Introducing a catch crop after cereals can improve soil health, help control weeds and provide a valuable feed crop for livestock. So says Limagrain’s Martin Titley, who suggests that some arable producers should take a look at fodder crops, or sowing grass, following this year’s harvest.

“Mixed farming units, or those not opposed to introducing livestock such as finishing lambs or beef cattle, can benefit by introducing some different crops,” says Mr Titley.

Crops such as stubble turnips, forage rape, forage rye and brassica mixtures produce high quality autumn and winter feed cost-effectively. “But they also bring great benefits for soil health and weed control.”

Breaking the arable rotation with grass leys, fast-growing brassica crops and root crops can help combat black grass. “These crops 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, can help break the blackgrass cycle too. These rotations can have a beneficial impact on weed control and soil health,” he adds.

“And soil always benefits from increased organic matter. Manure from grazing animals is slowly released and can be utilised by the arable crops that follow in the rotation.”

Sowing dates

Stubble turnips, forage rape and the new rape/kale hybrids can be sown up until the end of August. They’re quick to establish and some varieties can be ready for grazing within 12 to 14 weeks of sowing. 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 enables many farmers to sell a crop of lambs early in the season, when prices tend to be higher.”

Rape/kale hybrids are fast-growing catch crops and there are high yielding varieties. “Interval, for example, produced dry matter yields 17% above the control variety in our recent trial work,” adds Mr Titley. “This makes it an ideal crop for finishing lambs or for maintenance of ewes from late summer onwards.”

Stubble turnips also make an ideal feed in the autumn, with hardy and mildew-tolerant varieties, such as Rondo, ideally suited to grazing through winter.
“It’s also worth considering some good brassica mixtures. These combine a high protein forage rape with kale and can be blended with  high-energy stubble turnips to provide a balanced autumn and winter keep with minimal effort. There are good mixtures with ‘built-in’ disease resistance, winter hardiness and early establishment advantages.”

Another catch crop worth considering is forage rye, which can be sown as late as October, following maize or cereals. This can provide an early bite in spring with up to three weeks’ earlier spring growth than Italian ryegrass, with yields that are typically between five and six tonnes of dry matter per hectare.
“In many cases, breaking the arable rotation with a fodder crop or grass is a win-win situation, and one we are seeing increasingly on many traditional cereal units,” adds Mr Titley.

Catch crop considerations

• Review the wide range of break crops that are available
• Tailor your catch crops and the area required to match livestock feed requirements
• Look at growing costs verses feed value. A good catch crop provides a cost-effective winter forage
• Be discerning when selecting the variety of catch crop. Some are better than others for yield, disease resistance and winter hardiness. For example, there is a 20% yield difference between some stubble turnip varieties. This equates to more than one tonne of dry matter per hectare.

Too many grazing mixtures are lacking white clover, either because it was never in the mixture, or because it has been killed out when using herbicides to control other broad-leaved weeds.

A bundle of benefits

But producers are missing a trick. This forage species brings a bundle of benefits.
Alongside increased yields, white clover improves forage quality and, on the back of this, milk yields and solids.

Irish research has shown that incorporating clover increased milk yield by 13.3% and milk solids by 13.4%. Also, dry matter production was 16.8% greater on grass-clover swards, compared with grass-only swards.

And with sustainability being an increasingly important factor, this legume fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere and reduces the crop’s reliance on inorganic fertilisers.

A sward with a ground cover of between 20% and 30% clover species can fix 180kg of nitrogen per hectare, equivalent to 522kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. At today’s fertiliser prices that’s worth around £120 per hectare.

White clover’s growth pattern is complementary to grass and a grass-clover mix provides a more consistent crop through the summer, compared with only grass species. The varying root depths means that a grass/white clover ley will be more drought-resilient than one with grass only species.

Adding white clover

White clover is best sown in warm, wet conditions and ideally not when grass is growing rapidly. So late summer and after a silage cut or grazing is ideal.

Natural clover seed is very small and light, so a pelleted seed, such as CloverPlus, will promote successful establishment through better soil to seed contact or a more even coverage if broadcasting.

A pellet increases the weight and size of the seed, making equipment calibration easier and giving a more consistent spread pattern if broadcast. The additional pellet weight ensures that more seed gets through the sward to give maximum soil-to-seed contact.

Importantly, CloverPlus is treated with the biological seed treatment Headstart Gold. This is proven to speed up germination and improve establishment.

As we approach late summer, this is a timely opportunity to add white clover to grass swards and reap the benefits on your dairy unit.

For more information, download our CLOVERPLUS pelleted white clover blend fact sheet here.

High feed value fodder crops sown from May to August can bring a wealth of advantages to beef and dairy units. Not only can they extend the grazing season, by providing a fresh forage in mid summer, but they can provide a valuable break in grass and arable rotations, facilitating pest and disease control and bringing soil health benefits. So, what’s on offer?

“Dairy and beef farmers can sow brassicas, such as forage rape, kale and brassica hybrids, plus stubble turnips, from May to August – or a mixture of the two,” says Limagrain’s forage crop director Martin Titley.

The flexibility of sowing time, fast growth, long grazing season or in some cases harvest options, and their relatively low cost, makes these crops especially attractive. “There’s no doubt farmers are realising the benefits of these crops,” adds Mr Titley.

Rape/kale hybrids like Interval or Unicorn sown in May will be ready to strip graze by dairy or beef cattle 12 or 14 weeks later, so by late August. If grass is running short or the plan is to encourage grass regrowth, then this crop offers a fresh, high feed value forage to graze in situ. It ensures a quality forage is continually available.

Both Interval and Unicorn have been bred for feed value and in Limagrain field trials, where a wide range of commercially available hybrids were compared, they scored highest for relative dry matter yields with Unicorn 11% and Interval 17% above the control. Both hybrids have top scores for mildew resistance too.

“There is also the option of sowing these hybrid brassicas into winter barley stubble. They are really good crops to follow harvest,” adds Mr Titley. “They are easy to grow and benefit from farmyard manure or slurry pre sowing, or an application of 60kg to 90kg of nitrogen with 25kg each of potassium and phosphate per hectare.”

Launched in 2019, Unicorn is a recent addition. Trial results show that this variety is a high energy crop, reliably producing 11 MJ per kilogramme of dry matter, or almost 50,000 MJ per hectare, and a dry matter content of 12.4%. This is a lot of feed value from 12 to 14 weeks of growth.

“Another recent addition to the hybrid brassica range is Skyfall that produces a very fast-growing, leafy and palatable crop for cattle to graze in summer. It produced between 30 and 35 tonnes/ha of a palatable soft-leaved forage in crops sown in July in UK trials.” Mr Titley adds that this crop is unique as it has a deep root enabling it to thrive in drier soils  – that can be seen in mid summer – and ‘bounce back’. “So if it’s sown in  May, it can be grazed in August then closed up for regrowth before a second grazing period later in the season.”

Most stubble turnip crops are sown after cereal harvest – at the end of July or beginning of August – and are then ready to graze from October onwards.

“The real benefit of these mid summer sown turnip crops is that they can be fed in autumn and winter,” says Mr Titley. “Forage rape and the hybrid crops are winter hardy and are capable of carrying stock well into January and even early February.”

Brassicas and stubble turnips offer good feed value and their growing and feeding flexibility offer distinct advantages among forage crops. “These summer-sown forages are well worth considering,” he adds. “They can boost home grown forages, especially in a dry or difficult season, and provide a break to break disease cycles and improve soil health.”

BRASSICA AND STUBBLE TURNIPS KEY FACTS

• Flexible sowing dates – May until late August
• Fast-growing leafy catch crops
• Ready to graze in 12-14 weeks
• Flexible use – summer grazing or over-winter fresh forage
• Provide a break in crop cycles with pest and disease control and soil fertility benefits
• Improved feed value offered from modern varieties and hybrids

It includes phosphite, the highly mobile form of phosphorus that can be transported through the plant much faster than conventional fertiliser phosphate. It also contains a package of essential amino acids and natural compounds from seaweed that are readily taken up by the young roots.

Limagrain has trialled Start-uP on forage rape and kale hybrid brassicas and stubble turnip crops at its site in Lincolnshire during six weeks in spring 2019.

“We found an increase in leaf length of 9.8%, and 28.6% on root length, on crops grown from seed treated with Start-uP compared with the control,” says Limagrain’s forage crop director Martin Titley. “And, in the six-week period, root mass was 5.9% more in the Start-uP treated crop, indicating that this seed treatment offered crops a significant growth advantage in the early stages.”

Forage rape, kale, stubble turnips and brassica hybrids are sown between May and August and provide a high feed value forage for cattle and sheep in just 12 to 14 weeks.

“Treating seed with Start-uP gives growers an insurance at the crop’s most vulnerable time,” adds Mr Titley. “This helps to guarantee a high yielding fresh forage with good feed value.”

Brassicas and stubble turnips are increasingly popular as a break crop, sown after first-cut silage as part of the grass ley rotation or after cereal harvest. This flexibility, their low growing costs and their fast growth bring benefits to mixed and livestock farming systems.

“During the past few years many of the effective seed treatments have lost their registration and there are very few alternatives available. Start-uP has proven to be a highly effective option for these crops.” Learn more about Start-Up Seed treatment here.

Click here to go to the full range of forage crops

What choices are there for sheep producers who want to mitigate the risk of a grass shortage and have a fresh high feed value forage to hand when finishing lambs later this year? According to Limagrain’s Martin Titley, there are plenty of options.

And not only do they offer a low-cost forage option, but they can also provide a break crop after grass leys or cereals.

“There are a number of good fodder crops that arable or mixed farms could consider this spring, instead of sowing cereals,” says Mr Titley. “A lot of arable units are facing big acreages for spring crops. Sowing a break crop on some fields might not be a bad option; maybe where there’s been a blackgrass problem or as an option to break the disease cycle.

Stubble Turnips

Stubble turnips are an ‘old favourite’ and lost popularity as rotations changed and other options became more fashionable. But they’re now back in favour. “Arable and sheep producers alike recognise that they suit practically any sheep production system – they’re incredible versatile,” says Mr Titley.

He says that the real attraction for this crop is that it’s fast growing and for some the flexible sowing time is attractive. It can be sown in May and June, after first-cut silage, to get a bite in early August and September. “This is good on units where grazing can burn off later in the season. It acts as an ‘insurance’ crop against a dry summer and allows producers to finish lambs on a low-cost forage crop.”

Most stubble turnip crops are sown after cereal harvest – at the end of July or beginning of August – and are then ready for grazing between 12 and 14 weeks later.

“They’re ideal for plugging the forage gap between September and the end of December,” he says, adding that this year, being very mild, farmers have grazed them well into February. “This isn’t the norm though and can’t be taken for granted.”

For the latest Stubble Turnip Trial Results from our UK Trials, click here.

Forage Rape Hybrids

Forage rape and hybrids -which are typically a cross between rape and kale – are becoming a ‘go to’ choice for finishing lambs.

“These forage rape brassicas are particularly popular because of their flexible sowing dates,” adds Mr Titley. “They can be sown from May until late August and used as summer grazing or sown into winter barley stubble in late July.

An easy to grow crop also makes these hybrid brassicas popular. They benefit from farmyard manure or slurry pre sowing, or an application of 60kg to 90kg of nitrogen with 25kg each of potassium and phosphate per hectare.

“And they’re fast-growing so ready to graze in 12 to 14 weeks. Sown in May, they give a bite at the end of August or early September which is ideal for finishing lambs on many farms.”

But the crop can be used across winter too and will keep its leafiness in colder conditions. “Forage rape and the hybrid crops are winter hardy and are capable of carrying stock well into February and even early March. But it must be grazed before flowering as once it starts to flower, it loses its nutritional value.”

Modern rape kale hybrids offer high feed values. “Take one of the latest, Unicorn, launched in 2019. This fast-growing leafy catch crop offers energy values of 11 MJ per kilogramme of dry matter, producing 49,438 MJ per hectare, and a dry matter content of 12.4%. This is a lot of feed value from 12 to 14 weeks of growth.”

For the latest Forage Rape Trial Results from our UK Trials, click here.

A Good Mix

Both stubble turnips and forage rape hybrids provide a good break, helping to build fertility back into the soil and to control both broadleaved and grass weeds. They can be followed with a spring grass reseed or a spring cereal crop.

“A mix of the two in one cropping is popular too,” he adds. The stubble turnip ‘bulbs’ provide a high energy crop, whereas the brassica hybrids, such a forage rape, pack a protein punch. This offers a more balanced forage mix in one crop.

“In freezing and snowy conditions, the forage rape ‘stands up’ and creates a canopy over the stubble turnips which generally keeps them fresher for longer.”

Mr Titley says that the popularity of swedes is declining as more producers discover the benefits of stubble turnips and forage rape. “But we’re still seeing the old favourite swede variety; Invitation and our Massif traditional turnip take their well-earned place on some sheep units.

“These crops grow well in autumn so they’re ideal where cereal harvest is later; which is often why we see them grown in Scotland. They provide a high energy, high dry matter winter feed that can be grazed from the end of November through to February with relatively low production costs.”

Herbal Leys

Herbal leys are getting more popular for grazing sheep and finishing lambs. The perennial mixtures typically persist for three or four years and comprise species including chicory and plantain, as well as traditional grasses such as meadow fescue and sainfoin.

“The species are deep rooting and they continue to thrive in dry conditions – either during drought or towards the back-end of the grazing season, when grass may be struggling,” says Mr Titley.

These mixtures really come into their own on chalky, light and free-draining soils. They’re also rich in minerals, compared to other forage crops.

Sheep farmers on or close to EFA land, which is now subject to the ‘greening’ rules, cannot leave land fallow during the winter – a green cover crop must be sown and must remain in place until January 12 each year.

“A mixture of forage rye Humbolt and vetch, which can be sown as late as September, is a good option,” says Mr Titley. “It’s a reliable feed for both ewes and finishing lambs to graze, up until April, if required.”

He adds that herbal leys are becoming more predominant in arable farming areas. “Sheep and arable farmers can work together on this. There are also soil health and fertility benefits to be had by arable producers who graze livestock on a proportion of their land each year.”

The LG Essential Guide to Forage Crops

More Information

For more information on any of these crops, download the LG Essential Guide to Forage Crops, click the link below

There’s nothing ‘usual’ or typically’ when it comes to grass growth and cutting dates in some parts of the country if the past few years are anything to go by. We’re seeing more volatility in weather patterns and we’re warned that this is a sign of things to come. So, say two leading grassland specialists, we need to cater for in our choice of grass seed mixtures.

Opting for mixtures that offer more flexibility can be very wise, when it comes to cutting dates. “The typical silage mixtures with bountiful yields of high quality grass are there, but only for a short window,” says Limagrain’s grass seed manager Ian Misselbrook.  “If this is missed, quality and yield fall away rapidly.”

“Most dairy units look for two cuts of silage and some grazing from a grass silage ley,” he says, adding that, despite the ‘noise’ multicut systems are still a minority practice and not one that suits all farms, when accessibility of fields and soil type are considered.

“The aim is usually a good first cut then a second cut six weeks later,” he adds.

“But if we look at the past couple of years, this cutting pattern has been a challenge. Last year, 2019, grass didn’t follow its normal pattern of a peak, then a dip mid summer and then regrowth. It just kept growing at pretty much the same rate.”

Then the 2018 season was being equally erratic with a cold spring, late start to growth and then exceptionally dry conditions. “If farmers didn’t get a top class first cut they were struggling.”

And although there was plenty of grass growth last year, harvesting wasn’t without its problems. ‘Grass grew so vigorously, that a lot of second cut was ready for cutting after only four weeks, but, for routine reasons and contractor availability, it was cut after six weeks by which time its quality had really dropped off. Producers have seen the consequences this winter when this forage hasn’t produced the milk yields they’d anticipated.”

Longer cutting window – less pressure
Mr Misselbrook suggests that growing grass seed mixtures with a wider heading date will add some flexibility and take the pressure off.

“Typical silage mixtures used on UK farms will have a window for cutting of about four days. These mixtures are predominantly intermediate perennial ryegrasses that head in the same narrow window of just a few days.’

They are designed for high yields of good feed quality, to be cut at a D value over 70 and high dry matter. “And they do exactly what it says ‘on the tin’, but catching this ideal time is limited and challenging if conditions are not ideal.”

“On an ideal site, in an ideal season, intermediate perennial ryegrass mixtures will head at the same time and provide prize winning silage with an ME of 12 or above, but we hardly ever get these near perfect conditions,” says Mr Misselbrook. “Once these heading dates have passed, quality falls off rapidly across the whole crop as all the plants are at the same vegetative stage and move into the reproductive stage.”

Instead, he suggests that farmers look at mixtures with a wider heading date. “These will have more varieties of grasses and include intermediate sand late perennial ryegrasses, offering a range in heading dates and a 12- or 14-day window for harvesting.”

He adds that if these mixtures are harvested in the first half of the window, while the later perennial ryegrasses may not have headed, they will still be in their vegetative leafy stage and offer high feed value. If cutting date is later, while the intermediate grasses may be past their best, the late perennial ryegrasses will be in their prime.

“It’s also worth including some tetraploid ryegrasses in the mixture too, as they are recognised for their higher nutritive value. They’re proven to have better balance of sugars and digestible fibre (DNDF) which is key in maximising the feed value of the silage.”

Seed merchants will include heading dates of grass seed mixtures in their literature to help farmers in their selections. “Look for any accreditations too that indicate high yields and feed value,” he says. “We include the LGAN accreditation on some Limagrain grass seed mixtures; most of these have diploid and tetraploid ryegrasses, and intermediate and late varieties depending on their requirements.

“Being a bit more discerning will help farmers accommodate and adapt to the changing weather patterns.”

Across in Ireland, Paul Flannagan from DLF Ireland is also talking to his farmer customers about more ‘fail safe’ mixtures.

“I know that traditionally we’ve opted for silage mixtures made up mainly of intermediate perennial ryegrasses. These can give top yields of high feed value grass. But that’s only where conditions are especially favourable,” he says.

He estimates that in 60% of cases, conditions are not ideal and as a result yield and quality suffer. “Either it rains, or the contractor is delayed, or there’s a break-down,” he adds. “The trouble is, with these mixtures you only have a four- or five-day window to cut the crop at its best. After that quality falls dramatically.”

Instead, to spread the risk, DLF Ireland is seeing farmers opting for mixtures with wider heading dates, giving a window for harvesting of 15 or 16 days. “These crops will hold their quality and give farmers an extra 10 days or so to harvest the crop.”

He admits that while those bumper yields might not be there, the overall lifetime productivity of these mixtures with wider heading dates is probably a lot higher. Instead of a crop achieving its potential one in every three years, you’re getting good crops far more consistently and at least two out of three years – that’s a lot of extra productivity from a grass ley if we consider lifetime yield.”

And he says farmers are realising this, judging by their increased interest in some of the wider heading mixtures. “Take Sinclair McGill’s Scotsward. This mixture heads a bit later and it has a mix of intermediate and late perennial ryegrass so the window of opportunity for cutting – without any real loss in yield or quality – is about 14 days.

“Farmers find that digestibility and energy levels in the silage are less variable one year to another and while yields might not be those that the top performing silage mixtures achieve in a perfect year, the added reliability across the lifetime of the ley more than compensates.”

Mr Misselbrook admits that farmers need to review the last few seasons and decide what sort of mixture suits them best. “And be honest, don’t look at one season in isolation, but across say a five-year period and consider whether the top yielding silage mixtures are coming up with the goods on your farm, or whether you should build in a bit more flexibility and take a bit of the risk out of the grass crop.”

For six months of the year the Derbyshire-based Hollyhurst Holstein herd tucks into fodder beet as part of their ration. It’s a firm favourite among his 200 cows, and it’s a feed that producer John Chamberlain rates highly.

Fodder beet has been part of the ration for the past six years on this dairy unit near Ashbourne. “We tried it out to supplement the forages in the diet – to add some energy to the ration,” says John. “It was so successful on all counts that we just kept using it. And the cows love it,” he adds, defying anyone to find any fodder beet along the feed face 30 minutes after feeding out at 8am.

The 200 milkers are fed 7kg of fodder beet daily as part of a TMR with grass silage, soya hulls, caustic wheat and a specially formulated blend. This supports average yields in this all year round calving herd of 10,000kg of milk at 4.5% fat and 3.45% protein on twice a day milking. Milk is sold to Arla on a 360 contract.

“We add it to the ration from the start of November until April – as long as it remains fresh,” says John. “It drives intakes and as soon as it goes into the ration butterfats improve. “My only regret is that it’s not available all year round.

“The good thing is that cows eat it as an extra, rather than instead of other forages. It’s very palatable and it certainly adds energy, cost-effectively, to the ration.”

John feeds 250 tonnes of fodder beet through winter, taking 10 tonne loads from Gary Pattison who grows 10 hectares of the crop every year for local’ish dairy and sheep producers.

“I usually grow four varieties,” says Gary, who points out that pretty good soils are needed to grow the crop. “The land can’t be too wet and heavy, otherwise the soil sticks to the beet.

“And the land must be worked to a fine seedbed before sowing from late March to mid April – after the frosts but in time to get it germinating early.

With the help of his merchant Rob Simister based in Ellastone, Derbyshire, Gary selects varieties that grow only partially in the ground as opposed to totally in the ground. “These are easier to lift – we harvest the beet early, before the frosts, and aim to get it all in the clamps by the end of November.

“We also look for a fairly clean beet that doesn’t need washing. We remove stones and loose soil before delivery.”

This year the varieties Brick and Robbos are among his selections. Some of the seed will be primed – Limagrain has a limited amount of Robbos primed seed available – to encourage faster germination thereby reducing the opportunity for pest and disease damage in the early establishment stages when the seedlings are at their most vulnerable.

“Growing a few varieties spreads the risk,” adds Gary. “Different varieties grow well on some fields and not others, so if we have a mix we can compensate for a shortfall if necessary.”

Having said that, Gary and his family are tried and tested fodder beet growers – they know the tricks of the trade and how to grow a good crop; one tip is adding salt to the seedbed before sowing which they nearly always do. “Fodder beet was always grown by the sea – it grows well with a bit of added salt,” he adds.

Many silage clamps are still well stocked this spring, after 2019’s bumper grass crop. This presents producers with a rare opportunity when it comes to improving the quality and productivity of their grass leys.

“Producers might be tempted, because they still have plenty of silage in the clamp, to skip reseeding a proportion of their grassland this spring,” says Limagrain’s Ian Misselbrook. “But it’s a great opportunity to do a stocktake and make some real improvements to grassland productivity.

“Having more forage in the clamp offers a safety net. There’s a good buffer, so it’s a rare chance to do more reseeding and grassland renovation than in the past few years.” Mr Misselbrook fears that some producers will be behind with reseeding after a few tricky grass growing years, due to a late spring in 2017 and a dry summer in 2018.

Remedial action

“The recommendation is to reseed 20% a year but, in reality, many are doing far less and skipping some years. Reseeding regimes and plans are out of kilter on many units, which is far from ideal, so for many, now is this time to catch up.” The goal is to maximise the farm’s potential in producing the best-value feed – grass. And that starts with productive leys, packed with good quality grass varieties.

Grass leys are at their most productive in their second year. Fall off is gradual but, by year five, a ley’s productivity will be just 50% of year two. A reseed will pay for itself in a year, depending on the condition of the resulting ley.

As a ley ages, grass weeds could will compete with and replace ryegrass varieties. “That said, don’t simply assume that it’s your oldest leys that will need to be reseeded. It’s important to assess the leys by eye and base decisions on the grass species that you see.

“And don’t assume that a lush green sward is the most productive or efficient,” stresses Mr Misselbrook.

Just such a sward may fill the silage trailer or offer a decent bite of grazing, if the percentage of weed grasses – such as annual meadow grass or Yorkshire fog – are too high then the quality and yield of the resulting forage will be compromised.

Ryegrass plants

He recommends that producers walk their leys and examine what’s there. “Look for gaps and broadleaved weeds, obviously, but also look at the grasses. “Don’t worry about identifying the individual grass weeds. What’s key is being able to spot the ryegrass and to then evaluate the proportion of it in a sward.”

Spotting perennial ryegrasss is quite easy. “Look for grass plants with a purple base and folded leaves, which are shiny on the inside and matt on the outside. And examine a square metre of grassland. You’re looking for more than 70% of the grass plants to be perennial ryegrass – any less then productivity begins to be significantly compromised and reseeding will yield a significant return on investment.”

If the perennial ryegrass content of a sward is between 70% and 80%, then overseeding – rather than a full reseed – can renovate a ley and extend its productive life.

There are also significant gains to be made from using high-quality grass mixtures. “This can make a real difference. I’ve often heard producers say that a reseed hasn’t taken and they often blame the weather or the soil. But it’s typically because they’ve taken a standard ‘off the shelf’ mixture – and little, if any, agronomy advice. The mixture is the problem.

“So always buy from a reputable merchant, and one that sources seed mixtures from a recognised seed house. Look out for LGAN accreditation, to show that a mixture meets both growing and feeding criteria,” says Mr Misselbrook.

“And, when selecting a mixture, remember it’s not just about the species within the mixture, it’s how they’re mixed – the proportions and the formulation. Varieties have a complementary action in a mixture. And there’s more to it than simply putting the best varieties on the recommended list together.”

“A high proportion of tetraploid ryegrasses are important in a grass seed mixture for dairy leys – both for grazing and cutting – because they’re more drought tolerant than diploids. The latter are important in terms of putting a ‘bottom’ into the ley, but tetraploids are key to building resilience and stamina into a ley. And they’re also faster to establish.”

Mixture selection

When choosing a mixture, it’s also important to consider what they ley will be used for – grazing, cutting or a combination.

“Many producers simply opt for a general purpose mixture and, typically, this will do the job. But there are productivity gains to be had if, for example, you know an out-lying field will only ever be cut for silage or zero grazing. Reseeding with a mixture that’s formulated for cutting, rather than grazing, will be beneficial and offer better yields and quality for silage.”

Mr Misselbrook cites Turbo, a ‘leafier’ mixture that’s ideal for grazing early- to mid-season, but great for a cutting later in the summer. Prosper, conversely, is the ideal choice for producers who want to take one or two cuts of silage and then graze a good quality aftermath.

Grass breeding

“It’s well worth having a conversation with your agronomist or seed merchant about exactly what you want from a ley and to take advice to help you select a ‘best fit’ mixture.”

And make sure that the mixture offers quality – not just yield. “Grass breeding has come a long way during the past 10 years. Digestible NDF is key to feeding the rumen bugs and it’s a bigger driver for a high ME, in grazed grass and grass silage, than sugars,” says Mr Misselbrook.

Better quality mixtures offer higher yields and feed quality and make reseeding even more cost effective and producers should look to take advantage of the accredited seed mixtures that are on offer. “Look out for LGAN accreditation when buying seed as a guarantee of testing and quality.”

The return on investment is 10:1 for a five-year ley, with reseeds breaking even in the first year. Productivity will peak in the second growing year, which will be 2021 for 2020 reseeds.

Ensuring that swards are in tip-top condition means that they’ll be better able to weather whatever mother nature has in store – this year and looking further ahead.

“Grass is the core of all home-grown forage production – and the foundation of all dairy businesses,” he adds. “And heading into 2021 with leys that are at their productive peak will offer producers peace of mind that, however 2020 pans out, grassland will be poised to help maximise returns and mitigate any other challenges – environmental or political – that dairy businesses may face.”

Limagrain’s annual fodder beet trial results demonstrate the consistency of the crop in yield and feed value. “Fodder beet is sown any time from March to April, and harvested from October,” says Limagrain’s Martin Titley. “So it was subject to the dry summer of 2018, and the exceptionally wet conditions experienced in many parts of the UK in autumn and early winter 2019.”

Despite these relatively extreme conditions, trial results from the company’s Lincolnshire site where more than 20 varieties of commercially available fodder beet varieties are compared each year, show high fresh yields, with dry matter yields that exceed most other forages. Average results for 16 varieties on trial are shown in Table 1.

“There’s a lot of consistency in performance, despite contrasting and challenging conditions,” adds Mr Titley. “Even the control variety delivered 73.3 tonnes per hectare of fresh weight in 2018 and 112.5 tonnes in 2019. More than 70t/ha of yield is good going in these dry conditions and in 2019 dry matter yields for most varieties on trial were above 18 tonnes/ha.

“In 2019, the top 20% of varieties in our trial produced fresh yields in excess of 110 tonnes per hectare with 37% having dry matters above 20 tonnes per hectare. “This is a phenomenal output.”

Grown in the UK for more than 50 years, fodder beet ‘took off’ due to its monogerm breeding – one plant per seed – making it easier to harvest. Since then the number of varieties has increased and breeders have worked to enhance cleanliness of root and disease tolerance.

“The UK climate is perfect for fodder beet. Wet, moist soils in spring are ideal and grows through to October or November, adding 30% to its dry matter yields in the last few months when there’s likely to be more moisture.”

Table 2 shows the performance of the control and four popular fodder beet varieties used in dairy cow diets.

Contractor Aaron Hughes from Shropshire agrees that this season’s fodder beet yields have been the biggest he’s ever harvested, despite challenging harvesting conditions.

His company, Roger Davies Contractors, specialises in beets and, with a remit to supply stone-free, muck-free beet, they harvest, wash, clean and chop about 100 hectares on behalf of dairy farmers. For many they also contract drill the crop in spring.

“We have the equipment to wash the beet and ensure all the stones are removed if it’s for a feeder wagon. Some farmers are now using mulcher buckets that crush the beet before adding it to the wagon. Either way, the popularity of this crop on dairy units is growing yearly.

He says that there aren’t really any downsides to fodder beet – even though 2019 harvesting conditions were challenging. “We always manage to get the crop; we’ve invested in a 6-wheeler beet harvester with wide, low pressure tyres causing less ground compaction and if it’s wet, we load into trailers over the hedge. It’s the trailers that cause the soil damage and so we keep them off the field.”

This season much of the crop has had to be washed twice. “It’s not too often we get such wet conditions,” adds Aaron, “but it did give us more work.” But this doesn’t deter anyone and every year they get more interest in growing the crop for livestock units. “Cows love it – they sift through the silage to find it.”

Wiltshire-based nutritionist Diana Allen certainly encourages farmers to include fodder beet in dairy rations as a cost-effective homegrown forage.

“Fodder beet is also one of the best ways of boosting milk protein,” she says. “It’s a great source of sugar and fermentable energy which can stimulate the rumen bacteria, but it must be balanced with an equally rumen available source of nitrogen for the bugs from feedstuffs like rapeseed meal, distillery by-products and urea. And the overall sugar and starch must be balanced to prevent any risk of the rumen becoming too acidic.”

The crop offers flexibility when it comes t harvesting, and it can be left in the ground, with little feed value deterioration, until January or February.

“If it’s harvested early it can be clamped in layers with maize silage as long as it’s pre-chopped and well consolidated,” adds Ms Allen. “Or it can be clamped in the spring, before going too soft, and in layers with 25% soya hulls to absorb effluent. This can provide a valuable feed through summer.”

For the latest UK fodder beet trials results, click here

KEY FACTS ON FODDER BEET

Sown in March – April
Can be part of grass rotation or alternative to spring cereal crop to provide livestock feed and break the pest and disease cycle

Harvest from late October until March
Can be left in the ground without a loss in feed value

High energy feed provides high feed value
Average ME 12.5-13MJ/kg DM, 162,500 – 202,500MJ/ha with more recent varieties producing well above this level. In 2019 trials, high dry matter, deep rooted variety Brick produced 256,000MJ/ha in 2019 trials. The energy requirement for producing 25 litres milk is 197 MJ per day.

Choice of variety to suit the system
Rhizomania resistant varieties are available, such as the more recently introduced Brick and Tarine

Deep rooted (more than 70% in ground) for those with access to specialised harvesting equipment and who want to maximise feed value.

Less deep rooted (about 50%-60% in ground) with medium dry matter for easy lifting, even for grazed in situ