Don’t forget about Fodder Beet!

With feed costs continuing to rise, why not consider growing a crop of Fodder beet?

Yielding between 80-100 tonnes of fresh feed per hectare, growing a crop can help reduce your winter feed purchases. It’s not too late to drill, early crops are usually drilled early April but this year’s weather means many crops won’t be drilled until end of the month or even into the first week of May.

Later drilling may also help reduce bolter numbers. You should try to drill 100 – 110,000 seeds per hectare, with a view to establish 80 – 100,000 plants per hectare at harvest. Drill widths range from 45-50 cm with seed spacings of 15-20cm. Seedbed conditions are vitally important, with a requirement for a fine, firm seedbed with a soil temperature above 5˚ C.

With rotational options limited in some regions, Fodder beet will allow you to drill barley, or a grass reseed in the spring and also help fill any feed gaps that may have appeared this spring.