Ireland
August 5, 2014

Reseeding in Ireland is on the increase and the practice of reseeding is being accepted as one of the best paying investments on grassland farms. Grazed grass has been long heralded as the most cost effective feed for cows and drystock, while grass silage is also the cheapest winter feed produced on farm. 
Grass mixtures have been put together based primarily on yield with little or no emphasis on how the chosen varieties will be utilized by the animal. One of the most important limiting factors to production is the voluntary dry matter intake of the cow. Increasing the quality, digestibility and energy content of the daily dry matter intake is the most efficient way to increase production. When increasing the quality of any feed it is important this is done in a balanced way, for example increasing the protein content of a feed will not give the desired results without also increasing the energy content. Sinclair McGill are the first to formulate grass seed mixtures with the animal’s dietary requirement and agronomic performance of varieties in mind. When a Sinclair McGill mixture has been formulated using this criteria it is accredited with the LGAN (Limagrain animal nutrition) symbol denoting a superior nutritional value whilst maintaining excellent quality and yields.
The basis for compiling these mixtures is from an extensive database of variety trial results from across Europe. With 3 of the current range of Sinclair McGill mixtures in Ireland having LGAN accredited status our aim is to have a full range of mixtures meeting the strict LGAN criteria. LGAN this allows us to design mixtures with greater precision to application. In on farm trials LGAN grass mixtures were producing 1.4 litres of milk per cow per day over the existing swards, based on a 100 cow herd this is equivalent to €16,800 net profit.
Sinclair McGill traditionally offers unrivalled higher voluntary standards of germination and seed purity along with Headstart gold seed dressing, ensuring maximum germination and establishment. Now with the added benefit of LGAN accredited mixtures Sinclair McGill must be the no.1 choice when reseeding.

Website: http://www.seedtech.ie/

Published: August 5, 2014