Ulster Grassland Society recently hosted a successful visit to the Kilkeel farm of James, and Brenda Henderson.

The business is managed by the couple and a number of family members.

Their farm extends to 150ac; 135ac are in grass, the remainder is sown out in cereals.

Given the sandy soil and seaside location, the farm is prone to drought. Over the years, soil nutrition and fertility has been improved with the benefit of soil sampling and today boasts pH of 6.2 across the farm with a phosphorous (P) Index of 2 and potassium (K) Index of 3.

The main enterprises on the farm comprise a dairy-bred calf-to-beef operation and a flock of 250 breeding ewes.

The Hendersons’ overall objective is to operate the farm business as efficiently as possible with consideration for the environment.

The overriding priority is to optimise the production and utilisation of grass, while reducing concentrate feeding levels, in order to produce high quality beef and lamb.

The dairy-bred beef operation centres on the purchase of Aberdeen-Angus / British Blue heifers in October / November, mainly from the marts.

These animals are then reared on the farm and finished at around two-years-of-age with a carcass weight of 320-340kg. A mix of O+/R carcass grades is normally achieved.

Calves receive up to 300kg meal during their first winter and rely on quality silage during their second winter with no concentrates fed at grass.

Heifers rotationally graze two-day paddocks (1.5ac) and receive minerals through the drinking water, with calves wormed twice during their first summer.

Sheep are also rotationally grazed with part of the flock now grazing a multi-species sward. Adult ewes lamb indoors during March with the year-olds lambing a month later.

Primera composite rams are used on the flock. Last year 1.71 lambs were weaned per ewe with 56kg concentrates fed per ewe.

The average days to slaughter for lambs is 140 days and considerable improvements in this figure have been achieved in recent years.

Reseeding takes place every 10 years with mainly diploid perennial rye grasses and some tetraploids and white clover used in both grazing and silage swards.

Silage is now based on a three-cut system – early May, late June and late August with big bales used to better utilise surplus grass and provide buffer feeding during periods of drought.

The Hendersons’ silage ground receives 2,500 gallons per acre for every cut along with 80units of N/ac for first cut and 60 units of N for subsequent cuts.

The Hendersons have also committed to carbon benchmarking. To date, this work has confirmed 21.9kg carbon output per kg of beef produce.

The equivalent deadweight carbon figure for lambs is and 26.4kg. No account taken of carbon sequestration levels within the farm business is taken account of in these calculations.

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The project is part of a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) research challenge fund initiative that has been developed, in partnership with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

Accurately estimating grass covers is crucial for maximising grassland utilisation, grazing efficiency, and meeting livestock demand in rotational grazing systems.

However, the additional labour required to conduct regular paddock walks to measure grassland (either by using a rising plate meter or by cutting and weighing), and accurately recording data can put many farmers off, despite the clear benefits.

In response, AgriSearch and AFBI have completed a research project evaluating new precision technologies, which have recently come available, to measure grass covers, which reduce labour requirements in comparison to traditional grass measurement methods.

It is hoped such innovations will encourage farmers to adopt technology to improve grazing efficiency and grass utilisation.

Grass cover estimation

The precision technologies evaluated within the project included a range of remote and ground-based technology, such as a ‘Smart Platemeter’ that connects to the user’s phone via bluetooth to speed up data entry, and a C-Dax trailed Pasture Meter that can be towed by an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

The remote precision technologies reviewed courtesy of the project, comprised a range of drone and satellite technology which were able to measure the reflectance of near infrared light by chlorophyll in vegetation to estimate grass cover.

As part of the project, two plot experiments commenced in 2018 and 2021 at AFBI Hillsborough, where both remote (satellite and drone) and ground-based technologies were tested to compare cover estimation accuracy against cut and weigh protocol.

This involved the establishment of a large number of perennial ryegrass trial plots to evaluate the accuracy of technology at a range of different grass covers that would be representative of conditions experienced on Northern Ireland farms.

Findings from the plot experiments indicated there is opportunity for advanced ground and remote technologies to be used within precision grazing systems in Northern Ireland, with grass cover estimation accuracy similar to that of existing grass measurement technology currently used on farm.

However, further development of these technologies is required, in order to be able to integrate them on farm.

Booklet

The new booklet draws a number of specific conclusions.

Different vegetation indices obtained with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and multispectral cameras have shown strong correlations with pasture biomass in some studies.

However, complex photogrammetry processing and the saturation of reflectance from the dense grazing swards generated through good grassland management remain a barrier to the utilisation of this technology on-farm.

In practical terms, while these approaches show some promise, further development is required before they will be available as commercial packages.

While the process of image collection with a UAV may be speedier than plate-metering a paddock, associated issues such as licensing and training requirements, planning and subsequent image processing do not currently seem to offer the significant time savings, which are desired.

The GrassHopper smart plate meter trialled did the job of recording grass covers equally well to the older style traditional plate meter, while making data recording and interpretation much simpler and faster through the automated upload and processing.

Interpreting automatically processed data from the trailed pasture meter was equally straightforward, and the operation via ATV offers an attractive alternative to using a plate meter, although accuracy remains a concern and the equipment requires a greater cost outlay, the project determined.

Satellite-derived estimations of grass cover were rapid and easy to obtain, although cloud cover and the irregularity of satellite passes was limiting for data collection.

The overall accuracy of the satellite platform tested was low in this trial, but this was highly variable within the study.

With coming improvements to allow data collection regardless of cloud cover, and combined with ground-truth measurements on a proportion of the grazing platform, these remote sensing estimates may well offer more rapid access to grass cover estimate for farmers.

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Launching in Ireland later this year as part of Origin Digital’s ‘GrassMax’ service, the new technology accurately measures the height of grass from space.

The companies claim it offers groundbreaking insight for increasing farm productivity and profitability, while also enabling organisations and businesses to verify sustainability practices in the livestock supply chain.

Duncan Robertson, head of research and development (R&D) at Origin Digital, said: “This is a game-changing moment for grassland farmers and the businesses that partner with them.

“For the first time, they can remotely and automatically calculate the quantity of grass in their fields and paddocks, on a regular basis and at scale.

“This enables farmers to make better-informed decisions regarding grazing schedules, animal nutrition, and silage cuts for example, resulting in less waste and a more stable, sustainable food supply.”

Kieran Holden, grassland digital specialist at Origin Enterprises, added: “As a farmer myself, I’m really excited about the ability to measure grass height remotely, because it brings huge benefits to grass management while eliminating what is currently a laborious manual measurement process.

“This will save Irish farmers around two hours per week, or €1,600 per year, in measurement costs alone.

“But the main benefit is in how farmers like me can use this data through the GrassMax app to increase grass utilisation on their farms.”

Grass utilisation

Holden explained that grass utilisation alone accounts for 44% of the variation in net profit per hectare on dairy farms.

In Ireland, each additional tonne of grass utilised per hectare translates to a €256 increase in profit.

The companies claim that integrating this automated grass measurement data into GrassMax will give it even more power to help farmers optimise their grass use, with even a half tonne per hectare increase in utilisation equating to a €10,000 increase in profitability on an 80ha farm.

Devlyn Hardwick, GrassMax product manager at Origin Digital, said: “The businesses that partner with grassland farmers can also benefit through our GrassMax service, which uses this game-changing new technology alongside the on-farm decision-support app to build a real-time picture of aggregated farm insight.

“This insight has many applications, from helping businesses and farmers achieve sustainable growth to verifying sustainability practices and scope 3 emissions on farm, and enhancing supply chain security and sustainability.” 

Through Irish parent company Origin Enterprises, Origin Digital said it has unique access to a vast pool of ground-truth and field-trial data alongside a strong network of farmers and agronomic experts, which has helped it build this breakthrough measurement technology in partnership with earth observation and artificial intelligence (AI) experts Aspia Space.  

Aspia Space co-founder and director of AI Dr. Mike Smith said: “Earth observation satellites literally provide an eye in the sky that offers the potential to monitor every single field on a regular basis.

“Aspia Space’s patented ClearSky technology uses a generative AI algorithm to deliver cloud-free imagery of the ground, making satellite data more reliable, especially for agricultural applications.

“Through our partnership with Origin Digital, we have developed a new AI solution that uses ClearSky imagery to estimate grass height to within an accuracy of just 1.5cm from a vantage point of nearly 700km up in space.

“To put it in context, imagine standing in a field in Amsterdam and being able to accurately measure the height of the grass in a field in Dublin,” he added

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The benefits of the nutrient in improving palatability and mineral balances are relevant at all times of the season.

According to Origin Fertilisers, the inclusion of sodium is particularly relevant during periods of hot, dry weather.

It should be included as part of a tailored nutrient management plan to alleviate heat stress on grass and livestock.

Driving this approach is the fact that grass with access to good levels of sodium can withstand extended periods without rainfall.

Use of sodium

Grass uses salts such as potassium and sodium to regulate the movement of water and sugars.

The availability and balance of these salts is particularly important in dry conditions. If the ratio of potassium to sodium is high, there is an increased risk of hypomagnesaemia (grass staggers).

However, applying sodium in grassland fertiliser helps optimise the key potassium to sodium ratio.

In turn, this reduces the risk of staggers. Peter Scott, technical director at Origin Fertilisers, says sodium is a vital nutrient to prevent crops becoming stressed.

“A greater percentage of sodium taken up by the crop will increase digestibility and improve sugar content, making grass more palatable to livestock, even as it starts to become fibrous,” he said.

“Sodium encourages a greater percentage of live herbage, which will help livestock increase dry matter intake and get more from grass.”

In addition, where grass is being supplemented with concentrated feed, sodium can
help reduce the risk of acidosis by helping to buffer the pH in the rumen.

It also reduces the risk of pica which has been highlighted as a common sign of sodium deficiency.

Application

Fertiliser applications of sodium can continue even in drought conditions. Peter Scott recommends farmers should get the advice they need when using sodium.

This will ensure that nutrient performance is maximised from the application rates that farmers are using.

“Even in soils with a moisture deficit, a heavy overnight dew can deposit up to 0.5mm moisture,” he explained.

“This has been proven to be sufficient to start dissolving fertiliser. Where grass is visibly green, and there have been signs of growth, it is also possible to apply small amounts of fertiliser and see a response.”

As a guide, sodium should be applied at 5-6kg/ha to help alleviate stress in both grass and livestock.

So could sodium become the new sulphur? 20 years ago, sulphur was deemed not to be required as a component – at all – within grassland fertiliser programmes.

Now the nutrient is widely regarded as a key contributor of growth and forage quality, particularly within silage scenarios.

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The latest quarterly report shows steep market price declines impacting both sales volumes and margins.

First-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortiSation (EBITDA) excluding special items was $487 million, compared with $1.35 billion a year earlier, mainly reflecting reduced margins and lower deliveries.

Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent was $104 million (0.41c/share) compared with $944 million ($3.71 per share) in the first quarter 2022.

Yara Q1 2023 results

The main elements of the first-quarter results are:

• Weaker results compared with strong Q1 2022, with steep market price declines impacting both sales volumes and margins;
• Production curtailments of around 0.6Mt ammonia and 1.3Mt finished fertilisers for the quarter;
• Improved operating cash flow including operating capital release;
• Tighter nitrogen market into second quarter, with strong European demand at new season nitrate prices.

President and chief executive officer of Yara, Svein Tore Holsether said: “Declining market prices led to lower deliveries and margins in the first quarter, impacting results compared to a strong first quarter last year.

“However, we see a tighter nitrogen market into the second quarter, with strong European demand at new season nitrate prices and strong farmer affordability metrics indicating higher nitrogen application rates.

“I am also pleased with our strategic progress to decarbonise agriculture and serve new clean ammonia segments, announcing our cooperation with Enbridge to construct a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility near Corpus Christi, Texas,” he added.

Outlook

According to Yara, the energy transition, climate crisis and food security have become top priorities globally and with its leading food solutions and ammonia positions, Yara claimed that it is uniquely positioned to drive these transformations.

While consumption patterns for nitrogen are typically more stable than those of other crop nutrients, the current operating environment has increased short-term demand fluctuations, Yara added.

Yara responded to these fluctuations with partial curtailments of European production capacity when needed, and said it will continue to use its global sourcing and production system to import ammonia to Europe and supply global customers where possible.

Based on current forward markets for natural gas and assuming stable gas purchase volumes, Yara expects its gas cost for the second quarter 2023 to be $650 million lower than a year earlier.

The quarterly report explained that a declining price environment towards the end of 2022 and through the first quarter made farmers and distributors delay purchases, leaving season-to-date European nitrogen industry deliveries an estimated 7% behind a year earlier.

However, Yara stated that the start of the second quarter has seen a tighter nitrogen market, with strong European demand at new season prices and improved farmer affordability metrics indicating higher nitrogen application rates.

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In its first bulletin of 2023, GrassCheck warned that the weather in March so far, and the forecast for the rest of the month, will prove less favourable for grazing.

The grass growth forecaster, which aims to help livestock farmers maximise their returns from grazed grass, said that on-off grazing should be used when conditions allow.

This, it said, would ideally mean turning stock out which have an appetite to graze for two to three hours to low grass covers into square-shaped areas.

It also advised farmers to have a nutrient management plan in place for the coming season.

GrassCheck

The GrassCheck initiative is led by AgriSearch, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), and is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).

GrassCheck sponsors said the programme enables improved network coverage which will allow conditions across Northern Ireland to be monitored.

AgriSearch will invest £400,000 in GrassCheck over the next few years, it said, adding 15 new farmers to the existing 38 participants.

These new additions were to improve GrassCheck’s coverage across the province but to also allow the programme to incorporate a number of farms with high clover/low-nitrogen swards.

With weather extremes observed in recent years the importance of understanding the variations in growing conditions has never been more important for optimal grassland management, AgriSearch said.

Recent increases in fertiliser and concentrate costs mean that maximising grassland utilisation is a top priority for farmers, as well as the use of high-clover grass swards to mitigate the rising costs.

GrassCheck organisers said the trends in weather and the impact on grassland production and quality was the main topic of conversation at the recent meeting of GrassCheck farmers, which was hosted at AFBI Hillsborough.

Carbon sequestration and growth

GrassCheck also aims to highlight the importance of grassland’s role in the sequestering of carbon.

Work conducted over the past 50 years at AFBI Hillsborough has shown that well-managed grassland can sequester over 800kg of carbon/ha/yr.

Growth in Co. Down has been affected most by the dry weather, according to GrassCheck, and has grown the least grass.

Co. Down has grown 11% less grass than Co. Derry in 2022.

The 2022 season summary shows that GrassCheck plots at Hillsborough and Greenmount produced their joint-lowest crop yield (9.2t DM/ha) since GrassCheck was established in 1999.

The long-term average shown in the data is 11.5t DM/ha.

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The technology has been widely used within the tillage sector over a number of years. However, the potential to use foliar feeding as a crop nutrition option for grass swards is only now being explored.

Trials carried out at locations in Wales over a three-year period have confirmed that the efficiency of foliar nitrogen (N) application to both grazing and silage swards can be improved by a factor of 300% and 200% respectively.

So, where an application of 250kg of N/ha was previously used with conventional fertiliser, similar yields could be achieved with 100kg of N/ha.

Foliar feeding

The work was carried out by Aberystwyth-based grassland consultant, Nigel Howells.

Not only did his trial confirm the improved N use efficiency of a foliar applied option, it also pointed to an improvement in quality, such as the significantly enhanced forage sugar levels that can be achieved by taking this approach.

The trial also indicated that using a foliar N, as opposed to a granular source, helps to maintain soil pH levels. Urea was the N source used in the Welsh trial.

The development of a foliar feed that will work under Irish conditions has been taken on by Co. Fermanagh-based Farmcare products.

The company’s Mark Crawford  explained: “An aqueous solution of ammonia is a very unstable product.

“The key to making the technology work effectively is centred on the addition of a carbon source, one that will complex with the urea, thereby making its translocation into the grass plant almost immediate.

“The work carried out in Wales, identified humic acid as the option to run with in this regard, so it made sense to follow this lead,” he said.

The new product was brought to market for their first time last year, with a significant number of farmers opting to trial it.

A follow-up survey undertaken, confirmed the following results: 60% of those farmers using the product identified a clear and obvious benefit, 30% were unsure and 10% of users had some questions about the new product.

“It is extremely encouraging that 60% of the farmers using the product last year were able to replicate the results of the Welsh trial,” Crawford added.

“This is a new technology; we knew from the outset that there would be a need to hone the application protocol. And that’s what we are doing right now.”

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The Wales-based consultant specifically highlighted the factors that impact silage crude protein and metabolisable energy (ME) values.

The maturity of grass at harvest is a critical issue in this regard.

He explained: “The starting point is the period between initial field closure and the date of first cut.

“The target should be cut before the start of the sixth week. The bulk of the ME value is determined by the digestibility of the NDF [neutral detergent fiber] fraction within the grass.

“As lignin content within the grass increases, so do NDF digestibility and ME values.”

Grass silage protein values

Davies also confirmed the link between ME and silage protein values.

“There is a clear linkage between ME and crude protein values as grass goes through its various growth stages,” he continued. But in the real world, other factors come into play. This is apparent in the 420 silages analysed by Alltech this year.

“Basically, we can see that there are a significant number of factors impacting on crude protein levels, apart from the digestibility of the grass and the maturity of the crop.

“It is clearly evident that numerous forages with the same ME values have different protein values.”

In explaining these differences, Davies pointed to the fact that nutrient management programmes implemented while growing grass crops will have a fundamental influence on subsequent silage quality.

“This has been a challenging year in terms of fertiliser prices. This challenge is going to increase as the season progresses. So it is an issue that we will have to keep a key focus on.

“Research work has consistently confirmed the linkage between added fertiliser nitrogen (N) and silage protein values.

“This is a factor that farmers must take full account of as they look forward to 2023. Another key grass nutrient is sulphur. It is critically important in allowing grass to synthesise specific amino acids and proteins,” he added.

The specialist explained that if sulphur is not available in sufficient quantities, growth rates will be reduced. This is another important issue that farmers will have to take account of as they consider their fertiliser options for the year ahead.

Other factors for forage

The consultant explained that other factors that impact on silage energy values and protein contents are the harvesting-related dry matter and organic matter losses.

“These values are impacted by wilting times and the management of the forage from ensiling through to feed out,” he said.

Davies went on to question the long-accepted wisdom of cutting in the afternoon, when grass sugar levels are at their highest values. A 24-hour wilt would then follow.

“Yes, sugar levels are at their highest in the afternoon period,” he added. “But this is not really the issue. Making good silage is all about conserving the nutrients in the grass.

“Research has shown that grass left to wilt overnight will lose a high proportion of its nutrient value. Wilting to get grass down to a 30% dry matter value as quickly as possible is important.

“While leaf stomata are open, grass can lose up to 100L of water/t of grass per hour. However, when the stomata close, this figure drops to 20L.

“Stomata only stay open for a couple of hours after mowing. So we need to spread the crop immediately after cutting, irrespective of the weather conditions,” he continued.

This means that the bulk of wilting takes place in the period directly after mowing.

A study carried out in Wales has confirmed that rapid wilting will minimise ME losses, while a further study in Devon confirms that rapid wilting will act to reduce protein losses.

Nutrient losses in forage

According to the silage specialist, farmers must control the nutrient losses from grass. Crucial to this is the need to wilt as rapidly as possible.

“So cutting at 10:00a.m., and then pushing for as rapid a wilt thereafter, will help to maintain the protein values and other key nutrient parameters in grass that is made into silage,” Davies explained.

Clamp management is also key in maximising the nutritive value of grass silage. Here Davies recommends the use of homo-fermentative-only additives in order to control the breakdown of nutrients.

“Hetero-fermentative bacteria will deliver a more inefficient fermentation, taking longer to get the pH of the silage down to the required value,” he continued.

“When we think about silage, it is the acid in the liquid phase that controls the fermentation. Lower dry matter silages contains more water. So, greater quantities of acid will be required to drop the pH.

“Lactic is almost eight times stronger acid than is the case with acetic acid, which is produced during a hetero-fermentative ensiling process.

“The quicker a pH value of 4.0 is reached within a clamp, the greater the level of true protein and sugars that are maintained within the forage.”

Clamp management

The specialist highlighted the importance of the forage clamp becoming anaerobic as quickly as possible.

“This entails good clamp management, the use of sheeting, the use of cling film, an oxygen barrier, top sheet and sufficient top weight,” he stated.

“If we do all that, we allow a good fermentation to take place. We will maximise the retention of protein and sugars, which will optimise the nutritive value of the silage at feed out.

“The sealing of the clamp is very important. It keeps oxygen out. But, more important than this, it also keeps carbon dioxide [CO2] in.

“Carbon dioxide is the additive that is available for free as it acts to reduce degradative processes within the clamp,” he concluded.

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The team of a hands free farm are celebrating six years of looking to the future of farming through the use of autonomous vehicles.

On the 35ha robotic farm at Harper Adams University, researchers, sponsors and VIP guests celebrated the research, learning and teaching opportunities offered by the world’s first autonomous agriculture project.

The event which took place on Tuesday, September 20, came shortly after the Hands Free Far, completed its 2022 harvest earlier this month.

The celebrations

A group of around 50 industry representatives and VIP guests were invited to mark six years since the launch of the Hands Free Hectare.

The Hands Free Farm is the first project of its kind in the world to grow, tend and harvest a crop without operators in the driving seats or agronomists on the ground.

A special presentation at the Agri-EPI Centre on the Harper Adams campus was held before the party moved out to the 35ha farm itself to see its autonomous tractors and combine harvester in operation while networking over a barbecue lunch.

The presentation was opened by Harper Adams vice-chancellor, Professor Ken Sloan, who told attendees that the global reach of the project had helped capture his interest in Harper Adams and its work.

Sloan said: “We are really keen to talk about the project – and not just what is happening now, but some of the next steps as well.”

“As Kit (Franklin) has reminded me, this is not something the University could have done in isolation – and I look forward to collaborating in the future.”

The project has been run in partnership between Harper Adams and Precision Decisions along with the UK division of Australian precision agriculture specialist, Farmscan AG.

Hands Free Farm principal investigator, Kit Franklin; Farmscan AG director, Callum Chalmers; Precision Decisions operations director, Martin Abell and Professor James Lowenburg-DeBoer went on to set out how the farm had developed practically, technologically and in research terms over the past six years.

Among the organisations who have visited or worked with the farm are British Standards Institute, NFU Mutual, OFCOM and the Health and Safety Executive.

The project has drawn a wide range of guests, including Harper Adams University chancellor, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, and the then environment secretaries Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.

New project

The Hands Free Farm has won numerous awards and received significant media interest from across the globe.

Despite this, Franklin told attendees that its true value had been in helping to drive forward commercial research, policy development and learning for Harper Adams students across a variety of courses.

“Going forward, the project as is comes to an end in six weeks – but we have a unique opportunity to keep learning, and to learn more,” he said.

“When we look at the range of equipment we have here at the Hands Free Farm, we have some fairly unconventional equipment, but with this sort of equipment and this sort of land, it opens the farm – right here, right now – to starting an autonomous strip crop field here on the Harper Adams site.”

As the new project develops, academics from across Harper Adams and beyond will work with the Hands Free team to examine everything from soil quality to insect life and biodiversity on the site, which will be prepared for spring crops to be harvested in early 2023.

Following the presentation, attendees got the chance to see some of the Hands Free Farm machines and discuss them with team members – before making their way out to the Hands Free Farm site to watch its autonomous vehicles in operation.

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Last year saw him establish a red clover mixed sward on the farm. And he has been very pleased with the results achieved to date.

“The swards are generating an average output of 13t of DM/ha,” Alastair explained.

 “Last year, the clover area was cut four times and then grazed thereafter. We did not go in with a tedder after mowing.

“The cut forage was allowed to wilt for 24 hours and then baled. I have tried to ensure that the clover has been allowed to flower at least once, both in 2021 and again this year.

“No doubt, the clover will start to die back over the next year or so. But the scope to use more of it on this farm is obvious. I have also found that a mixed clover/ryegrass sward is very responsive to added slurry,” he added.

Red clover success

But the proof of the pudding is always in the eating.

“During the middle of last year’s drought, I had no option but to feed the clover bales to the bullocks that had been housed due to a shortage of grazed grass across the farm at that time,” Alastair continued.

“It was rocket fuel. The cattle were fed the mixed clover grass silage plus 2kg of meal per head per day. They managed to achieve 1.2kg of liveweight gain on a daily basis.”

The McNeilly family recently hosted members of the British Grassland Society (BGS). The event included an overview of the business plus an extensive farm walk.

Alastair manages a spring-calving suckler herd of 85 cows over 145ac with all male progeny finished as steers. He keeps his own replacements and aims for them to calve down at 24-months of age.

Any females unsuitable for breeding are also finished. His cattle are a mixture of Limousin, Angus, Shorthorn and Simmental genetics.

Alastair operates a rotational paddock grazing system with weekly grass measurements taken using a plate metre.

The addition of more grazing paddocks has allowed him to increase his stocking rate significantly over recent years.

Males are sold, for the most part, on a deadweight basis. Heifers not used for breeding are also sold finished.

Two broiler units, housing 60,000 chickens, also feature within the business. All of the chicken litter is exported off the farm.

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Both ryegrass varieties were bred by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) at Loughgall in Co. Armagh.

Tollymore is a tetraploid variety, which heads on May 22; crossgar is a later-heading diploid variety, heading on June 4. 

Both will also be included on the Recommended Grass and Clover List for Scotland in 2022.

Trials for new grass varieties

Trials have confirmed that both tollymore and crossgar are excellent all-round performers across the season, producing high annual yields of good quality grass under both grazing and silage management.

Tollymore is excellent for use in early grazing situations, yielding more than any other intermediate tetraploid variety throughout the spring.

But the variety also performed extremely well across the grazing season, producing a metabolisable energy (ME) yield well above it competitors.

It achieved 105% of the mean of the intermediate tetraploid control varieties.

ME is the amount of energy in the sample that is available for the animal, and is calculated from the digestibility of the grass (D value). Extensive research has shown that ruminant performance increases when forage contains higher amounts of ME and with increasing D value.

It has been shown that a single point increase in D value equates to 40g/day extra beef liveweight gain, 0.26L of milk/cow/day, and 20g/day of extra lamb liveweight gain.

Research also shows that more digestible forage can have a higher rate of feed passage, reducing the duration of exposure of the feed to ruminal digestion, and potentially reducing methane emissions.

AFBI

AFBI has a very strong record of developing extremely competitive grass varieties – galgorm is a case in point.

It is now one of the best intermediate-heading diploid varieties currently available in the UK. The variety first entered recommended lists in 2018.

Since then, it has maintained its position at the top of the intermediate diploid category for total yield under both grazing and silage management.

No other intermediate diploid variety on the RGCL is producing more ME yield/ha under grazing management.

Galgorm is a truly special variety that is fast turning into a ‘once in a generation’ production.

Another outstanding variety on the recommended lists across the UK and Ireland is gracehill.

This is a late-heading, tetraploid variety, which attained the coveted spot of the best-performing late-heading perennial ryegrass variety in Irish trials last year.

Across the board, new AFBI varieties have shown consistent and significant improvements in traits such as yield, digestibility and disease resistance.

Annual yield improvements of 0.52% under silage management and 0.35% under grazing have been confirmed.

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Showers of rain over the weekend brought an end to the hay weather but more dry weather is expected this week and further ahead.

While hay is a useful winter feed to have, farmers should be careful when storing it as the dry texture of the feed causes it to be a potential fire hazard.

As well as the risk from sparks causing hay to ignite, stored hay bales with a high moisture content have been known to self-ignite as the stack can become extremely hot.

Warning about hay bales

Last year, Northern Ireland’s Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) took to Twitter to remind farmers of the potential hazards when making hay and offered farmers simple tips to prevent fires when making and storing hay.

The post outlined that fires are most likely within six weeks of baling hay. All hay with a moisture content above 15% will heat up within three to seven days of baling but generally not to dangerous levels.

If the moisture content is 22% or above, it can cause problems, both to the the quality of the hay and the risk of spontaneous combustion and fire.

The fire and rescue service advised farmers to check stored hay regularly and noted if there is a smell of caramel or a distinct musty smell, it is likely that the hay is heating.

If the temperature within the stack rises to above 55°C, hay can spontaneously combust. If farmers have hay stacked in a shed and they believe it is becoming extremely hot, the advice is to dismantle the haystack.

Finally, the fire and rescue service advised farmers to avoid storing hay in sheds containing fuels or chemicals ensuring it is also kept in a separate shed from livestock. Farmers should ensure there is adequate space between the top of the stack and any electrical lighting.

The post Hay bales: Storage advice to avoid risk of fire appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

With the weather being so catchy, it is important to make the most of what spells of sunshine do appear, and so it is worth giving some thought to the management of the sward as it dries.

An academic approach to tedding

Massey Ferguson has been doing just this in conjunction with Cornell University of New York State.

In a study which set out to look at the effects of tedder setting on swath spread and ground cover, it was found that both the rotor speed of a tedder and forward speed of the tractor, can have a significant effect on the way the crop is prepared for drying.

It is generally taken that exposing as much of the crop to the effects of solar radiation and wind will hasten moisture loss.

Swath characteristics

Therefore, it is important to obtain the ideal combination of spreading and stacking so as to gain the most from the heat of the sun and movement of air within the sward.

To this end, three characteristics of the tedded sward were measured, these were the swath width, the degree of ground cover and the height of the tedded swath.

These were examined in conjunction with two operating parameters, rotor (PTO) speed – 540rpm or 440rpm, and forward ground speed – 6.5km/h or 16km/h.

Width of spread

To obtain the greatest width of spread the optimum combination of rotor speed and ground speed was, surprisingly perhaps, found to be the slower rotor (440rpm) and faster ground speed (16.5km/h).

So is it better just to go fast when tedding? Not at all, for setting the PTO at 540rpm and heading off at 16km/h actually gave the the poorest result.

The rotor speed, when travelling at 6.5km/h, was nowhere near as critical to the spread width, but the final width at either rotor setting was still significantly less than the optimum settings.

Ground cover

Making the most of the field surface is obviously an important consideration, and the degree to which the amount of available area is covered should be closely allied to the spreading width, but this is not the case.

The best way to obtain optimum surface cover was found by going slowly with the PTO set at 440rpm.

The effect declined with the increasing speed of both parameters, the worst result being obtained at fast forward and rotor speeds.

The variation between the two approaches ranged from 85% at best, to 65% ground coverage at worst.

Tedded swath average height

Here the clear winner was a slow forward speed, the actual PTO speed made very little difference.

At 6.5km/h the average height of the swath was just over 15cm; at 16km/h it was just under 13cm, a clear difference of 2.5cm between the two.

An average figure, of course, hides any variation and when looking at the consistency of the swath, the real effect of the different operating parameters comes to the fore.

Once again the slower ground speed showed the least variation between PTO speeds, whereas at 16km/h, the slow rotor speed gave a far ‘lumpier’ swath than when the PTO was set at 540rpm.

It was not a minor matter either, the difference was over 5cm between the two PTO speeds at 16km/h, while at 6.5km/h, the difference was hardly noticeable.

A mixed bag from Massey Ferguson

There is little that is clear cut from these results. While they indicate the effect on the swath of altering two of the operating parameters, they do not give a clear picture of best tedding practice.

To give a more precise indication of the better overall strategy, we need to know what the effect was on the nutritive value of the preserved grass. Unfortunately, rain interfered with the trials and this decisive data was not recorded.

Despite this lack of conclusive evidence, the current advice of going fast on the first pass and then slowing down on subsequent treatments, would appear to be sound.

Possible tedding strategies

By tedding at the higher speed, the full width of the stubble left by the previous pass is likely to be covered, assuming that the mower was set to leave a guide line to be followed by the front wheel.

Having distributed the grass across the full width of cut, further tedding can concentrate on arranging the crop to meet three further criteria:

1. Equal distribution across the field, best achieved by a slow rotor speed and reduced forward speed;
2. A deep swath of uniform density, that density being as low as possible to allow the passage of air. A low ground speed is critical, PTO speed is more or less immaterial;
3. Teasing out of the individual stems/leaves to avoid lumps and so discourage damp spots. Although not specifically assessed, this characteristic is closely associated with a low ground and PTO speed, ensuring the material is pulled at, rather than snatched.

Conditioning

Unfortunately, details of the methodology are not given, but it is probably fair to assume that the ryegrass sward was conditioned in this trial.

Conditioning is usually associated with breaking the stems and degrading the leaf cuticle, thus allowing the easier escape of moisture.

What is not so commonly considered is that conditioned grass does not pack as tightly in the swath, thus reducing the overall swath density throughout the drying period.

Tedding the cut crop should aim to build upon this characteristic of a conditioned swath; travelling fast in the second and subsequent passes is less likely to do so.

Further questions

This trial is a welcome reminder that there is a science as well as an art to making hay, yet there are many more questions to be answered.

The relationship between ground speed and rotor speed is shown to be a complex one, with some of the results being contraintuitive.

This suggests that a better understanding might lead to more efficient drying and nutrient preservation and poses the question as to whether tedder design can be improved upon.

Another major unknown is whether working the crop at different angles will have any effect on drying time.

By cutting across the lines in a swath, the crop is mixed, and it tends to fill in the gaps which are still present, or at least get the grass to lie on ground which may not have been previously covered.

Stubble length will also affect drying time as a longer stubble may aid ventilation while reducing the inclusion of the wet, and less nutritious, lower stem and leaf in the swath.

Machine development

This is the sort of research that is not quite as plentiful, or the results as freely available, as is desirable and Massey Ferguson is to be congratulated on taking this initiative.

It might well be asked as to what notice the company engineers are taking of the results and will we see future tedders with variable speed rotors, or a Tractor Implement Manager (TIM) capability which holds a tractors forward and PTO speeds at an optimal constant?

Swath management is something that has, so far, escaped the attention of the ‘digital-with-everything’ enthusiasts, that may be about to change.

The post Machinery Focus: Massey Ferguson adds science to art of tedding appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The Turleys are farming 160ha of fragmented land in Co. Down. It is a family run farm with Paul, his wife Ethel and their two sons Frank and Thomas all working together. Thomas works part-time on the farm while Frank is farming at home on a full-time basis.

The farming system consists of an Aberdeen Angus and Wagyu beef enterprise, as well as 180 spring-calving and 60 autumn-calving suckler cows.

“The focus here is on producing high-quality beef off grass as best as we can,” said Paul.

“The ethos on the farm is to have a resilient and a profitable farm business that’s a pleasure to operate and will endure into the next generation.”

The soil type on the farm is primarily clay, with a high soil pH. Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels are all relatively good. The farm is very dry and cattle graze grass for a minimum of 240 days/year. The whole farm is laid out in a paddock-grazing system.

All cows and the majority of weanlings are out-wintered on a mix of brassicas and silage, while the majority of the beef cattle are finished off grass.

The Turley’s experience with multi-species swards to date was the focus of a farm walk that took place on Monday (June 13).

Why multi-species?

In April 2021, the Turleys established over 40ac of multi-species swards, ranging from a diverse 18-species mix to a simple pure chicory sward, and a number of the more usual six-species and red-clover silage mixes in between.

The Turleys are part of a group of six farmers taking part in a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) project on investigating the potential of multi-species swards for beef and sheep. The initiative is supported by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) as well as Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and AgriSearch.

Paul said: “The whole multi-species journey started from trying to get profit out of beef and to do that we needed to drive down costs all the time.”

While it may seem unrealistic to grow good yields of forage without artificial fertiliser, it is now becoming a reality for the Turleys.

Apart from the pure chicory mix sown on the farm, no artificial nitrogen (N) fertiliser has been sown since the swards were established in April last year.

While the family admits that sward establishment “was a challenging process”, the swards are now performing well – despite not receiving any artificial N fertiliser.

Seed mixtures used by the Turleys:

Paul and Frank both emphasised “the mindset change” that is required to establish and successfully manage the multi-species swards.

Paul outlined: “There’s a definite change of mindset when you move to multi-species. Looking back now, it was so easy just to grow perennial ryegrass, put on the nitrogen, put on the cattle and it served us very well at the time.”

The five different multi-species swards on the Turley Farm:

Paul added: “You can’t grow grass without nitrogen so if you can’t put it on from a bag, you have to get it from somewhere else. The clovers are the main drivers of nitrogen on the farm now.”

Cattle performance on multi-species swards

A trial on the Turley farm is currently underway this year where a batch of 100 Wagyu-cross cattle (42 11-month-old bucket-reared cattle and 58 eight-month-old suckler-bred cattle) was divided evenly across two grazing platforms.

One group was put to multi-species swards while the other group was put to a conventional grass-only sward.

The study started on March 21, 2022 and the cattle were weighed on May 31, 2022.

Cattle performance as of May 31, 2022:

Contrary to what studies elsewhere have found, the cattle on the conventional grass sward have performed 15% better than the cattle on the multi-species sward.

The conventional grass sward had been receiving standard application rates of fertiliser while the multi-species sward received no fertiliser.

Paul admitted he was quite surprised when he saw the weight results, saying “both batches looked very even”.

The cattle on the multi-species grass have access to higher trace element levels from the herbs, and the anthelmintic properties of some of the species in the multi-species have resulted in low Faecal Egg Counts (FEC) to date overall.

It was also outlined that the family is still learning how to best manage the multi-species swards and it was suggested that trying to achieve a full-graze out on the swards lowered the cattle’s intake potential.

The multi-species was topped after the third rotation and Paul explained that a mindset change is needed to accept that these toppings should not be considered as waste.

Take-home message

One of the key message from the farm walk was that farmers have the ability to reduce fertiliser use through multi-species swards and the inclusion of clover.

The swards can be used to improve drought resistance, reduce anthelmintic use and reduce emissions while improving the farm’s carbon sequestration ability.

While multi-species swards have many benefits, many knowledge that gaps in knowledge remain and further research into them is needed.

The swards are more challenging to manage and farmers also need to watch out for bloat when grazing livestock on multi-species swards.

Paul advised farmers considering multi-species mixes but are unsure of whether it suits them or not to “try a simple six-species mix” on a small area of ground. He said that if it doesn’t work out, the farmer will still be left with a good perennial ryegrass sward and clover sward.

The post Beef Focus: ‘Growing multi-species swards requires a total mindset change’ appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The current target for the farm can be summarised as follows: An output of 500kg of milk solids/cow, per lactation, based on a meal feeding rate of 500kg/head.

Last year the Clarke herd averaged 5,848L with 4,370L of milk produced from grazed grass and silage.

“The meal feeding rate averaged 750kg, a bit higher than we had targeted,” Philip explained.

“But every year is different. We benchmark every performance-related aspect of the business on an annual basis.”

David explained the significance of the 60kg grass dry matter (DM) daily production target.

“Once we hit this target, we could, in theory, stop feeding meal to the cows. If grass growth rates drop below this figure, then we have to feed concentrate in order to keep milk output at targeted levels.

“During those periods of the year when daily grass growth rates exceed the 60kg target, we are looking to take surplus grass out of the system. So, in reality, we are not feeding cows at all, rather we are feeding the 65ac grass wedge that makes up the grazing block on the farm,” he added.

“Concentrates are only offered to the cows at those times when there is a need to fill the gap between the quantities of grass available to the cows and their overall nutritional requirement.”

Grass growth

But making accurate decisions of this nature is premised on the requirement of knowing what daily grass growth rates actually are to a very high degree of accuracy.

“The entire grazing area is walked on a weekly basis and more often is required to assess the actual state of the grass covers,” Philip stated.

“To be honest we found this to be the most difficult aspect of the grassland management systems that we need to implement on the farm.

“And it took three attempts to get it right. We have used both plate metres and quadrats to measure the grass covers on the grazing block. But, it really was a case of persevering until we came up with a plan that worked for us.”

Philip explained that once they know the difference in the weekly cover values, they can work out what the average daily grass growth rate has been during the previous seven days.

“Looking ahead, we can predict growth rates pretty accurately on the basis of the GrassCheck figures that are published each week by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute,” he continued.

“Also factored in, are the weather forecast predictions for the days ahead and soil temperature values. The AgriNet software package number crunches all of this information for us.

“We can also interact with other farmers within the AgriNet group.”

Flexibility on Tyrone farm

Flexibility is another core feature of the Co. Tyrone family’s business.

“Setting fixed targets, such as a 21-day grazing rotation period, are not really relevant,” David explained.

“It’s all about putting cows into pastures that are at an optimal growth stage. At certain times of the year, growing conditions could be such that rotation for a period of 17 days could be appropriate.

“But it’s all about managing the grass wedge accurately. And this includes taking out paddocks as baled silage, when required.”

The Clarke family has traditionally milked cows on their home farm. Philip decided to go down the road of block spring-calving 20 years ago.

“The milk price was pretty poor at the time and I was getting pretty tired of working for nothing,” he said.

“Initially I had two options – block calve in the autumn or look at the spring option. The final decision was pretty much taken on the basis that spring calving gave the family an opportunity to have some time off around Christmas.”

Breeding

Once this decision was made, the genetics of the herd was tweaked accordingly. Today the cows have a breed make-up containing an almost equal mix of Jersey plus Irish and New Zealand Friesian bloodlines.

The cows’ ability to produce milk is assessed in terms of their economic breeding index (EBI) values. This approach is also reflected in the specific sires chosen for herd.

“The cows calve down during February, March and April. The plan is to have 90% of the cows calving during the first six weeks of this period,” David added.

“The cows are put out to grass as soon as ground and weather conditions permit. Some seasons this can be as early as February 4th. However, this year’s turnout date was in early March.

“The plan is to have the cows complete the first full rotation of the grazing paddocks by early April.”

The Clarkes try to keep the very early calvers out day and night on their Tyrone farm, simply because there is so much actual grass available to them at that stage. But this is dependent on weather conditions, they explained.

From a breeding point of view, Philip and David use bulls on the basis of their ability to improve milk solids per cow.

“Our current target is to have cows increase solids’ production by 10-25kg every year.”

Philip and David will be hosting a visit to their farm in Tyrone by members of the British Grassland Society at the end of June.

The post Maximising milk from grass in south Tyrone appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

With rising input costs a hot topic currently, some farmers will try to cut corners on soil fertility to get grass growing as cheap as possible, but in many cases, this decision proves more costly in the long run.

A series of farm walks hosted by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in Northern Ireland last month, highlighted the impact of soil pH on nutrient utilisation.

Effect of soil pH on fertiliser utilisation:

As the table above indicates, adequate soil pH is essential to ensure the full value is being obtained from fertiliser.

The optimum soil pH is between 6.3-6.5 for grassland on most soils, and slightly lower than this for peat soils.

At adequate soil pH, 100% efficiency is achieved on the fertiliser applied, but at the low pH of 5.0-5.5, up to 32% of the fertiliser applied is wasted.

This year more than ever, it is in every farmer’s interest to consult their most recent soil test results and identify the fields that need lime.

When spreading lime, the best option to correct soil pH is ground limestone or quarry lime.

Some farmers prefer to apply granulated lime through their own fertiliser spreader, however this option has little benefit over quarry lime and is significantly more expensive.

Currently, many farmers are taking out fields for bales or cutting meadows for silage. Post-cutting is a prime opportunity to get lime out on ground in need of it.

If a situation arises where land needs slurry and lime, farmers are advised to apply slurry first and give four to seven days – weather permitting – between the slurry application and lime application. This is because when slurry is spread on top of lime, a lot of the nitrogen value is lost due to volatilisation.

When spreading lime, it is recommended not to spread more than 2t/ac/year.

The post Table: The effect of low soil pH on fertiliser utilisation appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Farmers that use professional Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and adjuvants are being reminded that the deadline to register their details on a new government database is less than a month away.

Under new rules, those using PPPs and adjuvants must register, under The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020, by June 22.

The new rules require any business in the farming, amenity and forestry sectors which uses professional PPPs and adjuvants as part of the business to register. They must register every address where PPPs and adjuvants are stored, records are kept, they are applied.

For example, if the PPPs are stored at two addresses and the records kept at a separate office, all three addresses must be registered.

A business that has PPPs and adjuvants applied by a third party must also register their details. A contractor who applies the product on behalf of a farmer does not need to register the address of their clients, but they should register the address of their own storeroom.

When answering the question on the quantity of PPPs applied in a typical year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has advised that contractors should include the total amount of PPPs and adjuvants applied for all clients and it will not be a problem if there is an element of double-counting because the client is also required to register the quantities.

These rules apply to users in England, Scotland and Wales. The form to register can be found on gov.uk.

“The announcement that users of PPPs – which will include livestock farmers as well as arable growers – need to register was somewhat of a surprise and we are aware that many producers have yet to fill out the form,” said David Hurst, farming consultant in the Morpeth office of Strutt & Parker.

“Farmers are being asked to fill out a spreadsheet where they supply their business name and address, plus details of how much product is used, stored and applied annually.

“This will require a bit of looking back through previous records, which is a pain, but the form does at least make clear that a rough estimate will be adequate.

“Once completed, the spreadsheet then needs to be emailed to Defra using the address provided.”

Plant Protection Products (PPPs)

PPPs are used to control pests, weeds and diseases. Example include insecticides; fungicides; herbicides; molluscicides; and plant growth regulators.

They can exist in many forms, including as solid granules, powders or liquids. They contain one or more active substances, co-formulated with other materials.

An adjuvant is a substance that enhances or is intended to enhance a PPP’s effectiveness. An adjuvant does not have significant pesticidal properties but is still subject to regulatory control.

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The walk was hosted by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) and took place on the farm of Stephen Maguire.

At the event, CAFRE advisors offered farmers tips on sowing and growing white clover, and on incorporating it into a beef-grazing system.

The advice for sowing white clover

White clover can be sown between late-April and mid-July and can be sown during a conventional reseeding or alternatively, it can be oversown on an existing sward.

Ideally, white clover should be targeted at high-fertility fields with a soil pH above 6.3, and in fields where weeds are under control. Clover also tends to perform better on drier fields.

White clover is considered to be more suitable for grazing ground while red clover is considered more suitable for silage ground.

Where farmers have a sheep enterprise, small to medium-leaf clover should be selected for sowing as the sheep grazing pattern can remove large-leaf clovers.

When the grazing stock is solely cattle, medium and large-leaf clover varieties should be selected.

When oversowing white clover, fields with a high-perennial grass content should be selected and farmers should avoid oversowing on older, ‘butty’ swards.

The time to sow clover seed when oversowing is after the paddock has been tightly grazed or cut for silage.

While grass will start to grow at soil temperatures of 5-6°, clover needs soil temperatures of 10° to grow – hence why established clover is seen in paddocks later in the year than grass.

After sowing

After sowing, it is advisable to roll the field to improve seed-soil contact. However, the clover seed should not be buried any deeper than 10-12mm.

The recommended sowing rate for white clover is 2kg/ac when oversowing.

As the clover seed is so small, the stitching-in option will be more accurate than broadcasting seed through a fertiliser spreader.

After sowing clover seed, phosphorus (P) and potassuim (K) can be applied, but nitrogen (N) should not be used as the clover needs time to establish first.

After sowing the clover, the paddock should be grazed before grass covers surpass 2,700-2,900kg/dry matter (DM)/ha, to ensure light can get down to the young clover plants, and the paddock should be grazed regularly until the clover is established.

At the farm walk, farmers were told that a grass/clover sward fertilised with 50kg/N/ha can sustain similar output to a grass-only sward fertilised with 200kg/N/ha.

The post Sowing white clover: Advice for beef and sheep farms appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Ecosyl silage specialist Peter Smith is urging farmers not to let high fuel costs deter them from making extra cuts of silage.

He is warning that the impact of higher diesel prices could be minimal compared to the benefit of having better-quality silage down the line, particularly as the outlook for bought-in feed costs and input costs is ambiguous.

“First-cut silage has been made 2-3 weeks early on many farms this year, but some farmers are now considering dropping out a cut to save fuel,” he said.

“Clearly, farmers need to look at the financials for their individual farm situations. But don’t just look at the cost of each cut. Look also at its potential benefits.”

Regarding the benefits, Smith drew an example from research conducted on five-cuts of silage a few years ago.

“Research we conducted a few years ago showed that grass cut five times had the potential to support 3,500L/ha more milk compared with taking three cuts,” he said.

“This was based on the five-cut approach being both higher in metabolisable energy and producing a higher dry matter yield over the season. At a milk price of 40 p/L, that extra 3,500L is worth £1,400 compared with £875 when milk was just 25p/L.

“The other advantage of cutting more often is it provides more opportunities to apply slurry,” he added.

“That can be significant if looking to reduce reliance on expensive bagged fertiliser,” he said.

The post ‘Don’t let high fuel costs put you off extra silage cuts’ appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

When clover makes a up significant part of the sward then two more factors need to be given far greater consideration by manufacturers of grassland equipment than hitherto, these are are crop hygiene and leaf loss.

The emergence of mergers

With the advent of larger tractors able to drive wider mowers followed by ever more powerful forage harvesters, swathes have naturally gotten bigger.

Yet this comes at the risk of greater contamination and leaf shatter as the cut crop has to be dragged across greater distances by increasingly wider rakes, according to the makers of crop mergers, or belt rakes, as they are also referred to.

Whatever the name, and 'belt rake' is probably the more definitive term, this type of machine does not rely on the sweeping action of tines to move the crop.

Instead, the material is picked up off the ground and placed on a belt which then moves it to either the left or the right, or even the centre on twin belt machines.

Developed in warmer climates

Essentially they are groupers fed from a pick-up reel rather than mower blades and conditioner, and just like mowers, they may be trailed or mounted.

Such implements owe their origins to the need to move leafy crops such as alfalfa (lucerne) into a swath. Alfalfa is another leafy legume that is nowhere near as robust as grass and so needs careful handling.

Belt rakes have therefore been mainly sold where this is an important forage crop, the U.S and southern Europe especially.

Clover needs careful handling

Yet now that farmers in Ireland are being encouraged to grow more clover and other species within a sward the importance of leaf shatter as a leading loss of nutrients will increase.

The view that mergers are not really relevant to more temperate climates may be changing as two companies that are very much grassland orientated have suddenly developed an interest in the concept.

The manufacturers concerned are Kverneland and Pottinger and both are now offering this type of machine in addition to their conventional rakes.

Italian connection

The first to start doing so was Kverneland which purchased an 80% stake in ROC of Italy last October.

ROC was formed in 1996 to produce equipment "for forage dehydration plants, biomass and biogas plants as well as big farms specialising in hay, silage and straw production," according to the company itself.

Today it offers a multitude of mounted and trailed units up to a 12-metre model. Kuhn, which already services the U.S market, lists a 12.8m machine on its site, so working widths are not far short of rotary rakes.

However, these are somewhat smaller than Kverneland's present largest conventional rake, the 15m wide 97 150C.

Passive transport

The great advantage that belt rakes offer is that they pick up the crop and transport across the width of the machine rather than drag it across the ground.

A large four-rotor conventional rake moves the crop up to 7m across the surface with the outer part passing through two rotors.

The larger the rotors, the greater the tine speed and so the more likely it is that the crop will be damaged during movement. The lower tine speed of a pick-up real is said to greatly reduce this problem.

ROC also notes that because the crop is handled far more gently it may be handled more often without suffering dramatic leaf loss.

Thus, in thin or short crops, a swath may be moved a second time to combine it with another, and so reduces the passes required by the harvester without the leaf shatter associated with a normal rake.

Keep it clean for clover

The potential for damage to the crop and contamination by stones, soil and faeces is much greater with a standard tined rake, and this is the second big selling point for belt mergers.

Pottinger, the latest company to introduce a belt rake to its range, has long been keen on promoting the importance of a clean sward to ensure proper fermentation.

Dirt and soil can introduce clostridia and other detrimental bacteria to the the silage which slows down fermentation and leads to a loss of nutrients in the pit or bale.

Contamination is also associated with fodder that may cause digestive and fertility problems. It can also reduce animal performance and cause stomach upsets in horses.

Only the crop collected

Pottinger statse that its new Mergento model "collects the forage using the pick-up. Meanwhile, dirt and stones remain on the ground. Without further contact with the ground, cross conveyor belts transport the forage to the swath".

Pottinger also points to the improved ground tracking capabilities of its belt merger with the support wheels running alongside the pick-up tines and a centre pivot mounting allowing the reel to accommodate undulations in the ground.

Moving on from monocrop grass

To what extent belt rakes or mergers will take a hold in Ireland, if at all, will probably depend more on the size of the shift to clover rich swards than any other factor.

Clover rich swards are more prone to butyric fermentation as the nitrogen compounds within them act as buffering agents and so reduce the rate of healthy fermentation. Keeping them free of dirt becomes more important as clover content increases.

It is also claimed that belt rakes are better able to cope with wet and boggy ground and are not as power hungry as rotary type rakes.

The concept may be well established in warmer climates where leafier crops are depended upon for forage, but until they have been tested in Irish conditions and results shown to be superior to that of the current method, take-up will be slow.

The post Machinery Focus: Clover-rich swards usher in the belt rake appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Sitting at the top of the telescopic handler range, this latest machine is aimed squarely at contractors and larger farmers, boasting 173hp and a 50km/h road speed.

Swift operation

Engine size is an important aspect in judging the performance of any loader but equally as important in a machine that relies so much on hydraulics for its operation, is the rate at which the oil flows.

There is a dual pump arrangement that delivers up to 160L/min flow for boom and attachment operation, and up to 100L/min to auxiliary services.

The TM420S is fitted with JCB's ‘regenerative’ boom hydraulics system. This exploits the weight of the boom to let it down quickly but under full control for faster loading cycle times, the company claims.

This level of flow allows the loader to be operated within its capabilities without the need for high revs in trying to achieve sufficient oil flow for rapid operation.

A comfortable day

By having a high oil flow at lower engine speeds, JCB suggests that the operator is afforded a quieter and more relaxed working environment while helping with the fuel economy.

The new loader is equipped with a unique transmission providing eight powershift speeds with torque converter lock-up available throughout, this is intended to maximise its pushing power.

The 50km/h top speed allows for reduced journey times between clamp-filling locations and enables the loader to keep up with the tractor fleet.

Proportional response to pedal

To suit different applications, the transmission’s auto mode responds to light accelerator pedal use by shifting up and down at a relatively steady engine speed to increase fuel economy.

More aggressive pedal use results in delayed up-shifts to exploit the JCB engine’s power and torque, thus gaining the maximum acceleration possible and so increasing productivity.

Cooperation with Krone at Scotgrass

The TM420S will be working alongside JCB's 435S agricultural loading shovel on the Scotgrass silage clamp, while a fleet of Fastracs will be engaged in transport duties.

JCB has also partnered with Krone to demonstrate what the two companies believe to be highly efficient and operator-friendly grass harvesting systems.

The post First showing for flagship JCB handler at Scotgrass 2022 appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

It comes in working widths of up to 9.2m for a central swath and 8.7m for a side swath, and is designed for alfalfa, clover, and a wide variety of crops from permanent grassland to straw.

Pottinger rake

According to the company, MERGENTO collects the forage using the pick-up. Meanwhile, dirt and stones remain on the ground.

Without further contact with the ground, cross conveyor belts transport the forage to the swath. Especially with leafy, dry crops, Pottinger claims that the belt rake minimises disintegration losses because the forage is not raked across the ground.

The overall result apparently being more energy, more crude protein and less crude ash in the forage.

Optimum crop flow

The heart of the MERGENTO is the conveyor unit. Pottinger has said that the coordinated system ensures a consistent flow of forage and perfectly formed swaths even with short crop material.

The conveyor unit consists of the pick-up, the crop press roller and the cross conveyor belt.

The six-row controlled pick-up delivers maximum collection performance with minimum forage contamination, according to the company.

The crop is gently collected from the ground by the successive pick-up tines and fed to the cross conveyor belt. The cam track makes the tines retract just before the belt.

The transfer point is 120mm higher than the cross conveyor belt. This allows the forage to fall freely onto the conveyor belt, we are told.

In addition, the flow of crop pushes the forage onto the belt. The conveyor unit also operates reliably when driving downhill and with a short cut crop, Pottinger stated.

The chassis rollers are positioned very close to the point the tines contact the crop to ensure perfect ground tracking.

The compaany said that the complete freedom of movement provided by the centre pivot mounting of the belt units ensures constant weight alleviation over the entire working width. It is also the basis for 3D ground tracking.

The design of the boom with three hydraulic cylinders is said to result in it reacting in a split second to any bumps in the ground.

In the centre swath mode, the vertical freedom of movement is +475mm to -195mm while lateral float is +30° to -13°. The inclination in the direction of travel can move from +11.5 to -0°.

The MERGENTO switches the cross conveyor belts off automatically at the headland, and start running automatically at the beginning of the next pass.

This system is said to guarantee each swath starts and finishes tidily. It also saves a lot of time because there is no need to empty the cross conveyor belt at the end of the swath.

The delay time for switching the conveyor belts on and off can be conveniently adjusted using the terminal in the tractor cab.

Flexibility

The direction of rotation and the position of the two cross conveyor belts can be adjusted from the tractor cab.

Depending on the shape of the field, the volume of forage, and the follow-up harvesting machine, the MERGENTO VT 9220 can place a centre swath, swaths to the left or right, two single swaths, convey from the inside out, and even load forage for a short period.

The new equipment for all types of forage will be available from August 1, 2022.

The post Pottinger launches new belt-type rake for grassland range appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Red Tractor urgently needs to review and strengthen its promotion of non-chemical pesticide alternatives, including via Integrated Pest Management (IPM), according to a newly published report.

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) report titled ‘Sub Standard’ found that Red Tractor is missing an opportunity to provide a strong framework for addressing pesticide use and thus becoming a key player in establishing a sustainable farming system across the UK.

The report highlights the scheme’s lack of targets to reduce pesticide use and its failure to require its certified farmers to adopt alternative approaches, such as selecting pest and disease-resistant crop varieties, crop rotations and using biopesticides.

Red Tractor is the UK’s biggest farm and food assurance scheme. Its symbol denotes that a product has been farmed, processed and packed in the UK.

“There will always be a balance to strike between pesticide reduction and the quality and quantity of the crop produced, but Red Tractor has an opportunity to provide the right support and guidance in driving an uptake of IPM,” said co-author of the report, farmer and chair of NFFN, Martin Lines.

“This is more than achievable, but most importantly, incredibly necessary.

“If Red Tractor can demonstrate reduction in pesticide use and enable best practice in IPM, it could help facilitate a route to nature recovery and connect its certified farmers to consumers at a time when the public want greater clarity – and trust – in their food labels.

“By improving IPM uptake, Red Tractor can help its farmers demonstrate world-leading environmental delivery and give a competitive advantage in a changing marketplace.”

Furthermore, the report authors have compiled a series of recommendations, which include:

• Establish and monitor targets to reduce the total amount of pesticides used by Red Tractor certified farmers;
• Prohibit the use of the most harmful pesticides and require farmers to select non-chemical alternatives when available;
• Adapt the requirements of its standard to include a specific focus on pesticide use and hazard reduction, and place more emphasis on preventative and non-chemical methods for managing pests, diseases and weeds;
• Introduce measures designed to support farmers to make continuous improvements on reducing pesticide use and adopting non-chemical approaches.

Supporting the report, head of policy and campaigns at Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK, Josie Cohen said:

“If we’re to have any hope of solving the biodiversity crisis then we must move away from our dependence on pesticides.

“But Red Tractor standards continue to prioritise the use of chemicals, without placing limits on how much or where they can be used. Unlike many UK supermarkets, Red Tractor allows its farmers to use any legal pesticide product, regardless of concerns over impacts to human health or the environment.”

Red Tractor

Responding to the report, Red Tractor said it welcomes constructive suggestions about how its standards could evolve to meet key challenges, and that IPM-based strategies will be central to the future management of pests and disease on farm.

It added that it is important to recognise that growers may already exceed market access expectations applied to imports, but do not always receive a premium or improved market access for this.

Work must be done, it said, in partnership with stakeholders, to ensure this challenge is not simply offshored.

A spokesperson for Red Tractor said:

“Red Tractor’s voluntary scheme is the bedrock of progressive farming in Britain – assuring food that is responsibly produced.

“The UK is one of the most regulated markets. Our standards align with Defra’s [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’] National Action Plan for Pesticides and aim to meet IPM expectations linked to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

“Where farms are asked to go further, a clear rationale is needed, especially given increasing competition from imports.

“UK fresh produce already has lower levels of pesticide residues than imported products and this must be considered alongside the delivery of safe, affordable food.”

The post Red Tractor needs urgent review of pesticide stance – report appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

According to the Athenry-based Teagasc research scientist, average mid-season stocking rates on Irish sheep farms are averaging eight ewes/ha.

However, the equivalent figure on research farms is 12 ewes/ha. And this difference is reflected across all aspects of performance. 

Where 2019 figures are concerned, the net margin per hectare being achieved on commercial farms averaged €129; the equivalent figure at research level was €544.

"Grassland utilisation is a key driver of profit within all sheep enterprises,” Creighton explained.

“On commercial farms this is currently averaging 5.6t/ha, whereas on a research unit, a figure of 10t can be achieved.

“Doubling grass utilisation can improve sheep profit margins by a factor of four.”

According to Creighton growing 1t of grass dry matter (DM) per year will meet the needs of a single ewe and her lambs.

This figure is based on an 85% grass utilisation rate and the implementation of a rotational grazing system.

Grazing sheep

The Teagasc representative pointed to five key components within the grazing management jigsaw for sheep.

These are:

• Soil fertility;
• Grazing infrastructure;
• Grazing management;
• Grass budgeting
• Reseeding.

“Paddocks form the basis of all rotational systems and they must be managed with the following principle in mind - grow grass for three weeks; graze for three days," Creighton said.

“At the height of the grazing season, it takes grass plants 21 days to regrow three full leaves. In the shoulders of the season this process will take that little bit longer.

"But the principle remains that of grazing grass at those times when it will deliver the maximum return in terms of animal performance.”

Paddocks

Creighton pointed out that paddocks improve grass utilisation and production.

They act to improve animal performance while giving the farmer greater flexibility in terms of the management priorities for the business.

Paddocks can be permanent in nature or they can comprise a series of temporary divisions.

Creighton cited the example of 100 ewes and their lambs having access to a 2ha field.

Based on an initial cover of 1,200kg/DM/ha, i.e., grass at a height of 8cm, it should be possible to graze the area out in six days, using an equivalent number of temporary divisions.

Creighton added: “This approach ensures that the ewes and their lambs receive 400kg of grass dry matter per day and that the grass is being offered at a rate of one ha per day.

"This commitment fully complies with the three-day grazing rule of thumb.

“Teagasc research has confirmed that the use of additional, temporary paddocks can increase grass utilisation rates by up to 15%.”

The post Developing effective grassland management systems for sheep appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Charlie Morgan, the man who heads up GrassMaster consultancy, made the point during his presentation to the first of the 2022 College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Virtual Sheep Conferences.

“Grazing swards for sheep should contain at least 50% perennial ryegrass varieties; the equivalent figure for silage swards is 70%," he explained.

"As we look to the future there will be a need for other grass species including timothy, cocksfoot and fescues.

“There will also be a role for herbs in future grassland swards.”

But according to Morgan, sheep would rather starve than eat lower quality grasses. This is why it is not possible within certain sheep grazing scenarios to have swards grazed down to cover values of 1,500kg of dry matter (DM) per hectare (ha). 

Clover in a sward

He went on to highlight the critically important value of clover in swards grazed by sheep.

“Clover both fixes nitrogen [N] and improves soil structure. Having a clover cover of around 30% in a sheep sward is recommended. At this level of inclusion, the legume will fix up to 150kg of N/ha per annum," Morgan said.

“Soil is the most important resource on any farm. The problem is that many sheep farmers don’t tend to think about soil until after they have made a mess of it.

“The chemistry of the soil will deliver plant growth. But to make this work requires that the structure of the soil and its biology are also in harmony.”

Research

Morgan confirmed that sheep farmers are not big nitrogen users.

“This predisposes swards to the ingress of weeds, such as buttercup. As nitrogen usages falls on UK and Irish farms, sheep farmers will have no option but to accept the presence of these grassland weeds," he said.

"But total ground cover within a sheep sward must total at least 90%.

30 years ago Morgan was the lead in a unique sheep grazing trial, hosted by the then UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at a site in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The land used for the work was 1,400ft above sea level. Prior to the trial commencing the fields had been managed in the same way for the previous 25 years.

Perennial ryegrass and creeping bent were the predominant grass species in the swards at the outset of the research.

The project comprised a series of trials, which compared the impact of five low-input management systems, relative to a standard baseline treatment.

This comprised the addition of lime (as based on a soil test result) plus phosphorous (P), potassium (K) in tandem with 150kg of N fertiliser per ha.

The other plots would see these nutrients gradually removed with the final plots receiving zero nutrients.

A range of sheep grazing and cutting regimes were also built into the project.

According to Morgan, the research confirmed that reducing nutrient input levels will have an equivalent impact on ryegrass tiller numbers within swards.

“Eventually, ryegrass will disappear altogether,” he explained.

“Meadow grass populations mirrored the same situation. Over the 20 years of the trial it was obvious that sheep farmers can control the botanical makeup of their swards by changing the mix and levels of the various nutrients that are applied.

“Significantly creeping bent plant numbers increased in relative terms within a sward as applied nutrient levels fall. This has a major impact on the sward and its ability to deliver real animal performance.

“Of equal significance is the fact that sward density falls off dramatically as applied nutrient levels diminish. And this has a major impact on the ability of swards to sustain ewe and lamb productivity.” 

The post Could you identify perennial ryegrass within a sward? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

AFBI and Barenbrug

New varieties have shown consistent and significant improvements in traits such as yield, digestibility and disease resistance.

AFBI’s grass breeding programme is supported by funding from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs [DAERA] with commercialisation and marketing the responsibility of Barenbrug."

Recommended Lists

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This brings the number of commercially released forage grass varieties to arise from the AFBI grass breeding programme during the past 20 years to 32.

Ballyvoy

The new variety out-performed all other late diploid varieties on the 2021/2022 RGCL for both annual yield and quality under silage management, with no other late diploid variety on the list producing more metabolisable energy yield per hectare (105% of the mean of all late diploid varieties on the list).

Dundrod

The release of Dundrod reflects the long-term effort of AFBI to produce high-performing varieties to address farmer needs in Northern Ireland.

The post Ballyvoy and Dundrod – two new perennial ryegrass varieties from AFBI appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The groups form part of AHDB’s Grass campaign, a programme for farmers and industry partners in the ruminant sectors. The programme aims to improve the cost-effective use of grazed grass to build profitable and sustainable systems, achieving greater profits and growth potential.

The Grazing groups will be delivered across the following locations, near to an AHDB Beef and Lamb Farm Excellence Programme farm:

• North Cumbria – delivered by 5 Agri;
• West Cumbria ­ –  delivered by 5 Agri;
• North East – delivered by Liz Genever;
• East Midlands – delivered by Liz Genever;
• Cambridge/Essex – delivered by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB);
• Somerset – delivered by NIAB.

The groups will run their first meetings in December and January. There will be an opportunity for each group to meet up to ten times over the next eleven months.

Georgina Key, environmental scientist at AHDB, said: “We have made some great progress with the AHDB Grass campaign and we feel these farmer-led grazing discussion groups are a great way to share and pass on best practice in grassland management.

“We are running them alongside grazing consultants, so the groups will benefit from a range of expertise in grassland knowledge.”

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In contrast, where a break from brassicas is not required, oil radish gave the greatest above ground biomass, improving carbon and nitrogen sequestration.

An incorporated residue from cover crop biomass is a very effective way of getting organic matter back into soils between cultivations.”

In the trial, both phacelia and oil radish produced a lot of biomass, with tangible improvements in terms of nitrogen and carbon sequestration, nutrients in green material, and feed for the following crop.

Where growers may be inclined to look at legumes like clover for nitrogen fixation, the trial has identified a critical limitation; they simply can’t establish quickly enough within a minimum 12-week rotation break.”

Trial protocol The trial assessed 26 cover crop species and varieties on objectives like biomass production (residue), carbon nitrogen ratio and sequestration, crop height, ground cover and pest damage. Each of these is valuable in determining production and commercial compatibility. The cover crops were drilled during the three main vegetable break periods: February to March; mid-August to mid-September; and October. Each had 12 weeks between drilling and destruction, emulating the shortest period possible between rotations. Each plot was drilled at a standard depth into a randomised plot design at a mid-range seed rate. Every variety was repeated three times, producing 78 plots per period, each measuring 10.57m².

Cover crop trial considerations

Here, oil radish triumphed, reliably covering ground across all three sowing windows.

However, the equipment used in single pass systems is designed to go over cereal stubble, so cover crops with residues higher than 20cm are likely to tangle and be problematic.”

• Increasing soil organic matter and nutrient capture;
• Improving soil structure and crop yields;
• Preventing soil erosion;
• Reducing fertiliser inputs.

We didn’t apply any fertiliser, plant-protection products, or weed control, so it achieved what all growers will be aiming for - low cost.”

In this region, land is rented on long-term tenancies – we also want to look at whether the new environmental schemes on offer could be applicable.

The post Cover crops: phacelia and oil radish uncovered as soil saviours appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“Whether it’s grazed grass or silage, the forages that farmers produce totally underpin the performance of their businesses as a whole.

Improved forage utilisation

“Having a silage clamp tested on a number of occasions throughout a winter feeding season is a case in point.

Monitoring silage and grass measuring

“Such an approach truly represents a win-win scenario for the farmer; animal performance is maintained at the required level while best use is made of the concentrates brought on to the farm."

“Straightforward steps can also be taken to ensure that the grass available to stock is of optimal quality. Taking surplus paddocks out of a rotation, and cutting them for silage, is a case in point.

Soil testing

“The pH value is a critically important indicator of overall soil health. Currently the vast majority of grassland soil pH values in Northern Ireland are below the optima figure of 6.5.

“The same principle holds when it comes to plant roots accessing the nutrient stores already in the soil. If the pH is not correct, a very large proportion of these reserves remain locked away.”

The post Forage utilisation key to improving farm sustainability appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The grassland experiment was established in 1970 at the Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (AFBI) research farm in Hillsborough, Co. Down.

In the month running up to COP26, when the world will discuss our future direction to achieve carbon net-zero, having historic reputable data coming from the Long-term Slurry experiment is essential in highlighting what are the right directions for us as farmers to take.

Long-term Slurry Experiment

Research at this site has provided insights on yield response, forage quality and fertilization effects on soil properties such as the dynamics of key nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and carbon storage.

These long term facilities also provide an excellent training resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Under the AFBI-QUB Alliance, Queen’s is looking forward to undertaking further research with AFBI on sustainable land use”.

The post AFBI grassland experiment passes 50-year milestone appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The company has now given the whole range its first major revision, with the emphasis on making the balers more attractive to larger users and contractors.

The new models

A tighter squeeze

The new binding unit is installed on all models and switching between net and film has been simplified - there is now no need to remove the roll of one when wishing to change to the other.

Pottinger banishes darkness

LED strips with switches are also installed under the side panels for maintenance work and changing rolls of film.

The post Pottinger updates its Impress baler range appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The challenge of a round baler

To achieve continuous flow, the problem that has to be overcome in a round baler, is the need to halt the flow of material into the chamber while the completed bale is being tied.

Kverneland's solution

Rather confusingly it is referred to as the secondary chamber, although it actually sits in front of the main primary, chamber.

Other advantages of the baler

Kverneland FastBale

Baler essentials

All up weight is just over 7,500kg with flotation tyres being available, as shown here, for softer conditions.

The post Machinery Focus: Video – Kverneland sets continuous pace with round baler appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The butterfly becomes a bee

More acres with less fuel

Tanco quotes one user as achieving up to 25% reduction in fuel usage as well as 50% increase in productivity.

Big is not always best says Tanco

Losing weight is good news

Tanco branches out

Michael Dollard explains that the concept was brought to them by another company which had considered, and then discarded the idea of producing them.

The post Machinery Focus: Video – Tanco’s trailed mowers in operation appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Sales of clover seed will, almost certainly, increase further as we head into the autumn months.”

Grassland reseeding with clover

My personal preference would be to go in with the plough to get the process underway. If a direct drilling option is looked at, I would encourage at least two passes with a disc, before the grass seed is sown out.

Land rolling

Where the selection of grass seed mixes are concerned, Little recommended the strong inclusion of diploid varieties for grazing swards.

One of the most effective ways of establishing clover into grazing leys is to over sow the new sward during the summer months when there is more heat in the ground.

The post Sales of clover seed rocket as farmers aim to reduce fertiliser bills appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Kuhn claims that it is based on the fundamentals of forage harvesting, production, transport and storage. The platform hosts detailed articles dealing with the practical issues facing growers.

Doing it the Kuhn way

Their role is pivotal in producing quality silage so Kuhn is intent on bringing all involved in the process to the same table.

The post Kuhn shows a passion for baling with new information resource appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Two ways to set up LEMKEN drill

In the single-shot version, seeds and fertiliser are combined downstream from the two metering units in each of the two hopper segments.

Double-shot drilling for increased flexibility

By distributing the seed and pellets this way, the deposition depth of every other row can be adjusted via the pressure roller. It is possible to sow with a depth differential of up to 5cm.

Whichever method is used, an automatic mechanism is integrated into the distributors to preserve tramline spacing.

The post Latest drill from LEMKEN offers mixed drilling depths appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

However, Rothamsted Research is confirming that the weed is now starting to take hold in England and Wales.

Economic damage from rat's-tail fescue

In Australia, where the weed has been present in fields for more than 50 years, it has wreaked million of dollars worth of losses through crop yield reduction and contamination of forage and wool.

“It’s really important we get on top of this before it becomes another blackgrass.”

Survey of farmers

This will help researchers identify areas of the country or agronomic practices that may be at higher risk of this species becoming a problem.

“We would like farmers that have rat's-tail fescue on their land to send us a mature seed sample and we can provide them with instructions for obtaining as good a seed sample as possible.

The post Rat’s-tail fescue – another grass weed we don’t need appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Grazed grass is high in protein

Pasture allocation is recognised as a key factor in animal production due to its effect on herbage intake.

AFBI study on grazing targets

The work involved 72 autumn-born Holstein heifers, which were assigned to three pasture allowance (PA) treatments at 1.8%, 2.4% and 3.0% of live weight (LW) allowance of grazed grass per day.

Each group of heifers had a rotation of seven paddocks and paddock area was allocated based on grass availability and target allowances.

Results of study

There was a greater range in weights recorded among the animals on the highest pasture allowance. Animals offered the highest and medium pasture allowances, maintained their weight, however those given the lowest pasture allowance lost weight.

However no significant difference was observed in either pasture production or quality across the three treatments.

The post Grazing targets for replacement dairy heifers appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Virtual fencing in paddocks

He confirmed that grass is the cheapest feed source available on all ruminant farms. It is also a highly nutritious feed.

Grass growth

“Spring grass is a highly nutritious feed source for beef cattle. Late autumn grass is similar in quality to that of top quality silage," he said.

Recent AFBI research has confirmed that securing an extra 1t of grass DM can improve returns by £160 (€180). This figure is probably higher now, given the recent uplift in beef prices.

Producing more grass will allow beef farmers to improve their stocking rates. Improving the quality of the grass available to stock will help reduce the requirement to feed concentrates.

The post Is virtual fencing the future on beef farms? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Wilting silage

The post Wilting silage – is it worthwhile? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Growth surge expected

Growth is expected to soar over the next two weeks with the seven-day forecast at 93.5kg/ha/day and 14-day forecast at 115.7kg/ha/day

"Depending on average farm cover, it could be an option to skip paddocks on heavier ground and harvest with first cut silage, or as round bales, when ground conditions improve.

The post GrassCheck: NI grass growth down 32% for year so far appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“Meanwhile, other trials have shown that grass / white clover mixes given no N at all, can carry 85% of the stock recorded for a pure ryegrass sward receiving 400kg/N.

Different management

Clover can also be unreliable as a source of dry matter (DM) during the spring months, while there is also the perception of it having poor persistency in swards.

“In addition, soil pH should be greater than 6 with K and P indexes both coming in at 2.0.

“Swards should be grazed cleanly during the autumn months in order to maintain a high clover content the following spring.”

Establishing white clover

The post The use of clover in beef production systems appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Preview of demo units

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Richard Gibson confirmed that paying attention to cut and wilt times will help boost quality and reduce dependence on concentrates through the winter.

"Adopting a multi-cut silage system could help maximise quality and performance from the same acreage," he said.

“Although cutting earlier will reduce yield per cut, quality in terms of protein, digestibility and metabolisable energy will increase.

“Cutting early and wilting rapidly to achieve a dry matter (DM) of 28-32% will significantly help milk from forage. For example, grass cut in early May instead of mid-May will be cut at a higher quality with a high DM value."

Rapid wilting

According to Gibson, rapid wilting is essential, as sugar levels start to decline as soon as the grass is cut.

Wilting increases DM and reduces clamp losses from effluent.

After cutting, there is a two hour window when the stomata of the plant remain open and water loss is at its greatest; about 100L/t of grass every hour.

Gibson commented:

“After that, water is lost where the leaves are broken or the crop has been conditioned.

"As first cut is taken earlier in a multi-cut system, when weather conditions may not be ideal, tedding allows for air movement over the crop, helping evaporation.”

Ideally, in a multi-cut system the time between cuts is reduced to four or five weeks. Individual cuts will be lighter compared to the traditional system. Farmers should discuss the effect of the lighter cut on price with their contractor.

Dry Matter increase

A 1.0 MJ/kg DM increase in metabolisable energy is generally achievable when moving from a traditional to multi-cut strategy.

DM intakes can increase by over 1.0kg/cow/day when feeding this forage. This enables an increased target for milk produced from forage.

Increased milk production from home grown sources will reduce concentrate requirement and therefore more than pay for the extra contracting costs of cutting more frequently.

With reduced cutting intervals, farmers should pay special attention to crop nutrition to ensure all the nitrogen is absorbed before harvesting. Apply slurry immediately after harvesting.

Fertiliser

Fertiliser should also be applied as soon as possible and not more than 2.5kg nitrogen (N) per hectare (two units per acre) for each growing day between cuts.

As crops are lighter, it is also important to consider how long the crop is wilted for. To achieve 28-32% in ideal weather conditions, 24 hours wilting should be sufficient.

As the grass is leafier, fibre levels are low. Increasing the chop length to 5cm will therefore help with ensiling and fermentation.

To maintain rumen health, the diet may need to be supplemented with extra fibre such as straw or haylage.

The post Introducing a multi-cut silage system – CAFRE appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“This represents the best balance between protein content, sugar content and the ability to get a quick drop in pH once the forage is ensiled,” Davies explained at the second instalment of Alltech’s ‘Making Silage Sense’ webinar series.

“As grass matures, so does the sugar concentrations contained within the plant. However, lignin levels also build up as the grass plant develops. This impacts negatively on digestibility.”

Multiple cutting for quality silage

Davies strongly recommends a multiple (five-cut), as opposed to a more traditional three-cut approach, to silage making.

“Using a multiple-cut system will boost overall forage yields by 0.92t/ha,” Davies said.

“This approach will have a direct and beneficial impact on subsequent milk output and quality.

“Cutting grass at five-week intervals will significantly boost digestibility and forage protein levels.”

Field operations

Where field operations are concerned, Davies advises a cutting height of between 7.5–10cm.

“Going below this height increases the risk of soil contamination of the forage,” Davies advised.

“Soil is a potent source of clostridial bacteria, which will quickly act to negatively impact on the quality of the fermentation achieved in the silo. Grass should be spread as soon as it is cut, to facilitate the wilting process.

“Too short a stubble will hamper subsequent regrowth. It’s also important to have the stubble acting as an elevated bed, which will allow the greater passage of air through the mown forage.

“Wilting is effected through the loss of moisture from the leaves’ stomata. As a result, leafier crops are easier to wilt. Stomata only remain open for two hours after cutting,” he explained.

Time for quality silage

Significantly, Davies questioned the principle of cutting grass in the afternoon and picking it up the following morning or up to 24 hours thereafter.

“Reducing the time required to wilt grass is a critical driver of silage quality,” he explained.

“It should be quite feasible to cut grass in the morning and have it ensiled later in the afternoon. The target dry matter of the silage is 32%.

“The reality is that grass does not wilt during the hours of darkness. However, it will continue to respire. This process converts valuable sugars into carbon dioxide [CO2] and water.”

Losses

According to the silage specialist, respiration can account for crop losses of up to 20% on a dry matter basis.

“Losses in the region of 10% should be regarded as an optimal figure in this regard,” Davies added. “Achieving this requires a commitment to reducing the time required to wilt the forage in the field and to ensure that the silo is compacted properly.

“The greater the level of compaction, the more oxygen is driven out of the silo.”

According to Davies, rapid filling and compacting of 15cm layers in the silo will deliver the highest levels of consolidation. In turn, this will encourage lactic acid fermentation, leading to a fast drop in pH within the clamp.

Chop length for a 32% dry matter silage should be in the region of 2.5cm.

Slippage problems

Differential consolidation levels within the silo can lead to slippage problems.

“Ensuring that the silo is consistently compacted on the basis of a 15cm grass layer depth is critically important in this regard,” Davies commented.

“In addition, clamp packing angles should never exceed 20º.”

Where inoculants are concerned, Davies strongly advises the use of those containing Lactobacillus Plantarum when it comes to making high-quality grass silages. 

The final webinar in the Alltech ‘Making Silage Sense’ series will take place on Thursday, October 7.

The post Multiple cutting will deliver superior quality silage appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

GrassCheck shows that grass growth rate is well below the previous 10-year average and, as expected, this is having a major impact on grazing.

With lower than average rainfall recorded in the past month and little expected for the incoming week, a soil moisture deficit may also be having an impact on grass growth in the eastern counties.

Michael Verner, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) dairying adviser based in Newry, said:

“It is important to be proactive; walk the grazing platform weekly to check what grass is available for grazing and to assess regrowths.

“A grass budgeting tool can help with calculating both your herd’s grass demand and grass availability and to identify any shortfalls. Average farm cover should not be allowed to fall below 2,10KG/DM/ha.”

Grazing area

“Farmers could consider increasing the size of the grazing area by bringing some silage ground into the rotation," Verner continued.

“If poor growth persists, they might be forced to feed silage shortly after conserving it, so it makes sense to graze some now and cut the rest. However, be careful not to graze too much of your potential winter fodder supply.”

Milk producers are being encouraged to target the best forage to the most productive animals on the farm.

By taking this approach, milking cows should continue to have access to grass while young stock could be held in the house for longer and continue to be fed last year’s silage. 

Another step that can be taken is to remove dry cows from the grazing platform and to feed them silage.

Grazing higher covers

With ground conditions favourable, farmers should also consider grazing higher covers or heavier parts of the farm.

Pre-cutting can help with utilisation of heavier covers and encourage dry matter intake (DMI).

Michael Verner advises that concentrate supplementation rates should be adjusted to take account of your forage situation. M+ rates in computerised milking parlours should be reduced, based on grass supply and forage supplementation.

Producers should continue to monitor milk yields and quality, DMI and oestrus behaviour so as to ensure the diet on offer is meeting the energy demands of the cows.

If grass silage is available, feeding 6-8kg, DMI equivalent of silage will halve the herd’s grass demand.

Avoiding prolonged periods in one field will also ensure faster regrowth, so where possible, cows should be grazed in 12-hour grazing blocks and fence off regrowths with a back fence as soon as possible.

Limited grass or silage

If grass is limited and silage on-farm is not available, then Verner highlights that other options can be considered for filling the DMI shortfall.

These include the purchase of grass/maize/whole-crop silage or dry feeds such as soya hulls or sugar beet pulp, purchased on a value-for-money basis.

“In the short term, milk producers may have to spend money on feed but the payback in performance may be worth many times that amount later in the year, if it enables cows to reach peak yield, achieve good fertility performance and maintain body condition

CAFRE is advising that milk price is expected to be higher than last year through the springtime, ensuring that it should be profitable to feed additional 'bought-in' DM and maintain milk yield if necessary.

Other more radical decisions may have to be made if slow growth persists but for now, it is important to take action to meet any potential feed gap on the farm.

The post Grazing deficits now an issue on NI dairy farms appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Purchasing replacement parts for equipment today may seem far more complicated than ever.

Advancements in technology, new market entrants, and a proliferation of models and features has made identifying the correct replacement parts much trickier, to say the least.

The product specifications are tighter in allowance, the features vary, and the economic pressure you face is critical. There is no time to waste correcting the right choice, and you want to make sure you get what you pay for.

Using experience from more than six decades in the belting industry, here are responses to frequently asked questions to help in the pursuit of quality replacement belting this season.

Identify what belting needs to be replaced

For draper headers, most often there is a right draper, a left draper, and a centre or feeder belt. How to tell right from left is the view from the seat of your cab in your machine.

Because there are so many possible specification combinations on a draper belt, it will be helpful for you to familiarise yourself with what you are using today before contacting your supplier.

Then you will be prepared to answer questions that will lead to the correct replacement part.

Here is a quick breakdown (table below) of features, components, and what to measure:

Unlike draper belting which can be replaced as needed, baler equipment functions optimally if the whole set is replaced at the same time. If you choose to replace part of a set, one or two belts, you need to measure the length of the belts prior to looking for a supplier.

Baler belts are made of rubber and fabric which can stretch and flex over time. You need the measurement of the belts being replaced rather than the length when installed. 

If the new belts are shorter than the others on the machine, it can affect your output and lead to premature belt failure.

Find a supplier you can rely on

The belting industry, like many others, is saturated with providers. Some people are willing to gamble on a deal that seems too good to be true, and that strategy has its risks and rewards related to product quality and service.

Although the physical differences from one belt to the next can be indecipherable to the untrained eye, a quality belt will make or, quite literally, break your operation.

There is a science to the manufacturing of rubber belting, and all belts are not created equal.

Start with the make and model

You narrowed down which belts need to be replaced; you found a reliable supplier and need to get your parts on order.

The best place to start is with the make and model of your equipment, e.g. if you are looking for swather canvas – canvas being an old industry term for belting – is it for a pull-type swather, self-propelled swather, or harvest header?

If you are speaking with a representative or working through on online catalogue on a website, once the make and model are identified, you will most likely be asked other investigative questions to determine the part you need, e.g. is the cut size of your platform 30ft, 35ft, 40ft, or 45ft?

For baler belting, belt specifications are determined by the manufacturer according to the design and function of the baler.

Understanding the options

Significantly deviating from manufacturers' recommendations could result in equipment malfunction and downtime, e.g. going from a 2-ply belt to a 3-ply belt (adding an additional layer of rubber and fabric), or changing the top pattern, increases the overall gauge and your baler may not be designed with enough clearance.

If you are considering going with a more aggressive baler belt, a qualified supplier will help you understand your options.

Understanding belting basics to source the correct parts for your machines will drive both uptime and output.

Spending just a little extra time talking with a knowledgeable supplier about your specific needs and specifications will pay off in spades down the road, both in terms of keeping your operation running smoothly and improving your total cost of ownership.

The post How to save downtime when replacing belting on balers appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The project is one of seven taking place under the new Northern Ireland European Innovation Partnership (EIP) scheme, which has been co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane fly (commonly known as daddy-long-legs). They reach maturity in the spring, and feed on the roots and stems of grass or cereal plants and can cause significant loss of yield, seen in large bare patches.

Grass reseeds and new leys are particularly vulnerable and can be devastated if leatherjackets are not controlled.

Leatherjackets are a known problem in grassland systems, particularly in the west of the province. With grass being the principal feed for the ruminant livestock sector in Northern Ireland, the destruction of grass by leatherjackets can therefore have a significant effect on the profitability of dairy, beef and sheep farms.

Limiting leatherjacket damage

Previously, chemical solutions were used to control infestations; however, chlorpyrifos products were withdrawn from sale in 2016, leaving farmers with no control options.

The project hopes to contribute towards preventing avoidable losses to grass while reducing dependence on agrochemicals in production systems.

It's hoped the research will help develop simple strategies to help prevent infestations of leatherjackets on farms across Northern Ireland and minimise their effect.

The first step in the project will be to determine the current prevalence of leatherjackets on each of the participant farms through field sampling.

The results from this survey will allow links to be made with management techniques on-farm and will also be used to validate a weather-based model that predicts likely leatherjacket numbers.

This will, alongside effective mitigation strategies, enable farmers to make the appropriate decisions on-farm to prevent infestations in the spring.

AFBI entomologist Dr. Archie Murchie said: “This project, by determining the factors that influence leatherjacket prevalence on-farm, aims to propose a range of alternative Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that can be undertaken on-farm to reduce the risk of a leatherjacket infestation.

"Such strategies could include alternative grazing regimes to minimise the preferred habitat for egg-laying and larval survival. By tackling the problem before it arises, yield losses could potentially be avoided.

"There is currently very little known about these pre-emptive mitigation strategies or their effectiveness, a problem this project hopes to address.”

The post New farm-led research to investigate leatherjacket control strategies appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

This was the key 'take-home' message delivered by renowned forage specialist Dr. Dave Davies, during his presentation to the recent ‘Making Silage Sense’ webinar, hosted by Alltech.

“This is why it is so important that the quality of the fresh forage ensiled is maximised,” Davies explained.

According to Davies, preparation for silage making should begin as early in the year as possible.

“All dead grasses should be cleaned off silage swards prior to them being closed off. Sheep can do an excellent job in this regard.

“Grass type is also very important when it comes to making top-quality silage. Perennial ryegrasses have been shown to perform well under Irish and UK conditions in this regard.

"But specifically where silage is concerned; the varieties within the swards should have heading dates that are within seven days of each other.”

Davies confirmed that grass should be cut for silage when no more than 10% of the plants’ stem is visible, adding:

"As stem levels increase, so do fibre and lignin levels."

Soil fertility

Soil fertility will drive grass growth. Davies confirmed a soil pH of 6.5 as being optimal for grass swards.

“For swards containing 30% plus clover, this figure should be slightly higher,” he stressed.

"Regular soil analysis is critically important. The results should be used to determine the fertiliser programmes used for all silage-making operations. Applying 5t of lime/ha will increase soil pH levels by 0.4units.”

According to Davies, fertiliser application is all about timing when it comes to maximising grass and subsequent silage quality. He confirmed that slurry must be spread a minimum of eight weeks before cutting if applied to the soil surface.

This figure can be reduced to six weeks if slurry injection or trailing shoe application systems are used.

“If slurry is spread too late, subsequent contamination of the soil with clostridial bacteria will impact negatively on the quality of the fermentation achieved,” Davies commented.

"The same principle holds if soil contamination becomes an issue. Mowing grass to almost ground levels can have unwelcome consequences.”

Davies advised a first-cut fertiliser nitrogen application of between 80–140kg per hectare.

“Legumes require little or no nitrogen (N) to be applied at all. A grass sward containing 30% clover can fix up to 150kg of N/ha during a normal growing season,” he said.

“Sulphur is the fourth most important fertiliser requirement of a grass crop. In the past, all of the sulphur required by plants was present in the air, courtesy of the sulphur dioxide created in a range of manufacturing processes.

"This is no longer the case. A grass test can assess plant sulphur levels. If required, then an application of up to 40kg of sulphite equivalent per hectare is recommended.”

Grass testing

Davies also highly advised grass testing to assess grass crude protein and free nitrate levels in the days running up to harvest.

“These tests should be used to gauge trends,” he commented.“Optimal fermentation will take place if crude protein and free nitrate levels are in the region of 17% and 0.15%, respectively.

"The accuracy of any grass test is very dependent on the freshness of the grass submitted. If the time lag between cutting and testing goes beyond 24 hours, the accuracy of the results coming back will fall significantly.”

Significantly, Davies justified the use of chemical nitrogen fertiliser on silage crops at present, not specifically on the overall yield response received, but on the increase in crude protein nitrogen levels contained within the silages produced.

“Improving the levels of crude protein in silage reduces the amount of protein required, courtesy of bought-in concentrates,” he stressed.

“Grass testing will also allow the farmer to gauge the efficiency of the fertiliser nitrogen applied. If free nitrate levels are significantly above 0.15%, then too much nitrogen was applied in the first instance.

“Conversely, if the free nitrate figure is well below the 0.15% figure, then too little fertiliser was applied to the crop.”

Forage quality

“Cows are designed to eat forage,” Davies added.

"High-quality silage can deliver numerous performance and health-related benefits for dairy cows. But, in order to achieve this, forage quality must be maximised.”

InTouch feeding specialist Aislinn Campbell also addressed the webinar. She highlighted the fact that many cows are kept indoors throughout the year.

“This puts even more emphasis on the need to get silage quality consistently right,” she said.

"There is no point in getting first cut silage right and then forgetting about the cuts that follow.”

Campbell defined good-quality grass silage as a forage with a dry matter of 30%, an ME of around 12 and a crude protein value of at least 14%.

“It may not be possible for every dairy farmer to achieve these targets on a consistent basis,” she concluded.

“However, it should be feasible for every milk producer to improve the quality of the silage they make on a consistent basis.”

The post Maximising the quality of first-cut silage appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

It goes against advice to cut later in the day for higher ME content. However, the team at Volac say that in an ideal situation, grass cut in the morning could be tedded and lifted within five hours preserving more crop quality than a longer wilt.

‘Forget the notion of a 24-hour wilt’

Peter Smyth, the firm’s business manager, explained rapid wilting has become more important as multi-crop systems increase in popularity.

“People wondered if they went the multi-cut way if they could get enough silage, whether paying the contractor all the extra time was going to be economically viable – which I think we proved pretty comprehensively, that it was,” he said.

“I think wilting and the losses associated with wilting are little understood by many. There seems to be a lot of assumptions and little fact around the best way to wilt.

“People often think we want a 24-hour wilt. But I think we need to get that notion out of people’s heads. 24 hours should be the absolute maximum. The target should be the quicker, the better.

“The faster we can go from cut to harvest to stable pH, the more nutrient we are going to keep in that silage.

It’s important to wilt to concentrate the nutrients in the dry matter, we have guys pushing for multi-cuts who are looking to get a more energy-dense diet into these cows so if we can get more energy fed into them, hopefully, we can get more performance out of them.

“Better quality silage will improve silage intakes and drier crops require less acid to become stable – there are benefits of that in the fermentation.

“Once we cut grass, the energy supply is cut off – this grass is now dying but carries on respiring, burning up nutrients and protein until it is taken down to a stable pH – so the longer we leave grass in the field, the more nutrient we lose.

“So the quicker we can get from cut to clamped the less sugar we lose and the more we can reduce the growth of the spoilage organisms.”

Figures shared at a recent AHDB webinar appear to support the claims, showing that grass cut at 22.9% WSC had lost 18.6% of that sugar within the first 24 hours after mowing.

Volac’s silage microbiologist Dr. Mark Legget explained that the trials had been set up to measure how long it would take grass silage to reach an optimum DM of between 28% and 32%.

The trials were carried out on commercial farms in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in July (sunny conditions) and September (overcast conditions) to test the effects of different weather conditions.

Each trial also saw tests carried out on swards cut at 10:00am and 3:00pm to measure the effect of cutting at different times of day on wilting speed.

They found:

• Cutting in the morning resulted in better wilting compared to swards that were cut later in the day.
• Tedding the crop greatly increased wilting efficiency. Tedding immediately was better than delaying tedding.
• Tedding twice further improved wilting, but only marginally, meaning for that many it may not be worth the extra time and expense.
• A more dense crop takes longer to wilt so farmers were advised to be mindful of crop density.

During the July trial, tedded grass quickly wilted beyond the optimum DM level after five hours.

Whereas, with overcast conditions and rain forecast overnight, all of the cuts taken for the second trial in September (tedded and non-tedded) failed to reach optimum DM even after 24 hours.

The trial showed that the early cut managed to wilt most effectively, with teddering further improving the wilt rate.

However, the overnight rain was found to have had an even greater negative effect on the later-cut tedded crop as it had a greater surface area.

The trials make interesting reading; however, readers should note that further research across a wider range of weather conditions may be needed to make firm conclusions before the findings are adopted widely on farms.

The post Silage trials show quicker is better when it comes to wilting appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

This was the key message communicated at a grassland management webinar hosted by John Deere UK this week. The event was supported by Meath Farm Machinery.

NIRS is now an integral part of numerous analysis and control systems, all designed to allow their operators make real time decisions that can impact positively where silage making and feeding operations are concerned.

In the field, they can deliver continuous information on forage dry matter, ME (metabolisable energy) values plus forage sugar and energy levels.

NIRS consequences

Two practical consequences are the linked ability to alter chop length, depending on forage dry matter, and to tweak inoculant application rates in line with sugar levels. Again, all these changes can be made automatically and in real time as the forage harvester is operating.

NIRS can also be used to assess the nutritional values of all the dietary components included in a TMR, each time a feed is made up.

Information of this nature can allow the farmer, or farm manager, to tweak ration specification, in the moment, with the aim of saving cost or increasing production levels.

Nutrient value of slurry

The third use to which NIRS can be put is that of analysing the nutrient value of slurry – again on a real time basis – as it is spread using a dribble bar or trailing shoe system.

Research has shown that slurry is not a homogenous product. Fertiliser values can vary within a specific store and even within a single tanker load.

By combining the results generated by previous yield maps and the use of a NIRS system – linked to a variable rate slurry applicator – the farmer / contractor can specifically apply the requisite amount of slurry at each point within a field.

By taking this approach, best use can be made of what constitutes an extremely valuable resource on all livestock farms.

Equipment

John Deere’s offering within this sector is HarvestLab 3000. While in the field, it provides on-the-go measurements of moisture; dry matter; protein; starch; fibre; neutral detergent fibre; acid detergent fibre; and sugar levels within the grass or forage being harvested..

The system will automatically adjust inoculant dosage rates, based on forage dry matter levels, while also changing chop length, in order to ensure optimal consolidation of the silage clamp.

Extensive trials in the UK have confirmed that the system can be used to drive the efficient use of variable rate slurry application systems.

The post NIRS is revolutionising grassland and forage management appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The SRP is a simple and easy-to-use tool to ensure that you have sufficient grass until the end of the first rotation.

If ground conditions allow, it is important that cows are let out to grass as early as possible post-calving.

Benefits of early turn-out:

• Stimulated grass growth;
• Reconditioned swards for the year ahead;
• Reduced feed costs;
• Increased milk output.

The SRP allocates a proportion of your farm each day – from your chosen turn-out date – to the start of your second rotation (usually 100 days later).

The grazing targets are: 30% by the end of February; 60% by March 17; and 100% by early April.

Teagasc outlined that the plan can vary between farms depending on when the turn-out date occurs.

Typically it is February 1-5 for drier farms and 10-12 days later for wet/heavy farms.

It is important to stick to the SRP and not graze more or less of the recommended daily area per day. Grazing more than the daily area could result in running out of grass before ‘magic day’ or even affect future growth rates going into the second round.

A strip wire is very useful this time of year as it allows you to allocate the recommended area in 12-hour blocks and helps in reaching the target residual of 3.5-4cm.

Wet weather management

The fear of wet weather can stop farmers turning animals out to grass early in spring. February can be a much drier month than March and April. The main criterion for spring grazing is a flexible attitude.

Do not be afraid to turn animals out early and bring them back in if soils get too saturated. Any increase in the proportion of grass in the diet will pay dividends.

On/off grazing has been successfully used on farms to retain animals at pasture during periods of heavy rainfall.

On/off grazing is where the animals are let out to grass with an appetite (feed is restricted when indoors).

It is also used as a strategy for earlier turnout of animals on heavier soil types; when you see animals start to lie down or walk about, bring them back into the shed.

The post Dairy advice: It’s time to complete your spring rotation planner appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The AgriScot Product Innovation Award and the AgriScot Silage Competition are each now open for entries and the unveiling of the winners is set to be a key attraction among the online seminars planned for Agr-e-Scot day, Wednesday November 18.

AgriScot Chairman, Robert Neill, explained:

“Everything is coming together for the online events we plan to stage on November 18.

“We cannot fully replicate a live, face-to-face AgriScot, but we are confident that our virtual version – unofficially christened Agr-e-Scot – will have something to interest everyone.

AgriScot is all about showcasing best practice and forward thinking; this is certainly the ethos behind our Product Innovation Award and also our Silage Competition. It is great, therefore, to announce that we are going to stage both of these competitions for 2020.

Traditionally, only AgriScot tradestand exhibitors are invited to enter their latest machine, livestock product, piece of software into the Product Innovation Award.

However, for 2020 the net is being cast wider and organisers state that any business with an eligible entry is welcome.

There are two broad categories for the award: ‘Animal Health and Husbandry’; and ‘Machinery and Equipment’.

Entries must have been introduced to the market since AgriScot 2019 and will be judged based on a submitted video clip which explains the service and shows the product in action.

10 entries will be shortlisted for judging based on the video submitted and thereafter the views of two users or owners of the product entered will also be sought and considered by the judges.

Silage competition entries now open

The AgriScot Silage Competition, which is also now open for entries, is sponsored by Watson Seeds Ltd, providing a prize value of over £5,000.

The competition has classes for ‘beef/sheep’ and ‘dairy’ clamp silages and also big bale silage. Entries can be from any cut of silage.

There is also a special young farmers class for producers under 26 years-of-age to enter any pit silage.

Competition organiser, Andrew Best, from Watson Seeds, commented:

“The weather has been inconsistent over the main grass growing and silage making months of 2020.

I guess that silage quality, and indeed quantity, is likely to be extremely varied across the country and indeed even across the different cuts taken on the same farm.

“With the likelihood of such variability in clamps and bale stacks, the importance of having silage analysed is clear,” he concluded.

The post 2 farming competitions will go ahead virtually this winter appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Considering the wet spring farmers had to deal with and the drought in May and June, farmers, in many parts of the country, will be tempted to take a third cut of silage, if the opportunity presents itself.

The best thing a farmer can do to see if they require a third-cut of silage is to do up a fodder budget to see what feed supplies are sitting in the yard.

Only then will farmers know if they require extra feed for the winter period. Farmers that take a gamble could be forced into buying feed next spring.

Fertiliser

If the plan is to take a third cut, spread between 60-70 units of nitrogen (N)/ac to silage ground after second-cut silage. If a high amount of clover (>20%) is present in the sward, then less N is required.

In addition to N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) off-takes must be replaced. The best way to do this is through the use of slurry; however, if no slurry is available a compound fertiliser can be used.

Apply 1,500-2,000 gallons/ac of slurry as soon as possible after silage is lifted plus 55-60 units of N/ac – five-to-seven days later. If applying slurry, slightly less N is needed.

To get the best response, use a low-emission slurry spreading (LESS) method of application such as a trailing shoe. 

Teagasc studies revealed that LESS will retain an extra three units of N/1,000 gallons of slurry compared to a splash plate.

Where a third cut is not being made, spread 40-50 units of N/ac and replace P and K off-takes. This will leave you with grass to extend the grazing season in the back end.

The post Thinking about making third-cut silage? Here’s a few things to keep in mind… appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Stephen Gilkinson, a dairying technologist at the college, explained: “Cows in the CAFRE dairy herd have traditionally calved from the last few days of August right through the winter into late spring. Two-thirds of the herd are calved by Christmas and the rest are spread over the following four months.

“This has helped spread milk production through the year; however, it is not ideal from a management perspective, as there are usually cows in early lactation, late lactation and dry cows all at the same time. This complicates herd management.

By having a much higher percentage of cows calving in the autumn, this means that the majority of cows can go to grass – in-calf – and be easier to manage. This achieves good milk production from grazed grass during the main grazing season.

“Cows will also start to dry off from early August onwards, as grass growth is declining, but a considerable proportion will still be grazing in late summer and early autumn to utilize late-season grass.”

According to Gilkinson, previously, cows had been dried off from early July, which meant that for these cows the proportion of fresh grass in their diet was very limited. Therefore, delaying the start of calving until the end of September will ”increase the amount of grazed grass in the diet and help to increase the milk from forage figures”.

He added: “The tighter autumn and early winter calving pattern will allow us to take advantage of milk price seasonality bonuses.”

Tighten the calving pattern

Speaking about the calving pattern and what has been done to make it as compact as possible, Gilkinson said: “In recent years, CAFRE staff, along with veterinary assistance from the Firmount Veterinary Clinic, have been working to tighten the calving pattern.

“This was done by delaying the start of calving from late August to late September, which has allowed us to increase the proportion of cows calved before January and to finish the breeding season earlier – each summer.”

According to Gilkinson, the progress made to date in tightening up the calving pattern has been achieved through the fertility management programme.

The programme includes:

• Breeding heifers from sires that have strong positive daughter fertility;
• Veterinary examination of cows before the start of the breeding season;
• Efficient heat detection by staff with first service submission rates typically of 90%;
• Use of heat detection aids to assist with heat detection;
• Weekly veterinary pregnancy diagnosis visits during the breeding season;
• Regular condition scoring of the herd and close monitoring and reviewing of herd nutrition with feed suppliers.

The post Tightening the calving pattern in the CAFRE dairy herd appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

From Europe to the US, from New Zealand to Africa and Canada leading farming associations, agricultural academics, producer associations, and other high-level industry stakeholders are “pushing back” against what is described as “misinformation” around animal agriculture that has circulated throughout the outbreak.

The European signatories include: Pekka Pesonen secretary general of Copa-Cogeca; Minette Batters president of the National Farmers Union (NFU); Prof. Nigel Scollan director at the Institute of Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast; the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; the British Veterinary Association; the European Livestock and Meat Trades Union; Animal Health Europe; the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation; School of Veterinary Studies at University of Edinburgh; Dr. Frederic Leroy of the Food Science and Biotechnology Department at Vrije Universiteit Brussel  – and many more.

The US and Canadian signatories include: Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis; the American Dairy Science Association; the Animal Health Institute; the Canadian Center for Food Integrity; the North American Meat Institute; the American National Cattle Women Association; Egg Farmers of Canada; the National Sheep Network; the National Aquaculture Association; the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing at University of Arkansas – and many others.

Other international signatories include: the World Veterinary Association; the Global Dairy Platform; the International Agri-food Network; the International Feed Industry Federation; the International Livestock Research Institute – and, again, many others.

It begins…

The letter, entitled: ‘Open Letter on the Value of Animal Agriculture: How livestock is supporting global nutrition, high standards of food safety and public health during the Covid-19 pandemic’ outlines the following:

The coronavirus crisis has brought into focus the incredible public health challenge our world faces, and nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in food production.

Nourishing the world during this crisis is a top priority across nations.

Our world needs the contributions of livestock.

Globally, 1.3 billion people depend on livestock for their employment, while billions more rely on livestock to provide food for their families.

Animal agriculture provides milk, meat, fish and eggs at a time when access to safe, nutritious and affordable food is necessary to fend off a potential global hunger crisis, and offers invaluable support for farmers facing severe, often existential, economic hardships.

The precise origin of Covid-19 remains under investigation, but ongoing research continues to confirm that domestic livestock production is safe and has not played a role in the spread of Covid-19.

Current evidence points to a journey from wild animals to humans, which aligns with research showing most zoonotic diseases originate in wildlife.

However, some are making unfounded claims that livestock and modern agriculture were somehow the source of the pandemic.

This threatens to distract the global public health response at a time when animal agriculture can offer lessons for wildlife zoonoses management as part of the long-term pandemic preparedness.

For example, livestock diseases are monitored globally to help prevent them from spreading across borders the way that Covid-19 has done, and advances in farm and facility practices, animal nutrition, veterinary diagnostics and medicine mean many zoonotic diseases, such as salmonella, are well managed in most economies.

Using these learnings to develop more robust early warning systems for wildlife could enhance our ability to detect emerging diseases.

Importantly, livestock production is a regulated, monitored system with food safety and public health at its core.

Even in the face of unprecedented challenges, farms and food facilities are taking every precaution possible to keep employees as safe as possible and fulfill their critical roles in our food supply, while producers continue to rely on bio-security, hygiene, vaccination, and other tools to control animal illness.

The knowledge and expertise of the livestock sector can help strengthen the global Covid-19 response and tackle the growing risk of nutrition insecurity.

We urge authorities, intergovernmental groups, and NGOs to support these efforts by:

• Reaffirming the safety of livestock production and reminding consumers of our robust food safety system, including the important role of veterinarians and animal nutrition;
• Refuting misinformation that tries to manufacture a link between livestock and the spread of Covid-19; 
• Consulting with livestock experts, including farmers and other stakeholders in the feed and food chain to understand how to aid their efforts to feed communities.

During this pandemic, livestock farms and the value chain are working tirelessly to ensure we have safe and affordable food to eat and drink. It’s vital that society support these efforts and tap into their knowledge to build a more resilient world in the future.

The post ‘Open letter on the value of animal agriculture’ – penned by a global farming community appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

As the fine weather continues, farmers are – and will be – busy working the fields over the coming weeks.

Whether it be a beef, dairy or sheep enterprise, farmers have improved their skills when it comes to managing out the most valuable and cheapest feed source – grass. This has led to surplus paddocks being closed and cut as high-quality bales.

However, when it comes to storing these bales: What is the correct and safest way to do so? While farmers’ opinions will differ on this topic, both Teagasc and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) have the following guidelines.

Firstly, if space allows, it is best to store all round bales one high on their flat ends. But, this may not always be practical – especially in recent years where yards may have been extended due to expansion.

According to Teagasc, unwilted bales should be stored on the ground (on curved side or flat end) whereas successfully wilted bales can be stored two or three high (on curved side only) if suitable handling equipment is available.

If round bales must be stacked the safest stacking method is on their curved sides in a pyramid stack.

Image source: Teagasc

In addition to this, the bales on the outside of the bottom row should be prevented from moving by means of chocks or other supports.

The maximum height of the stack should be three bales high and anything higher than this should be avoided. Where the bales are not very dense (unwilted hay) or soft (below 35% dry matter (DM) in wrapped silage), the maximum height of two bales is advised.

Bales with a lower DM can be heavier and should be stored in a single layer as they can squash bales at the bottom of the stack – which can stretch film or cause stability issues.

The stacking of round bales on their ends is not recommended as bales can have a tendency to shift due to the variable density of the material in the bale.

Storage of round bales on their ends or sides in a single layer on the ground can be permitted provided that the ground is level.

Safety must be a top priority. While freshly-wrapped stacked bales may seem ‘structurally sound’, bales can sag and move over time and may become hazardous.

Finally, it goes without saying, but children should not be allowed to play with or on top of bales.

The post What is the correct way to stack round bales of silage? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Ruth Ruddell, an advisor from the Sustainable Land Management branch at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), said: “Legumes have root nodules which contain rhizobia bacteria which are very beneficial as they can convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere to a plant-available form of nitrogen during the process of ‘fixation’.

This can supply approximately 150kg N/ha/year (equivalent to approximately 550kg of CAN) – a cost-saving of roughly £100-115/ha.

Combining the efficient use of slurry and manures with nitrogen fixation by a clover sward can help to improve production efficiency and reduce the use of artificial fertiliser, therefore, improving farm profitability.

Ruddell added: “Research by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has shown that a perennial ryegrass and white clover sward can be as productive as grass-only swards receiving medium to high fertiliser nitrogen as it can fix approximately 150kg N/ha/year.

In a study carried out at AFBI Hillsborough, a grass clover sward which received no nitrogen fertiliser had the same stock carrying capacity as a grass-only sward fertilised with 170kg N/ha.

White vs. red clover

Other AFBI studies have found that with low levels of slurry nitrogen applied, a perennial ryegrass and white clover mixture outperformed a ryegrass-only sward.

White clover varieties are particularly suited to livestock farms in Northern Ireland, providing an extended grazing season at the back-end of the year; however, red clover is best for cropping-silage systems.

“All swards benefit from having soil pH, P and K status at optimum levels but legumes are particularly sensitive to lower levels. Aim for a pH of 6.3 or higher as this is very important for the maintenance of legumes.

“As much of Northern Ireland is upland and often has quite acidic soil, not all types of clover are suitable so be sure to check the recommended varieties on the BGS grass and clover list. Clover can remain productive and persistent in swards for four to five years depending on management.

“For grass/white clover swards the optimum clover content of the sward over the season is 30% in the dry matter. However, this figure will vary throughout the season from 20% in spring to 60% in late summer.”

Yield benefits of clover in swards

Swards with a high clover content can improve animal health and performance. Worm burden is reduced especially when mixed grazing and trace element availability is increased from the clovers’ deep roots.

Clover swards maintain their quality for longer compared to grass-only swards, dropping about two units of digestible value each week.

This will contribute to greater herbage intake and up to 10% higher liveweight gain in cattle; 20% higher milk yield from dairy cows; and up to 25% higher liveweight gain in lambs.

Greater liveweight gains cuts the days to finishing time, thereby reduces the carbon footprint per kilogramme of produce.

Precautions

“Bloat is not generally a problem on clover swards in Northern Ireland. However, to reduce the risk further, move stock onto dry grass and avoid letting animals gorge by feeding roughage like hay or straw before moving into a clover sward,” Ruddell highlighted.

Grazing sheep before cattle also reduces the risk of bloat for cattle. Flock keepers also should be careful not to graze ewes on red clover swards for a period of four weeks before and after tupping.

This is due to its phyto-oestrogen content, which can cause poor reproductive performance; however, white clover has no issues with phyto-oestrogens.

The post Farmers urged to consider clover swards to lower fertiliser costs appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

As sheep and beef cattle in the UK are reared in a non-intensive way, mostly using natural grass rather than artificial feed, figures have been highlighted which illustrate the dry weather’s impact on grass growth.

GrassCheckGB aims to improve grassland productivity and pasture utilisation on 50 beef, sheep and dairy farms across Britain, including nine beef and sheep farms and five dairy farms in Wales.

Soil moisture and grass gowth

Soil moisture readings have been extremely low across the UK according to the data measured by the weather stations.

This week’s average recording for farms in Wales is 146 centibars (cb), Scotland is 72.5cb, while the north and south of England is 151cb and 119cb respectively. A reading of higher than 60cb has the potential to restrict growth.

Rainfall has been gratefully received across some parts of the UK in the past week and has resulted in grass growth figures increasing by 10% to 41.9 kilo of dry matter per hectare (kg/DM/ha) in Wales; while in Scotland, there was a larger increase in grass growth figures, rising by 54% to 52kg/DM/ha.

Similarly, in northern England, there was an increase in grass growth by 3% to 42.3kg/DM/ha. However, in the south, there was no such increase, with grass growth marginally decreasing to 45.7kg/DM/ha.

Comparison to 2019

In comparison to the 2019 figures, it becomes apparent the lack of rainfall has had significant effect. Grass growth for farms across Wales this time last year was 77kg/DM/ha which was accompanied by an average soil moisture reading of 79.9cb.

While in Scotland, the average grass growth was 69kg/DM/ha with an average soil moisture of 46cb, north England experienced grass growth of 66kg/DM/ha with soil moisture of 86.9cb, and in southern England there was grass growth of 63kg/DM/ha with soil moisture of 96cb.

Advice

“In such dry conditions grass growth is slowing, therefore it is important to avoid over-grazing to prevent regrowth slowing even further,” said Nia Davies, HCC research and development officer.

Where grass supply is short it may be necessary to add buffer feeds, graze silage ground or give additional concentrates to stock at grass.

“It is advised to keep a close eye on local weather forecasts and measure grass growth more regularly now to get a clear picture of how pasture is being impacted by the current conditions.”

HCC’s Stoc+ project has looked further into the animal health effects of the prolonged dry period.

Lowri Williams, HCC flock and herd health officer, explained: “Poor grazing and short grass can be associated with a higher worm burden due to lambs grazing earlier if their dams’ milk supply is reduced and due to higher levels of infection on short grass.

Infective worm larvae climb up the grass but more of them are concentrated nearer the soil. In prolonged, hot, and dry conditions worm eggs are less likely to hatch so the risk can be lower but there is often a mass hatch after rain with a high risk of worm infestations.

“It is important to take additional measures and consider issues such as trace element deficiencies in prolonged dry weather periods.

“If you have had problems in the past, you suspect deficiencies, or are unsure, farmers should consider consulting their vet to discuss monitoring and testing,” Williams concluded.

The post Dry weather hindering grass growth on livestock farms across the UK appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute institute has analysed thousands of silage samples since it was established in 2006.

However, while the dry matter (DM) content of silage increased over this time, in general, there was little improvement in its nutritional quality.

Why is that the case?

“Making good quality silage can be a difficult task. We have changeable weather and so we have short windows of operation for the silage contractors,” Kevin McGrath, a beef and sheep adviser at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) commented.

The biggest issue can be our need for bulk at the expense of quality. By delaying harvest to achieve bulk, yields are increased but quality declines.

“Most beef and sheep farms will have a mixture of stock each with different feed demands. Common practice on many beef and sheep farms is to produce a large crop of silage of low to average quality, making up the nutritional shortfall with expensive concentrates.

“With tight margins and the fact that stock are housed for up to six months of the year, we need to focus on improving our silage quality to increase output and reduce costs.”

Increasing yield at a lower price, where to start?

McGrath added: “Growing grass whether for grazing or silage needs the correct nutrition. Soils need to be analysed with appropriate levels of lime, nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and sulphur applied depending on results.

A grass plant suffering nutritional stress will naturally grow to head to reproduce, compromising both quality and quantity.

“You must apply fertiliser at the correct time. Apply slurry when grass cover is low to avoid the risk of contamination and poor fermentation.

“Nitrogen fertiliser should be applied at no more than 120kg/ha first cut, 100kg/ha at the second cut and 80kg/ha third cut. Sulphur isn’t stored in the soil. It will raise both sugar and protein levels which can improve both fermentation and production.

“Weeds reduce silage quality, can cause dietary upset and are more difficult to ensile. Docks, for example, are 65% of the nutritional value of grass. At a 10% sward presence, this is the equivalent of one silage bale/10 of docks. Spray 3-4 weeks before harvest.

Types of grass is also important; ryegrasses have higher digestibility with improved yields over poorer swards. Due to a higher sugar content, fermentation and preservation will also be better.

The harvesting process will be aided by the fact that the grass cutting date has the greatest influence on silage quality.

When to harvest?

An earlier cut of higher quality grass may allow reduced concentrate use, but first priority is to ensure an adequate supply of silage to feed all stock over the winter period.

Once the desired quantity is available, the focus then moves to optimising quality.

“Digestibility, measured in D-value, falls by 0.5 D-value a day from when the grass plants start to develop flowering stems,” McGrath stated.

Target D value depends on the class of stock to be fed; 67 D is the minimum target for productive stock and coincides with 50% ear emergence.

McGrath warned that each week delay in cutting could require an extra 1kg of concentrate/weanling/day or 0.25kg/lamb/day to compensate for loss of silage quality.

“As a rule of thumb, one day’s growth should be allocated for each 2.5kg of nitrogen applied. A failure to utilise all the nitrogen can lead to poor fermentation. This has led to farmers delaying harvesting especially if fertiliser has been applied late.

“Pre-cut testing is available indicating both nitrate and sugar levels. If there are risks of residual nitrates at cutting, wilt grass to 30% dry matter (DM) using a quick wilt to reduce the loss of sugars ensuring a good fermentation,” McGrath added.

Ideally farmers should aim to wilt their grass quickly to 25-30% DM. Wilt for 24 hours to increase the concentration of sugars in the grass which in turn improves fermentation and intakes.

Chop length is also an important consideration as it effects consolidation in the pit, clamp or bale. The dryer the grass the shorter the chop length should become.

For a DM of 25-30%, aim for a chop length of 2.5-5cm. For a wetter crop of grass of less than 22% DM, aim for a chop length of 10cm. Chopped silage break down more rapidly in the rumen but if cut too short it can also lead to poor rumen health.

Cut dense swards to a recommended cutting height of 5cm with more open swards increased up to 10cm. This avoids the risk of soil contamination occurring, which may lead to listeria.

Preserving silage

When filling the pit, try to do so as quickly as possible; also roll the pit constantly when filling. Once the pit is filled, do not roll the following day as this can allow air to re-enter and affect the fermentation process.

We can’t forget baled silage as it offers flexibility and the possibility of quality if required. It is important to aim for chopped, well shaped bales to produce fewer bales/ha. This will reduce both baling and wrapping costs.

“Chopping a silage bale has an effect on silage intake with sheep but not cattle. Try to wrap within three hours at the storage site if possible,” McGrath concluded.

The post ‘Over the years, silage DM content has increased; but nutritional quality hasn’t’ appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air-quality specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, articulated this view whilst in conversation with Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, during last week’s virtual ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference.

He cautions that this scenario needs to be overcome in order to keep global agriculture on a “path to climate neutrality” – a concept that he says farmers can buy into, as supposed to the “current blame game”, which he says “does nothing other than antagonising agriculture versus the rest of society”.

The comments followed Dr. Mitloehner’s keynote presentation which, in fact, focused on this specific pathway for animal agriculture to become “climate neutral”.

To support his detailed argument, the expert in agricultural air quality, livestock housing and husbandry also drew upon scientific research from the University of Oxford where authors – Dr. Myles Allen and Dr. Michelle Caine – have found that biogenic methane from livestock “is not the same” as fossil methane from oil and gas.

“It is the same chemically, but the origin and fate is totally, drastically different,” Dr. Mitloeher said.

To explain this further, the professor focused on three main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); and nitrous oxide (N2O), adding that these gases are “most often” compared to one another with respect to what’s called their “global warming potential” or GWP.

Global warming potential is a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide equivalent is a measure used to compare the emissions from the various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential. In turn, this process makes it easier to sum up the emissions and contribution of greenhouse gases to climate change and determine options to address climate change, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In line with the EPA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the global warming potentials of these three greenhouse gases are as follows:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) GWP = 1;
• Methane (CH4) GWP = 28;
• Nitrous oxide (N2O) GWP = 265.

Dr. Mitloehner explains: “So, let’s say if you use 100lb of methane, then you multiply that 100lb of methane by 28 and then you have the CO2 equivalents.

“If you have 100lb of nitrous oxide emitted, then multiply that 100lb of nitrous oxide by 265 and you have the CO2 equivalents.

“That is what people have been doing since 1990 – since the Kyoto Protocol on climate was developed.”

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a historical agreement in that it was the first international agreement in which many of the world’s industrial nations concluded a verifiable agreement to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gases in order to prevent global warming. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it set binding targets for 37 industrialised countries, and the European community, for reducing emissions. These amounted to an average of 5% against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.

At the time, the scientists who were putting out this work on the global warming potential of these greenhouse gases had placed several caveats and footnotes underneath the tables in their reportage.

However, Dr. Mitloehner contends that, in much of the media coverage of this science, these important side notes and ‘explainers’ did not feature.

“The footnotes were cut off and people just ran with the main projections. In my opinion, that was a very dangerous situation that has really gotten animal agriculture into a lot of trouble quite frankly.

‘Short-lived pollutant’

“CO2 and N2O are referred to as ‘long-lived climate pollutants’. Methane, on the other hand, is a ‘short-lived climate pollutant’.

“Long-lived climate pollutants are only emitted, they are put into the atmosphere – but there is no real sink for it in a major way.

“But for methane, that is different,” he said.

Turning to what he calls the ‘global methane budget’, Dr. Mitloehner outlines the various sources of methane such as: fossil fuel production and use; agriculture and waste; biomass burning; wetlands; and other natural emissions.

Image source: Dr. Frank Mitloehner presentation at ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference

Globally, he says, a total of 560 teragrams (560 trillion grams) of methane is emitted into the atmosphere every year.

This, he says, is usually the point whereby the discussion stops – even though it shouldn’t.

“Because, in addition to emissions putting methane into the atmosphere, we also have sinks that amount to a very respectable total number of 550 teragrams (550 trillion grams).

These sinks are: the sink from chemical reactions in the atmosphere; and the sink in soils.

So, in other words, we have 560 teragrams of methane emitted, meaning put into the atmosphere, but then we have 550 teragrams of methane taken out of the atmosphere.

“Therefore, the net emissions that we are dealing with per year is not 560 teragrams – but it is actually 10 teragrams. Yet, everybody talks about 560 teragrams.

‘Hydroxyl oxidation’

“So what is it that takes methane out of the atmosphere? What is that process?

“Well, it’s called ‘a chemical reaction’ in the atmosphere; the scientific term is ‘hydroxyl oxidation’. Hydroxyl oxidation is a process by which radicals in the air take hydrogen away from methane (CH4), it destroys the methane converting it back to CO2 again,” he said.

In addition to this difference between the greenhouse gases – namely their global warming potential – another difference is the lifespan of these gases.

“Carbon dioxide has a lifespan of 1,000 years – once it’s in the atmosphere it lives there for 1,000 years.

“It’s similar for nitrous oxide – not quite as long, buts it’s in the hundreds of years (circa 120 years). So both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are considered ‘long-lived’ climate pollutants.

And they have a sharp contrast to methane, as methane has a half-life of 10 years – meaning that the methane that our cows and our livestock put out will be gone after 10 years.

“Methane is not just produced – methane is also destroyed,” he said.

Again, Dr. Mitloehner warns that this is a very important nuance most often not considered in much coverage on the topic.

Recycled Methane

Turning to the biogenic carbon cycle, the professor says it is critical to understand where the carbon – the ‘C’ in CH4 (methane) – comes from, and where that carbon ends up.

“The origin and the fate of that carbon is actually very important in order to understand why livestock-related greenhouse gases are distinctively different from greenhouse gases that are associated with other sectors of society – such as the transportation sector or other fossil-fuel-using sectors.

“So, what do plants need to grow? They need sunlight, they need water and they need carbon in the form of CO2.

“That CO2 in the atmosphere is taken in by plants; that carbon from CO2 is then made into carbohydrates – such as cellulose [found in grass or plants] and that cellulose starch, or component in the feed, is then ingested by, let’s say, a cow.

“So the C goes from atmospheric CO2, to carbohydrates in the plant, into the ruminant’s stomach, into the rumen, where some of that carbon is converted into methane (CH4) and emitted – they belch it out.

Image source: Dr. Frank Mitloehner presentation at ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference

“After about a decade, that CH4 is converted – via hydroxyl oxidation – back into CO2. So, in other words, the origin and the fate is atmospheric CO2 – what we are dealing with here is a cycle – the biogenic carbon cycle.

“Therefore, if you have constant livestock herds, or even decreasing livestock herds over time, then you’re not adding new additional carbon to the atmosphere. But the carbon that is emitted by our animals is recycled carbon,” Dr. Mitloehner said.

However, he stresses that he is “by no means” suggesting that methane does not matter.

While that methane is in the atmosphere, he affirms that it is heat-trapping and that it is a potent greenhouse gas.

Rather he says, the question really is, do livestock herds add to additional methane – meaning additional carbon in the atmosphere – leading to additional warming?

“The answer to that question is no. As long as we have constant herds, or even decreasing herds, we are not adding additional methane – and hence not additional warming.

“This is a total change in the narrative around livestock. And I think this will be the narrative in the years to come,” he said.

Image source: Dr. Frank Mitloehner presentation at ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference

In contrast, he outlines how fossil carbon originates in the form of fossil fuels – oil, coal, gas – which are nothing more than ancient forests and animals that died and fossilised over hundreds of millions of years – and got stored in the ground.

‘One-way street’

Now global industries are extracting them – from land and sea – for oil, gas etc and, sooner or later, burning that fossil fuel in factories, in cars, in trucks, in trains, planes and ships,

“We take carbon out of the atmosphere where it was trapped. We are extracting it, we are burning it, and by doing so we are putting it into the atmosphere. And this is not a cycle; but this is a one-way street.

“And because the amount of CO2 that we put into the atmosphere – by far – overpowers the potential sinks that could take up CO2 – such as oceans, soils, or plants – this, ladies and gentlemen, is the main culprit of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and the resulting warming.

Image source: Dr. Frank Mitloehner presentation at ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference

Dr. Mitloehner outlined that long-lived climate pollutants (such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) are referred to as “a stock gas” because every time its emitted into the atmosphere – for example, when driving a car – it adds to the existing stock of that gas.

By contrast, he says that methane is referred to as “a flow gas” whereby you have constant amounts being emitted from constant sources – for example, a constant number of cows on a dairy farm. In this scenario, he again reiterates that new additional methane is not being added to the atmosphere because the amount of methane the cows put out “equals the amount” of methane that’s being destroyed.

“I have yet to see a climate scientist who would say that ‘it’s the cows that are a primary culprit of warming’. Most of them will agree that the primary culprit is the use of fossil fuels.

“However, people critical of animal agriculture always point at cows and cattle and other livestock species. And they feel that this is a very powerful tool to ostracise animal agriculture as we know it,” he said.

As far as the science is concerned, Dr. Mitloehner says the only time that you really add new additional methane to the atmosphere with a livestock herd is throughout the first 10 years of its existence; or if you increase your herd sizes – only then, he says, do you actually add new additional methane and thus new additional warming.

‘Global cooling’

So what does all this mean in reality? How does the way countries currently account for greenhouse gases differ to how they should account for greenhouse gases, particularly methane?

While significant increases in methane will lead to increased warming, he says stable methane levels will have “a zero impact” on warming, as the amount of methane produced and the amount of methane destroyed “even each other out”.

For Dr. Mitloehner, the most exciting outlook for this science is that, where methane is significantly decreased, it means carbon can actively be taken out of the atmosphere.

Image source: Dr. Frank Mitloehner presentation at ONE20: The Alltech Ideas Conference

“This scenario has a net cooling effect. If you have a methane reduction it leads to a significant cooling, meaning that, if we can find ways to reduce methane, then we counteract other sectors of societies that do contribute – and significantly so – to global warming, such as flying, driving, running air conditioners and so on. “So if we were to reduce methane, we could induce global cooling. And I think that our livestock sector has the potential to do it – and we’re already seeing examples where that happens,” he said.

Dr. Mitloehner went on to refer to the methane emission reduction levels being achieved in the US state of California – the largest agricultural state in the US – where the farming sector has achieved a staggering 25% reduction in its emission rates due to state-incentivised support for anaerobic digestion in the dairy sector and alternative manure management practices.

The state is aiming for a 40% reduction of methane emissions by 2030.

“We are now at 25% of the 40% total reduction – so over halfway of where we want to be; so to me that is very encouraging and I’m really happy to report that – because I know that if we can do it here, it can be done in other parts of the country – and in other parts of the world.

“And if we indeed achieve such reductions of greenhouse gas, particularly of short-lived greenhouse gases such as methane, then that means that our livestock sector will be on a path for climate neutrality – and that to me is a lifetime objective,” he said.

Image source: Dairy Cares

The professor also pointed to strides being achieved in New Zealand where legislation has been developed that separates out biogenic methane from other greenhouse gases.

The government there now has regulations for carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide – the long-lived climate pollutants – and different goals and different policies around biogenic methane.

Media silence

Dr. Mitloehner, who received his master’s degree in animal science and agricultural engineering from Leipzig University in Germany and his PhD in animal science from Texas Tech University, brought this concept of ‘global warming potential star’ (GWP*) to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) when he served as chairman of an international partnership committee called ‘LEAP’ (Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership).

“They are greatly interested in this concept of accounting for methane for its warming potential – as opposed to just the CO2 equivalent calculation.

“The concept has also made it all the way to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change – where one of its senior authors is Dr. Myles Allen from Oxford University who is the one behind this concept.

But now, what I find most interesting is that the one missing entity in this whole discussion so far has been the media.

“I have not seen any major reporting on this – even though it’s such a hot topic.

“I mean the world talks about what the impact of our food systems are on our environmental footprint.

“Now, this is a major new narrative, and to me it’s very unusual, and it’s very confusing, as to why the same outlets that have touted this topic as being ‘so paramount’ are not talking about these new findings whatsoever.

To me, that’s problematic. And we have to think about why that is? Have we not explained it right? Is it too early for them to report about it? I don’t know, but this narrative is not going away.

“You will see it gain momentum and it will become the new reality,” he concluded.

The post Latest science on methane emissions ‘ignored’ by media – Dr. Mitloehner appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Sometimes on sheep farms, the task of making silage can be put on hold until later in the summer. However, this will only have a negative impact on the quality of the silage that will be offered to ewes during that subsequent winter housing period.

Making silage early in the season, typically in mid-to-late May and early in June, will give farmers the best chance of storing highly-digestible feed that will have a positive impact on ewe performance. 

If farmers can offer ewes silage that has a high dry matter digestibility (DMD) it can possibly reduce the amount of concentrates that will have to be fed in late-pregnancy.

If we can put highly-digestible silage in front of ewes during the housing period, it will help to improve their body condition score (BCS). Feeding poor-quality fodder will only end up in farmers having to supplement extra concentrates in order to get ewes in good condition and to try and avoid health problems in late pregnancy.

The fact that the housing period for sheep is relatively short in comparison to other livestock systems, this should offer sheep farmers a better chance of focusing on producing good-quality fodder, as the amount of feed required for the winter period will be less.

So, in order to make good-quality silage, the following points should be considered.

These include:

• Plan to cut grass in mid-to-late May or early in June;
• Walk silage ground at least once a week to determine when it is fit to cut;
• Cut grass when it’s leafy – before the grass heads out;
• Don’t delay the harvesting date if possible. Delayed cutting might produce a heavier crop, but it will reduce the nutritional value of the crop;
• If you plan to let the crop wilt, then allow for a wilting period of 24-36 hours;
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast. Don’t cut grass when the weather is promised wet.

Rotational system

If you are implementing a rotational system on your farm, then it is important that paddocks are taken out and baled as soon as possible.

Farmers should avoid letting ewes graze excessive grass covers, as the grass won’t be fully utilised and more than likely the grass will have headed out which, in turn, will reduce the nutritional value of the sward.

Ideally, farmers should be letting their ewes graze covers that are between 7cm and 9cm in height.

By taking out an odd paddock here and there you will be able to store good-quality silage, but also reintroduce that paddock back into the grazing block – which, in a couple of weeks, if fertiliser is applied and weather conditions are good, will have a good cover of grass for ewes and lambs to graze.

In saying that, don’t go overkill on taking out paddocks. Pick and choose the fields you think are the heaviest and go from there. Taking out a large number of fields in a short space of time could lead to a grass deficit on the farm.

We have seen in previous years and in the last week or two that this time of the year can be quite dry, so we don’t want to end up in a situation where we are going to be tight for grass.

The post Sheep advice: Think about quality over quantity when it comes to making silage appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

However, grass growth rates are still varying in some areas, with some parts of the country getting little to no rain in the past week or so.

Depending on where you are based, some farmers have seen supplies steam ahead of demand, whereas, in some cases, the exact opposite is being seen.

May is usually the month where grass growth takes off and when the silage season kicks off.

So, it’s important from a grazing and silage point of view that grass supplies are managed properly in order to maximise the quality of grass that is being grazed now and what will be stored for the winter period.

Dairy

At this stage of the year, talking to a couple of dairy farmers, many of them are finding that grass growth has exceeded demand, which has presented an opportunity for them to take out bales for silage.

The only way of identifying what paddocks should be grazed next and what ones should be skipped and baled is by walking the farm and measuring the covers of grass on it.

The sooner paddocks are identified and taken out for bales the better, as this will allow for good-quality silage to be stored for the winter period and allow for paddocks to be brought back into the grazing rotation quicker.

Where paddocks are taken out and cut for silage, it is important that what comes off must go back on – in particular potassium (K) and phosphorus (P).

A cheap way of replacing these off-takes is by applying slurry; however, with the dry weather that some parts of the country have endured over the last few weeks, it might be best to hold out applying any until rain is forecasted to fall.

In terms of a grazing situation, it is imperative that farmers keep good-quality grass in front of their cows.

A couple of points to keep in mind as we head into peak grass growth are to: 

• Maintain a target post-grazing residual of 4cm;
• Maintain a target pre-grazing yield of 1,400kg DM/ha;
• Maintain a rotation length of 18-21 days;
• Cut surplus bales from the poorer-quality paddocks;
• Walk the farm twice weekly or more to monitor grass supply and grass-growth rates.

Sheep

No different from what is done on dairy farms, sheep farmers, who have seen supplies exceed demand on their farms, should identify paddocks that have gone ‘too strong for grazing’ and make bales instead.

Ideally, you want ewes and their lambs grazing covers of between 1,050kg DM/ha and 1,200kg DM/ha, which equates to about a pre-grazing cover of between 7cm and 9cm.

If sheep are grazing covers above this then grass utilisation won’t be maximised.

For farms where grass supplies haven’t exceeded demand, then the best option, if you haven’t done so already, is to batch up ewes and their lambs into large groups.

This will reduce the residency period in a paddock and allow for a longer rest period, which should help regrowth.

So to ensure sheep have access to good-quality grass, the following points should be considered.

These include: 

• Maintain a target post-grazing residual of 4cm;
• Maintain a target pre-grazing yield of between 1,000kg DM/ha and 1,200kg DM/ha;
• Batch ewes and their lambs into large groups to reduce the residency period in a paddock;
• A reduced residency period will allow for an increased rest period which will help with regrowths;
• Take out paddocks where grass has gone ‘too strong’ (covers in excess of 1,400kg DM/ha) and bale for silage;
• Continue to walk the farm at least once a week to keep on top of and monitor grass supplies.

The post Grass advice: Don’t delay in taking out surplus paddocks for bales appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Short-term, the presence of broadleaved weeds in grassland will limit grass yield and quality. Docks and chickweed are nutrient loving weeds, thriving in more intensively managed swards.

Other weeds such as dandelion, thistle, rushes and ragwort can also cause problems. Weed species compete with grass for nutrients and space, reducing the quantity and quality of the sward and hindering silage fermentation.

Dock Control

Reducing dock infestation by 20% will provide an additional 0.3t of grass dry matter per hectare (DM/ha).

Where dock-infested swards are ensiled, their high nitrogen content adversely hampers a good fermentation, leading to a high-pH silage that spoils quickly when opened and depresses intake.

Dock seeds can also survive in silage and pass through the cow, infesting a field when slurry is spread.

The best defence against perennial broad-leaved weeds is to prevent them from establishing in the first place. This can be achieved by having a well-managed, dense sward, growing in well-structured, non-compacted soil.

Over or under-grazed leys that have been poached offer perfect conditions for weed seeds to germinate. Topping or mowing weed plants provides short-term visual satisfaction but stimulates active regrowth, so the problem gets worse, not better.

Modern systemic herbicides offer a long-term solution for controlling persistent weeds in grassland. A well-timed treatment with an appropriate herbicide can transform a weed dominated pasture into a productive ley, without the need to reseed.

Farmers may have to be more pro-active this year as weeds have generally survived the mild winter and favourable spring weather. Where clover is present, it is advisable to use recommended clover-safe herbicides.

Spraying – how and when to apply herbicides?

To achieve maximum chemical uptake the majority of docks should be at the large rosette stage. This is when there is the maximum leaf surface area on the dock – ideally covering an area at least the size of a dinner plate – but before the seed stem starts to appear.

This stage is easiest to obtain in the spring or autumn when the dock is in the vegetative stage of its growth cycle and most translocation of chemical within the plant is downward into the root.

Once the dock starts to shoot, most of the translocation then tends to be upward in the plant to support the rapid seed stalk growth.

Since the chemical moves by translocation within the plant, little moves at this time to the root and therefore control of the root will be very poor.

To ensure good translocation of chemical into the root the dock needs to be actively growing. See photo below illustrating the optimum stage to spray the dock.

Optimum growing stage to spray docks

Spray application

Follow the spraying guidelines:

1. Use 3-4 bar pressure.
2. For water volume, generally around 115-135L/ac (25 to 30G/ac). Please adhere to individual product manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Aim for a medium spray for better plant coverage.
4. Aim to spray in early morning or later evening – when no direct sunlight is prevalent especially in warm weather as this improves chemical uptake and reduces the likelihood of scorching.

Timing of spraying

For a sequence of applications, the best timings would be spring (mid-April to June) and then a follow-up spray on any regrowth in the autumn (late August-September) or the following spring.

No dock spray will give complete control with a single application and effective dock control requires a programmed approach. Follow-up applications will be necessary to deal with docks and germinating seed docks not controlled in the first treatment.

Long term control can only be achieved using a sequence of applications of a translocated herbicide because of the potential of regrowth both from roots and the seed bank built up in the ground over the years.

If seed stalks are seen on the plant or if the dock has diseased leaves or is under pest attack, it is then better to cut/top or graze and allow re-growth of docks before applying chemical.

Allow adequate time, generally three to four weeks (depends on individual products – always check the label) between spraying and cutting for silage. This will allow for effective herbicide translocation to the roots of the dock plants and achieve maximum effect.

Recent research has shown that longer-term – up to five years – control of docks can be achieved by applying a suitable herbicide onto small docks shortly after reseeding.

By applying the herbicide at this stage of the dock’s development, facilitates almost complete elimination of the docks. Docks that emerge in the following years rarely establish due to competition from the grass.

Spring Reseeds

Dr. David Patterson, AFBI agronomist, advises: “For a spring reseed it is essential to control broad-leaved and grass weeds prior to sowing and sowing in late spring is preferable as germination and growth is improved when soil temperatures are above 10°C.”

Prior to reseeding the old sward should be sprayed with a glyphosate herbicide to kill all broad-leaved weeds (e.g. docks, chickweed, thistles) as well as weed grasses (e.g. scutch, creeping bent, meadowgrass).

If weed grasses such as scutch are present in the old sward and are not killed, they can quickly re-establish in the young reseed.

If planning to reseed later this spring, silage and grazing fields can be sprayed typically 7-10 days before harvesting – check the specific product safety label instructions.

If using minimum cultivation, more broad-leaved weeds may establish in the young sward; this will require a post-emergence spray.

A broad-spectrum spray will remove chickweed, docks and thistles and should be sprayed 6-8 weeks after reseeding when there are three leaves on the grass plant.

The product choice will depend on the presence of clover and the main weeds present. This will help to control weeds preventing dock infestations re-occurring.

Other broad-leaved weeds such as redshank and chickweed can be controlled by grazing or close topping if dispersed throughout the sward (i.e. not in dense clumps).

Spraying Regulations

Comprehensive advice on all aspects of using pesticides is contained in the DAERA Code of Practice for Plant Protection Products.

The code explains how to use plant protection products safely and so meet the legal conditions which cover their use.

The post Controlling grassland weed on dairy farms – act now or pay next year appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

This is the view of Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air-quality specialist based at the Department of Animal Science in UC Davis, in the US.

His perspective – shared during a recent FarmLand interview (full video below) – comes against a backdrop of widespread discussion on how shutting down of the world’s largest industrial economies, to stem the spread of the highly-infectious coronavirus, is impacting on overall GHG emissions.

Speaking from his stateside home, Dr. Mitloehner – whose work has informed national and international carbon policy in Australia, South Africa, Paraquay, South America and China and beyond – outlined what is currently happening with the planet’s emissions; whilst also highlighting where agriculture’s carbon footprint now fits.

He began by referencing recent NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and European Space Agency (ESA) pollution monitoring satellite reports (see below) that have detected significant decreases in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over China.

Image source: NASA Earth Observatory

Dr. Mitloehner said: “Many farmers see the satellite images that are going around the world on social media right now of northern Italy and China, before and after the crisis hit.

“And what’s very clear is that many air pollutants have gone drastically down.

“But the emissions that have gone down are mainly associated with the use of fossil fuel – the burning of oil, coal and gas.

“So what’s going down are oxides of nitrogen and other gases, such as volatile organic compounds. That’s happening because their related activities have reduced drastically – there is much less vehicle traffic on the streets, much fewer planes and air traffic in the skies,” he said.

Although much global economic activity has effectively ground to a halt to protect society from the clutches of the deadly contagion, agricultural activity has persevered to bolster food security, at home and abroad, during the pandemic.

“Agriculture overall is pretty much maintaining its emissions levels because all the activities are maintained.

“It’s not as if Irish farmers, or our farmers here in California, are doing half as much as before – we’re going full throttle and as a result our emissions are the same as they were before the pandemic broke.

“So while overall emissions are going down from all of those sectors of society that have always used fossil fuel and large amounts of it, agriculture is pretty much the same,” he said.

However, similar emission trends have been noted in the recent past.

In 2009, in the midst of the global economic recession, worldwide emissions dropped by 1.3%, according to the Global Carbon Project (a recognised international group of climate scientists). However, emissions strongly rebounded by 5% in 2010 as growth emerged from economies, such as China and India.

Therefore, Dr. Mitloehner doesn’t expect the current drop in emissions to have any lasting effect; or impact on current carbon reduction policies at Government level.

“I don’t think there is any question that the effects that we are seeing now will be very short-term in nature – unless the pandemic really stays with us for years, which currently is not what most experts predict.

“The reductions that we have seen so far will be compensated by increased activities after we are let out of our houses again – and maybe even more so, as people compensate for what they didn’t do over the last number of months.”

Strategic importance

However, the professor is of the view that attitudes towards agricultural (methane) emissions at local, regional, national and international level will change – as will the general public’s respect towards food production.

“Agriculture plays a really important role in and around greenhouse gases; and I think that role is often times not appreciated.

“Agriculture is not just a source, but agriculture is also a significant sink of greenhouse gases. Grazing land sequesters a lot of carbon and this happens instantaneously.

A forest that you plant today will take years to sequester carbon. We need impacts now – not in 10, 20 and 30 years.

“Farmers need to get appreciation of the sequestration of carbon that they are currently already conducting,” he said.

He noted the food shortages he has observed at his local supermarkets in California – a situation that he says emphasises the importance of food security for local consumers.

“California is the agricultural powerhouse of the US, but I now go into the supermarket and all of a sudden I see there are food shortages – there are certain food items that you just don’t get anymore.

“So people need to be careful of what they’re messing with when they’re attacking agricultural practices; or proposing to replace agriculture with other forms of land use.

“We need farming. Farming is the most strategically important sector of our society – next to the health sector. We need to foster it and support it in every way we can,” he concluded.

The post ‘Agriculture is going full throttle; yet emissions remain the same’ – US scientist appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

As a result, grass growth has started to pick up. While this burst of growth is long overdue, and very much welcomed, growing conditions for weeds are now also very suitable.

During this period of fine weather, the number one job on farmers’ lists was to get silage ground grazed, with slurry and fertiliser applied, so it can be closed up with the aim of harvesting in May. In the majority of situations, this has been achieved.

Over the coming weeks, farmers may notice docks and other weeds appearing on both their silage ground and their grazing platform.

With this in mind, AgriLand spoke to TP Whelehan’s Chris Maughan to find out what is the best way to control docks and other weeds, while touching on the ideal time for application. We also discussed best practice in terms of weed management in a new reseed.

On silage ground, when is the best time for spray application?

Over the last couple of weeks, farmers have probably got their slurry and fertiliser out. Generally, we recommend spraying weeds two weeks after fertiliser is applied – when the grass is starting to grow along with the weeds; this is the best time.

So, over the coming week or two, from mid-April to the end of April is the best time to hit docks and other broadleaved weeds. 

This is the time to eliminate docks and weeds which will allow grass to grow in its place – resulting in better-quality silage.

Frost damaged docks

However, in terms of docks, if you get a grass frost – which you could get in April – it tends to turn the leaves purple. If that happens don’t spray. Farmers should allow new leaves to grow, which will take about 10 days to two weeks.

What if I only got my slurry applied in recent days?

If slurry is going on, grass covers are probably low. So, what tends to happen is the slurry will cover and coat the dock, so it takes about two weeks for the new leaves to come up, so you’ll definitely be waiting at least two weeks after slurry application.

In terms of docks, can I spray them at any growth stage or is there an ideal time?

The best time really to kill docks or any weeds is when you reseed. But, yes timing is very important. 

You’re generally looking at spraying docks when they’re eight-to-10in high or across, and when they are green and leafy – usually at what is called the rosette stage.

Ideal time to spray docks

It’s important to get the dock at the right stage – when its green and leafy – because you want to get enough chemical on it. Systemic chemicals that will get down through the leaf into the root. A dock root can grow up to 1m deep, so it’s really important to get it at the right time.

Generally, when you spray systemic products, you need to leave a minimum of three-to-four weeks before you cut silage and that allows the spray time to get down and kill everything.

If you get a good spray on the docks in the next couple of weeks, will that kill the weed completely?

It’s very difficult to get a spray that will 100% kill out a dock root. There are hormone sprays that are short-term control; they work to kill out the docks for two-to-three months.

Then you’ve got other more systemic products, they tend to be better at killing out the root. But it is very difficult to get a spray that is 100%.

The other important thing is to use plenty of water – to give them a good wetting. Generally, with most products, you’re looking at using a minimum of 200L of water/ha, which is about 20 gallons/ac.

However, with Doxstar Pro, there is a benefit in using 300L of water/ha – especially in silage ground to ensure you get good coverage of the dock.

A lot of the time there tends to be a lot of shading as well from the grass. So, we like to use 300L/ha because of this.

I’ve noticed a lot of docks on my silage ground this year, if I don’t spray will this affect yield?

Teagasc carried out some work a number of years ago in Kildalton, where it had a field with a lot of docks.

What they did was they measured the amount of docks and grass in every plot and they found that – generally – when you have a 10% dock infestation, it reduced the grass yield by 10%.

For example, after two cuts of silage, the plots were generally averaging around 10-11t of DM/ha. So, where there were no docks it yielded 10t of DM/ha. But, where there was up to a 50% infestation, it yielded 5t DM/ha of grass and 5t of docks.

There was actually one plot of land that had 10t of docks and only 1t DM/ha of grass. Docks compete for light and nutrients in the soil and where there are docks, there will be a reduction in grass yield. 

Apart from avoiding windy conditions when spraying, what other conditions need to be considered?

The best thing to do is spray a dry leaf. Sometimes if you have a heavy dew, it doesn’t matter if the grass is wet, the important thing is that the docks are sitting up and they are reasonably dry.

Most products are rain fast within two hours of application.

When spraying silage ground for docks, what’s the general price range?

For silage ground, most sprays are in the range of €15-38/ac including VAT.

We usually recommend Doxstar Pro at the half rate, which is 1L/ha; that would cost about €18/ac including VAT to the farmer.

Apart from the docks, what are the common weeds that would be on silage ground?

Over the coming weeks, farmers may see a lot of dandelions starting to flower; they’ll be the first weeds that will come and they are very common in silage ground.

Another one is the buttercup. We’re expecting a good lot of creeping buttercup this year. Generally, it tends to be worse after a wet autumn and winter and we’ve had that last year, so the creeping buttercup seeds will germinate.

They’ll tend to come out around the month of May.

I’m going to reseed a number of my paddocks, what do I need to do?

Generally, when you go to reseed you get one opportunity to eliminate scutch grass and grass weeds. That’s why it’s really important whether you’re ploughing, direct seeding or using min-till cultivation that you use glyphosate at the maximum rate to kill out those grass weeds.

Typically, allow a minimum of 10-14 days to allow those grass weeds to be killed, before you till up the grass afterwards; water is generally at 150L/ha.

What are the common weeds that appear in a reseed?

Generally, when you spray glyphosate before you reseed, that doesn’t have an effect on the weeds that will germinate later on.

When you cultivate the ground, there are thousands of seeds in the soil and when they get light – and with a good seed-bed situation – they all have the possibility to germinate afterwards.

Where you use min-till cultivation, there tends to be a greater amount of perennial weeds – buttercups, dandelions, plantains, docks etc. – because those seeds have been on the top of the ground and they have not been buried.

Usually, when farmers plough, those seeds are buried and you get softer weeds – for example chickweed.

Generally, four-to-six weeks after you reseed most of the weeds will germinate along with the grass. That is the best time to eliminate these – especially perennial weeds such as docks and thistles – when they are small and before the roots get a chance to establish.

Seedling docks

With docks, it’s much easier to kill a root that’s only 1in long rather than waiting two years and killing a tap root that could be up to 1ft long at that stage.

Again, Teagasc work in Kildalton showed that where you eliminate the docks within six months of reseeding – before the root is established – if the field is well managed afterwards in terms of fertiliser and grazing, the docks generally don’t come back for up to five or six years.

When is the best time to spray ragwort?

The key thing with ragwort is to hit it early in the year – at this time of the year when its at the small rosette stage.

You don’t spray ragwort when it starts to stem out because it takes longer for the spray to kill it – which could take six-to-eight weeks. Also, when ragwort has been sprayed and it’s dying, it becomes more palatable and the animals will eat it.

So, if you’ve sprayed for ragwort you have to keep animals off the field until it has totally died and decayed away. If you spray ragwort when it gets stemmy in early May, it could take up to two months for it to die completely.

Another option is to spray it in the autumn – in September or October or maybe into November – if there was a very mild weather because – at this stage – fields can be closed off and the ragwort has time to die and decay over the winter.

The post Weed control: When is the best time to spray for best results? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Farmers all over the country are spreading fertiliser on grassland and tillage crops at present. They should ensure that it is being applied correctly and evenly to the crop and that the money being spent is being put to best use.

Operators should check their handbooks on how best to test the pattern, as spreaders have different methods of dispensing fertiliser.

Many people will use the traditional approach – of putting out trays at appropriate points.

A set of trays (examples of which are shown below) is inexpensive and can give a good indication of your spread pattern. Inserts should be fitted inside the trays, so that granules of fertiliser don’t bounce back out.

If trays are placed every 2m between bouts and fertiliser is spread on each tramline covered by the trays then the same amount of fertiliser should land in each tray.

Each tray should be emptied into its own test tube and placed beside each other in the same order as they were in the field (as can be seen below). The same amount of fertiliser should be visible in each test tube (unlike the example shown below).

Your spread pattern can be affected by many different factors.

If your spread pattern is off it might be worth investigating the following:

• Was the spreader level?
• Are the spreading veins damaged? Are there cracks or is there rippling?
• Was your spreader 75cm above the crop?
• Was your PTO running at the right speed?
• Was the weather appropriate? Was there strong wind?

Check the pattern with your phone in 5 minutes

This video (below) shows a more modern way of checking your spread pattern, but the principles remain the same.

AgriLand shot this short video with Farmhand’s Declan Smyth last June. It shows how a spread pattern (on a modern Amazone fertiliser spreader) can be checked by placing 16 mats across 12m of the machine’s 24m spread-width.

It shows how a spread pattern (on a modern Amazone fertiliser spreader) can be checked by placing 16 mats across 12m of the machine’s 24m spread-width.

The post Have you checked your fertiliser spread pattern lately? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Maintaining a supply of high-quality grass on the farm can be achieved by walking the farm weekly and measuring the amount of grass on the farm.

Grass measuring brings numerous benefits, including: maximising pasture growth rates; extending the grazing season; maintaining and improving pasture growth rates; increasing the proportion of grazed grass in the diet; and reducing costs – just to name a few.

As the saying goes, ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure’, so measuring grass allows the farmer to make more informed and effective grassland management decisions on the farm.

In last week’s episode of FarmLand, Walsh Fellow, Seán McMahon showed us just how easy it is to adopt this practice on your farm, while also noting the equipment needed to do so.

There are many methods out there used to measure grass – one option is the cut and weight method. Using this method, the farmer places a quadrant down onto a representative sample of grass in the paddock.

The grass should be cut down to 4cm using a shears. From here, the cut grass should be weighed, before using a simple calculation to find out what the cover of the paddock is.

Another popular method of measuring grass outlined by Seán is using a plate meter. With this method, the farmer will take a number of ‘drops’ or measurements throughout the paddock – sometimes in a W or an X pattern.

The farmer will then take the post-grazing height – or residual – from the average height of grass in the paddock; this figure should then be multiplied by 250kg of dry matter (DM), as there is 250kg of DM in a 1cm.

The post Video: How to carry out grass measuring on your farm appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Competition was high and included entries from all over Northern Ireland with first round judging undertaken by Norman McMordie and John Henning.

The final round judging then saw the finalists visited by the 2019 winner John Martin, Dr Sinclair Mayne and Dr Debbie McConnell.

The winners in the Grassland Farmer of the Year competition were as follows:

Overall Winner

Grassland Farmer of the Year Harold Johnston & Sons.

Runners Up

• Grazing Cup: Robert Patterson, Hillsborough;
• Silage Cup: Geoffrey Malcomson, Donaghmore;
• Special Commendation: Christopher Hamilton, Carrowdore;
• BGS Regional Cup: John Martin, Greyabbey.

Geoffrey Malcomson (Silage Round) and Robert Patterson (Grazing Round) accepting their runner-up awards

The judges complemented all of the winners on their dedication to grassland farming and ability to maximise production from grass.

Each of the finalists were focused on attention to detail to ensure their farm was performing to it’s optimum, despite the vagaries of the weather and local conditions during 2019.

Commenting specifically on the winning farm they commented: “The Johnston’s demonstrated good measurement and utilisation of grass and silage with optimum use of soil analysis.

“Their cows looked well, producing almost 3,500L/cow from forage, with succession in place and the sons fully involved in day-to-day decision making on the farm,” they concluded.

The various awards in the competition were handed over by Rodney Brown, Head of Agribusiness, Danske Bank, who again generously sponsored this prestigious competition.

New society president – Charlie Kilpatrick – congratulated all of the winners and thanked Danske Bank for sponsoring this important competition in the UGS calendar.

The post Who were the winners in the UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year awards? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Annual Conference

The conference was chaired by newly elected society president – Charlie Kilpatrick – who introduced each of the speakers.

Opening speaker

Tony Evans, a farmer and business consultant from The Andersons Centre, opened up proceedings on Tuesday.

He gave a wide-ranging presentation on his views of business management and the importance of developing young people in farming.

He considered that challenges really are opportunities and encouraged delegates to focus on balance sheet growth.

He also highlighted the importance of having one-third of income to cover variable costs; one-third to cover fixed costs and one-third for you.

Second speaker

The next speaker was dairy farmer Roger Hildreth. He outlined his grass-based dairy farming operation in the Vale of York, where he is endeavouring to develop a sustainable and successful farming business for the next generation.

His dairy herd of 110 cows is currently achieving 4,779L of milk from forage.

On the farm there is a major focus on rearing dairy replacements with attention to detail key to success.

Heifers are targeted to have a 400kg bulling weight having achieved 0.82kg daily live weight gain (DLWG) with extensive use of calf coats and routine veterinary tasks avoided during poor weather.

All heifers are genomically tested with sexed semen used. This allows the bottom 10% of heifers to be excluded from the herd to ensure better genetic progress.

Roger highlighted many of the challenges facing farming at present – including veganism and climate change – which is a particular focus on his farm.

Third speaker

After lunch, which is always a good opportunity for further discussion, Nick Davis from Wales outlined his farming career and the development and growth of his farm since completing a Nuffield farming scholarship.

His switch to dairying in 2014 was significant as the farm ranges from 1,100ft to 1,420ft above sea level. Davis’ herd size peaked at 580 cows, which has now settled at 480 cows where he is achieving similar herd production levels on 100 fewer cows.

Grass management is focused on soil fertility and reseeding to maximise production from grass.

They have an interesting division of labour on the farm – if it requires wellies then Nick does it; if the job requires shoes his wife, Frances, is responsible.

Important measures of success on the farm are time efficiency; facilities/infrastructure; and cow size/breeding with uniform cows required to match cow body weight and milk solids produced.

In 2019, cows averaged 475kg live weight and produced 472kg of milk solids per cow.

He concluded by highlighting the ‘Straight Face Test’ – can we justify everything we do with a straight face?

Closing session

The final session looked at the potential for dairy-bred beef, particularly the Blade Farming Scheme.

The panel comprised of Arthur Callaghan, ABP Calf Rearing Programme; John Egerton, a calf rearer from Rosslea in Co. Fermanagh; and Trevor Burns, a calf finisher from Ballyedmond Farms, Rostrevor, Co. Down.

Key benefits of this system include a sustainable outlet for dairy-bred calves, structured roles in the process and sustainability from beef and environmental aspects.

The topic generated good discussion with intense audience participation reflecting the relevance of this subject for dairy farmers and indeed the wider beef sector.

Throughout the day delegates, which included a number of students from CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus, were able to interact, through Slido, with questions for the speakers accessed online and this proved very successful.

The conference was closed by the presentation of gifts to all the speakers and a vote of thanks ably proposed by new UGS president-elect Harold Johnston.

Election of office-bearers at UGS AGM

The UGS’s 61st annual general meeting (AGM) took place prior to the conference, with President Jim Freeburn handing over the President’s Chain of Office to Charlie Kilpatrick from Hillsborough.

New president for 2020/2021 is Charlie Kilpatrick, an arable/beef farmer and independent farm advisor, specialising in farm management planning.

He studied agriculture at Queens University Belfast and Reading University before terms, working for Almarai in Saudi Arabia and then CAFRE.

The new president-elect is Harold Johnston – a dairy farmer from Ahoghill, where he farms in partnership with two sons.

The President’s Committee elected at the UGS AGM: (Front) Harold Johnston; Charlie Kilpatrick; and Jim Freeburn. (Back) John Henning; Neville Graham; and George Reid

Newly elected committee members were Dr. Francis Lively, AFBI; Cathal McAleer, Omagh; Robert McFarland, Dungannon; and Andrew Morrison, Yara, succeeding Ciaran Hamill; Campbell Hume; Harold Johnston; and Ryan McDowell, who were thanked for their contribution.

George Reid and John Henning were re-elected as secretary and PRO respectively, with the new society treasurer appointed being Neville Graham from Dale Farm.

The post UGS annual conference: ‘Getting back to business’ appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Stewart Johnston, from Galbraith’s Aberdeen office, said: “This is the beginning of the process where farmers will decide upon grazing, fertiliser, muck and slurry plans, then record their usage throughout the year.

“This will ensure nitrate levels in water are not exceeded and the various nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) rules are not infringed. Breaches can lead to cross-compliance penalties [subsidy and grant payment reductions] and potentially court action.

Even a visit from an inspector is quite a difficult and time-consuming process, which farmers will prefer to avoid. Inspections can take more than one day and often inspectors will remove all the farm records for analysis off site.

“The UK’s impending departure from the EU has not removed the NVZ requirements.

Up-to-date records

“We advise farmers to make sure all their records are up to date because quality assurance, Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and Government inspectors are beginning their annual checks,” Johnston continued.

As part of the regulations for protecting Scotland’s water from excessive nitrates, farmers must now prepare:

• A risk assessment plan and a risk assessment for muck and slurry (RAMS) map;
• A calculation and record of the capacity of their storage facilities for livestock manures;
• A calculation and record for their holding of the 170kg nitrogen (N)/ha loading limit for livestock manure;
• Calculate and record the standard N requirement (Nmax) for each crop (including grassland) on the farm.

 Maintaining NVZ plans and accurate records will avoid breaches. The common problems are:

• Slurry spreading in closed periods or inappropriate conditions;
• Excessive fertiliser/manure applications;
• No or incorrect Nmax calculations;
• Incomplete RAMS maps;
• Non-existent or incomplete records of applications, fertiliser stocks, imports/exports of muck/slurry;
• Poor/insufficient slurry storage;
• Inappropriate midden location and duration.

Johnston concluded: “This level of record-keeping is something which farmers have had to manage for several years but it remains a significant administrative burden.

“There are however benefits for the farm as a whole from using fertiliser in the most efficient manner and there is the potential to reduce costs.”

The post Just 5 weeks left to NVZ deadline in Scotland appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The farmer in question is Rob Havard, who spoke at the BioFarm 2019 event last week.

His herd consists of 60-pedigree Angus suckler cows plus followers. He also rears Angus bulls to be sold on as stock bulls. The average daily liveweight gain – of his herd – is 0.8kg/day with no meal being fed.

This system of farming, he feels, has allowed him to expand his family farm from 44ac to 455ac. He now rents a 180ac and a 190ac farm and has just taken on another 35ac of meadows.

The farm soil type is clay and the farm receives up to 30in of rain per year. However, this doesn’t stop him out-wintering his cattle each year, in which he has a unique approach.

A diversity of species

Rob has a diverse range of species in his grasslands which he thinks is “absolutely key to the quality of his soil”. The variety of species also attracts a number of different wildlife species to the area, including: owls; hares; and starlings.

He has created a diverse meadow mixture, by combining long-term traditional grasses such as meadow foxtail, smaller catstail and the finer leaved fescues, along with native clovers, trefoils and wildflower species.

His grassland contains up to 20 species and his meadows contain 200 plus species.

If one species stops growing – at a particular time of the year – another species takes over.

Meadow foxtail is an example of this, which, he noted, has very good early season growth, but stops growing in the month of May and doesn’t start growing again until the autumn.

“But, once meadow foxtail stops growing, different species take over – such as smooth stacked meadow grass, cocksfoot and tall fescue.

“While some of these aren’t the most palatable varieties, they have deep tap roots which can really transform your soil and get really good infiltration into the soil,” Rob said.

For a balance he also added deep-rooted herbs, such as plantain and chicory. Then for the dense and matted root system he has included varieties such as yarrow and red fescue. 

“Rather than focusing on what species do I want, think about the perfect mix. Think about the different root structures, when they are growing and when they are maturing,” he said.

Lots of different legumes have also started to appear in the paddocks, but he explained: “I don’t find bloat an issue as some of the other species contain natural tannins – such as the plantain – which help if there is a risk of bloat.

“The reason we feed seaweed to reduce methane emissions is because it contains condensed tannins, but in fact our native species also contain condensed tannins,” he pointed out.

Out-wintering

All the cows are out-wintered on the farm – with hay being the only supplementation fed.

“Many people come to me and say ‘well, I can’t out-winter because I am on clay soil’ and I say ‘well, we are on clay’. The reality is, you can change your soil structure and it doesn’t have to be difficult to manage.

“Our best field – which is also the most diverse – now has 16.8% organic matter, climbing from 14.7% three years previously.

I find once you go over about 12% organic matter it is actually really hard to poach it. Once you don’t keep the cows on it too long, it will come back really well.

The covers are built up to between 3,000kg DM/ha to 3,500kg DM/ha – on average – for grazing over the winter. Hay is also stockpiled over the winter for supplementation.

“While there is some deterioration in the quality of the forage it is more or less the same,” he said.

The cows are given a fresh ‘bite’ every day or every second day; this, he said, was “instead of giving them a big paddock to graze for a couple of weeks”.

This makes a huge difference in terms of their body condition performance over the winter.

The on-target or overweight animals are grazed on a nature reserve where they are set stocked.

Movable water troughs are used to supply water to the cows to ensure that they are not going back over the same area twice and grazing the re-growths.

When there has been a lot of rain or snow, ‘bale pods’ – which are areas which contain a large number of bales – are used to hold the animals until it clears.

Bale rolling

The bales are set out in the autumn, so that Rob can feed the cows without starting the tractor. These are then rolled out for the cows during the winter.

We have found bale rolling a great way to increase stocking rate on the farm.

“And, as our soils have become more resilient, we have been able to keep our cows out for longer over the winter.

“Initially, we kept them on a paddock for two days and then moved them on, and now we are looking at situations where we can keep them on for four days because we have the bales of hay as well.

“Whatever is leftover from the bale rolling is trampled into the ground, adding organic matter and diversity to the soil,” concluded Rob.

The post Finishing cattle off mixed-species grasslands alone in the UK appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Moreover, with the majority of soils saturated and waterlogged, finishing the final rotation – on some farms – is going to be difficult.

By now, the target is to have over 70% of the farm closed on drier farms and over 80% closed on heavier farms.

Where farmers are finding it difficult to finish the final round, using some simple grazing techniques, such as on-off grazing, may be a useful way to get those last few paddocks grazed.

Likewise, for heavy covers that are yet to be grazed, another option is to graze them off using lighter stock or leave them to be grazed in the spring, when conditions allow.

However, leaving heavy covers to be grazed in the spring is not advised. The quality of those paddocks will deteriorate very quickly over the winter.

Looking at average grass growth rates, PastureBase Ireland figures are showing 10kg DM/ha in Ulster, 18kg DM/ha in Leinster, 18kg DM/ha in Connacht and 18kg DM/ha in Munster.

Research by Teagasc has consistently shown that spring grass is twice as valuable as autumn grass. Therefore, it is hugely important to close at the correct closing cover, for your farm, to ensure that an adequate amount of grass is available next spring.

To ensure this, farmers must get out now an assess where they are in terms of their average farm cover (AFC).

Target closing covers on December 1 – recommended by Teagasc:

• 2.5 cows/ha: 600kg DM/ha;
• Three cows/ha: 600kg DM/ha – 650kg DM/ha;
• 3.5 cows/ha: 700kg DM/ha – 750kg DM/ha.

If you are below target now, you need to think about where you will be on December 1 – taking into consideration that grass growth rates are declining. Will you be on target by then?

On the other hand, if you are on or above target closing cover now supplementation will have to be increased to avoid running down the AFC and if the intention is to extend the grazing season into mid or late November.

Teagasc studies have shown that every day you delay closing in the autumn, it reduces spring grass availability by 12kg DM/ha.

Hygiene and drying-off

As animals begin to be housed, house hygiene should be a top priority – to avoid any mastitis infections. When housed and still milking, it is advisable to clean and lime – or use whatever is the preferred bedding – cubicles twice-a-day (TAD).

Also, by now any cows with twins, have a poor body condition score (BCS), are lame or those lower yielders should be considered for drying off; as milking cows off silage and meal when housed can be an expensive process; particularly at current milk prices.

The post Grass growth: Could be time to pull the plug appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The society announced its winter meeting will be held at Blakiston Houston Estates, Dundonald, on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at 11:00am.

The visit will be based at Reynolds Farm on the Ballymiscaw Road, Dundonald, and will give visitors a chance to see the 300-cow Holstein dairy herd and followers.

At present, the herd achieves almost 9,000L milk on a total mixed ration with a commendable 3,315L/cow derived from forage.

The herd is milked twice a day through a 24:48 Dairymaster milking parlour.

Topics

The farm has several interesting aspects, with new dairy accommodation built in 2004, as well as wind turbines, solar panels, slurry separator and slurry robots.

The walk will allow visitors to see many of the farm’s most exciting aspects for themselves, with the opportunity to discuss:

• Herd management and performance;
• The design of the dairy accommodation;
• Breeding policy using AI and sexed semen on heifers;
• Integration of the dairy herd with other farm enterprises; and
• The use of technology and diversification projects.

Estate director Jack Blakiston Houston will welcome visitors while Ivor Lowry, farm manager, will lead the farm tour along with Ian McAteer, the farm’s herd manager.

The event is open to UGS members and friends and will commence with registration and tea and coffee at 11:00am with the walk set to get underway at 11:30am. The visit will conclude with lunch at approximately 1:30pm.

Visitors are encouraged to wear warm clothing not normally worn or used on farms along with clean footwear to assist with biosecurity.

Booking is essential and should be made through UGS secretary George Reid asap by email on: [email protected].

The post Ulster Grassland Society winter meeting announced appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Before considering housing animals, some questions need to be answered.

How much damage is being done?

Many farmers are known to panic when they see grazing damage being done and immediately house animals. But, it is always important to think before you act.

Every farm is different; some farms are more prone to poaching damage than others. In wet weather conditions like this, a certain amount of poaching damage is inevitable; but, it is knowing when enough is enough that is important.

According to Teagasc, initial poaching damage – unless severe – has very minimal effects on subsequent grass production, as perennial-ryegrass swards are well adapted to coping with poaching damage.

However, it is repeat poaching damage in subsequent rounds which can lower future grass growth rates by up to 20%.

In addition, because the poaching is being done now in the second last or final rotation it has time to recover before the farm is opened again next spring.

Have you tried using some grazing techniques?

In difficult grazing conditions, some simple grazing techniques can be implemented to try and continue including a portion of grass in the cow’s diet.

One option is on-off grazing. This involves allowing the herd, or a proportion of the herd, out to graze for a few hours in the morning and/or a few hours in the evening. Letting them out, with an enthusiastic appetite, is also critically important to the success of on-off grazing.

Another option is to let half the herd out by day and the other half by night; this means less animals are in the paddock at the one time – less cows; less damage.

Grazing drier paddocks or paddocks with lower covers first before wet or stronger paddocks could also be an option.

Finally, difficult ground conditions is where good grazing infrastructure really comes into play. Having multiple access points to paddocks and a good network of roadways can make life a lot easier in poor weather conditions.

If ground is very ‘soft’ and a large amount of poaching is being done, there may be no other option but to house animals for a period of time – until conditions improve. Where this is the case, house hygiene should be a top priority – to prevent mastitis.

Additionally, the best-quality silage must be fed to help maintain milk production.

The post Should I house my cows to prevent poaching? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“Tackling the problem can be problematic though,” he explained. “Works should be undertaken when the minimal level of further damage to the soil can be minimised.”

He went on to point out that the soil cracking so widely noticed throughout the UK and Ireland during last year’s drought had the benefit of breaking up compaction pans at lower depths within a soil profile.

However, he cast some doubt on the benefits that can be delivered by spikes and other types of soil aeration equipment.

“Farmers must identify where the soil compaction problem has arisen,” he explained. “Is it near the surface or is at a lower depth? Many of the techniques available to deal with compaction issues may only deliver a temporary respite to the problem.”

Higgins was one of the speakers participating in the series of seminars that featured at Sheep NI, held in Ballymena earlier this week.

He repeatedly stressed the need for all grassland farmers to have their soils tested and analysed on a regular basis.

The results can then form the basis of a bespoke fertiliser plan, given that each farm is different.

The AFBI scientist said that securing a soil sample that fairly reflected the make-up of the field from which it came is crucially important.

“We recommend taking a minimum of 25 core samples on a random basis from each field,” he said.

“In our own case we would take up to 40 samples, in the context of all research activities.”

Higgins defined soil health as the ability of a soil to deliver both optimal crop output while also maintaining the full environmental footprint of that soil.

He confirmed that low pH values continue to be the biggest hindrance to grassland output on sheep and other livestock farms in Northern Ireland.

“We are currently running a lime deficit of some 1.2 million tonnes,” he added.

This reflects the sharp fall-off in lime application rates during the early years of the last decade. Lime remains the most cost-effective fertiliser that can be applied on any grassland farm.

A recent soil health survey carried out by AFBI revealed that 44% of all fields tested had a pH value significantly below its optimal level.

“On sheep farms, this figure rose to 55%,” Higgins concluded.

The post Soil compaction is a constant challenge on grassland farms appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“Tacking the problem can be problematic though,” he explained.

Works should be undertaken when the minimal level further damage to the soil can be minimised.”

He went on to point out that the soil cracking so widely noticed throughout the UK and Ireland during last year’s drought had the benefit of breaking up compaction pans at lower depths within a soil profile.

However, he cast some doubt on the benefits that can be delivered by spikes and other types of soil aeration equipment.

“Farmers must identify where the soil compaction problem has arisen,” he explained.

Is it near the surface or is at a lower depth? Many of the techniques available to deal with compaction issues may only deliver a temporary respite to the problem.”

Higgins was one of the speakers, participating in the series of seminars that featured at Sheep NI, held in Ballymena earlier this week.

He repeatedly stressed the need for all grassland farmers to have their soils tested and analysed on a regular basis.

The results can then form the basis of a bespoke fertiliser plan, given that each farm is different.”

The AFBI scientist said that securing a soil sample that fairly reflected the make-up of the field from which it came is crucially important.

“We recommend taking a minimum of 25 core samples on a random basis from each field,” he said.

“In our own case we would take up to 40 samples, in the context of all research activities.”

Higgins defined soil health as the ability of a soil to deliver both optimal crop output while also maintaining the full environmental footprint of that soil.

He confirmed that low pH values continues to be the biggest hindrance to grassland output on sheep and other livestock farms in Northern Ireland.

“We are currently running a lime deficit of some 1.2 million tonnes,” he added.

This reflects the sharp fall-off in lime application rates during the early years of the last decade. Lime remains the most cost-effective fertiliser that can be applied on any grassland farm.”

A recent soil health survey carried out by AFBI revealed that 44% of all fields tested had a pH value significantly below its optimal level.

“On sheep farms, this figure rose to 55%,” Higgins concluded.

The post Soil compaction is a constant challenge on grassland farms appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

“Our work is showing that such an approach can deliver real benefits in terms of overall dry matter yields, seasonality, persistency and lamb output,” said Dr. Tommy Boland, one of the scientists involved in the appropriately named SmartGrass project.

We know that swards containing a mix of grass, legume and herb varieties can yield up to 20t of dry matter per ha without a requirement to spread nitrogen fertiliser.”

Boland was one of the speakers at the seminars hosted as part of the recent Sheep Event in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. He pointed out that a combination of factors will contribute to the yield potential of multi-species sward mixes.  He added:

“In the first instance, traditional grass varieties can piggy-back on the nitrogen fixing capabilities of legumes, such as red clover. Adding to the growth potential of these mixes is the deep rooting growth profile of herbs, including plantain and chicory.

“This helps break up the soil but it also ensures that swards remain productive during dry spells, as was the case last summer across all of the UK and Ireland.

Where grass are concerned, Cocksfoot has been shown to be a valuable contributor to grazing swards for sheep. Taking a multi species approach has undoubted advantages where both biodiversity and environmental protection are concerned.

The research at UCD has been developed in two primary directions. The first of these is to identify which is the best combination of species to include in specialised sheep swards: the second is to quantify the performance of ewes and lambs on such pastures.

Boland admitted that more work is required to develop species of clover and a range of herbs which are more persistent under Irish conditions.

However, in initial SmartGrass results are strongly suggesting that significant lamb growth rate gains can be achieved by using multi species pastures, as opposed to single variety perennial ryegrass swards.

“The real driver here is the improved performance that can be achieved from birth to six weeks of age,” said Boland.

We believe this is a direct result of the improved milk output achieved by the ewes and the enhanced nutritional value of that milk. What’s more, these improvements are maintained right through to finishing.

Boland also referred to research carried out in other countries, which points to the improved eating value of lamb, produced from animals maintained on herb-rich pastures.

He added: “We hope to verify this potential attribute under Irish grazing conditions courtesy of the SmartGrass project.”

The post Grass and herb mixes hold particular promise for sheep farmers appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

For some, pre-mowing is a common action, whereas others wouldn’t dream of pre-mowing a paddock in front of their cows.

Although pre-mowing improves the quality of the grass in the subsequent rotation – through eliminating stemmy grass from the paddock – it has many disadvantages and is usually associated with poor grassland management.

Pre-mowing not only increases the workload on the farm – through additional time spent on the tractor mowing these strong paddocks – but there is also a diesel cost that goes along with this.

Instead of these paddocks being closed for silage, they end up being pre-mown, resulting in less surplus bales being made.

Additionally, pre-mown paddocks which contain a high amount of poor-quality stemmy grass can have a knock-on effect on the bulk tank.

A further disadvantage is the loss of grass. A certain percentage of the cover will always be lost in the process.

Research

Research conducted by DairyNZ in New Zealand showed that paddocks which were pre-mown had both reduced pasture density and pasture grown, when compared to a paddock that was grazed.

The pre-mown paddocks were also associated with less silage compared to the grazed treatment. In New Zealand, this resulted in a greater requirement for imported feed.

The study also revealed no animal performance benefit from the pre-mown treatment versus the grazed treatment. 

Pre-mowing paddocks will only exasperate the problem. If you continue to pre-mow you will continue to enter paddocks with a higher than target pre-grazing cover.

If the paddock is strong, instead of pre-mowing the paddock, it should be taken out of the rotation to try and get back to a target pre-grazing cover of between 1,300kg DM/ha and 1,400kg DM/ha.

The post Is pre-mowing paddocks a pointless exercise? appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.