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Contents tagged with grassland
14 June 2021
Interview with Gavin Green about deferred grazing
10 June 2021
Tom Goatman talks through how to calculate the dry matter yield of fodder beet, kale and deferred grazing.
4 October 2023
Learn more about sowing depth and read our information on seed rates and rolling.
23 April 2021
From setting up the plough correctly to overseeding, our top tips act as a handy reminder when cultivating for a reseed.
23 April 2021
Our decision tree will help you to decide which reseeding method to choose. We’ve also got information on using a pre-cultivation spray and results from our reseeding survey.
23 April 2021
From preparing the seedbed to selecting the right cultivation method, our guide to establishing grassland reseeds will help you to maintain productivity.
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21 August 2020
The Super-G project is a European wide project aiming to work with farmers and policy makers to develop sustainable & effective permanent grassland systems.
2 June 2020
GrasscheckGB farmer, Jack Hanson. He talks about the prolonged dry weather and what plans the farm will be putting in place
21 December 2021
To benefit from higher grass yields in the long term, spring reseeds need a light grazing and careful management in their first 6 months. Start by doing a ‘pull test’ to establish whether seedlings have rooted properly and then use young calves to nip off leaves from 6 weeks after establishment. “The last thing you want to do is to graze and lift out seedlings,” says LIC consultant Sean Chubb. “You only want to take off the top 4 cm to encourage regrowth and tillering, so use calves because they won’t graze as low or as hard as older stock. There is no point in doing all that hard work if you then have to oversow next spring. “In their first year, new leys need preferential treatment: leave a residual growth of 5 cm, potentially graze less and then perhaps correct for this in autumn. Accepting less tonnage this year means you will be rewarded with better growth in future.” Using heavier livestock not only risks overgrazing and slowing regrowth, but also compaction where reseeding has involved a full seedbed preparation leaving a light, fluffy soil. When direct drilling into an established sward, however, cows can be used to do a light first grazing. After its first grazing, a new ley should be left to grow to 2.5–3 leaves and not be overgrazed. Leaving slightly higher covers avoids taking energy out of the plant: roots need to grow down and out, says Sean. “This is particularly important going into summer. New leys are more susceptible to drought and dying from overgrazing,” he points out, adding that a typical 10% of the platform reseeded each year is not a large enough area to affect measuring and software calculations.
9 April 2020
Oversowing can provide a cost-effective way of improving pasture without the need for seedbed preparation. It is useful in situations in which you do not want to – or can’t – plough, if there are gaps in the sward (for example, after poaching), or if you need more rye-grass or clover.
9 April 2024
This booklet provides an accurate, easy-to-use reference guide on all available anti-parasitic products in their various chemical groups and summarises the parasites they have been licensed to control.
