrain through my father who is a big fan of them,” said Alex. “He’s been quite successful within the industry and I suppose I have just tried to follow in his footsteps.

“I know he used Limagrain when he was at Oakham School for 16 years or so and then continued to use them when he went to Glamorgan County Cricket Club.  ​He is now at Grantham CC and is still using MM50 and Action Replay to this day”.

Alex is entering his ninth year at the prestigious Witham Hall which is a thriving boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4-13 years. The school is committed to providing a first-class education both in and beyond the classroom and sport is a fundamental part of the curriculum – which is where Alex comes in.

The children can enjoy the major team sports of rugby, football, hockey, cricket, netball and rounders, and Alex alongside two other members of staff, maintain the fabulous sports pitches, grounds and facilities all year round.

Alex has a busy schedule which sees a tight turnaround in transforming the pitches for the relevant sports in between terms. As you can imagine, the playing fields experience an incredibly high amount of usage all year round but Alex claims that his use of Limagrain grass seed helps the turf to withstand such high wear.

Throughout his tenure at Witham Hall, he has relied on Limagrain’s MM50 for the cricket squares and Action Replay for all of the outfields which includes the rugby, hockey and football pitches.

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK sportsturf and amenity industries and is relied upon at top sports grounds throughout the UK and beyond. In particular, MM50 is ideal for cricket squares and outfields. This hard-wearing mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round.

Limagrain’s Action Replay belongs to the company’s Designer range of amenity grass seed and is an excellent mixture to use when renovating winter sports pitches. It will establish very quickly producing a dense, hard wearing sward for all heavy-duty sports areas.

According to Alex, both of these products provide him with everything he is looking for in a grass seed.

“We try to put Action Replay down in the spring and autumn as part of our renovations. I have just recently purchased a disc seeder so I tend to put it down between 20-25g/m2.

“On the cricket square it all depends on what I’m doing. If I have cleaned a track out in the playing season and want to reuse it, I will groove out and apply the product with the pedestrian push spreader. When I’m over-seeding the whole square, as part of our end of season renovations, I must admit that I put plenty on. I will normally apply two bags with the pedestrian spreader, to fall into the grooves made by the scarifier and then I will go over it in four directions with our SISIS Variseeder, again with another two bags.

“I know it sounds a lot but our square is on a slope, so when watering, the water can run and take a fair bit of seed with it. I just think that doing it this way works really well for our site and I get a fantastic take and coverage.

“The MM50 is excellent for the cricket – it stands the sort mowing, the heavy rolling and recovers incredibly well. In fact, both products perform consistently well and I never have any bad results or problems. It’s as simple as that really – they are good solid products.

“If I’m ever asked what seed I use, I only ever say Limagrain and I would recommend MM50 and Action Replay to anyone.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

Limited quantities of Robbos, Brick and Tarine fodder beet seed have been primed using the Germ’activ system that encourages faster germination thereby reducing the opportunity for pest and disease damage in the early establishment stages when the seedlings are at their most vulnerable.  In laboratory conditions, germination can be reduced by three to four days.

Robbos Fodder Beet

“Germ’active primed seed has been used very successfully in sugar beet seed for a number of years,” says Limagrain’s forage crop director Martin Titley. “This year, we have applied the technology to fodder beet seed.”

Germ’activ seed has been shown to promote establishment and has helped to create a uniform crop. “This will benefit both grazed and harvested crops of fodder beet for livestock producers looking for a high feed value winter feed.”

Cow Feeding on Fodder Beet

The latest UK fodder beet trial data published in January 2019 by Limagrain UK can be found at https://www.lgseeds.co.uk/crops/forage-crops/fodder-beet/