United Kingdom
June 1, 2016
Principal sponsors Germinal will focus on opportunities to improve performance from forage at Royal Welsh Grassland, pointing the way towards more profitable livestock farming through better use of homegrown resources.
In addition to show–casing the latest award winning Aber High Sugar Grasses, Germinal will present new options for alternative forages and provide an overview of different reseeding methods.
“Greater production from forage is achievable on the majority of livestock farms in Wales and across the UK,” says Germinal Area Sales Manager Helen Mathieu. “There is scope to increase both quantity and quality of forage being produced in many circumstances and – if allied to effective utilisation – the savings in bought–in feed costs can be substantial.”
Reseeding demonstrations will feature within Germinal’s exhibit at the event, to highlight different approaches and underline the cost efficacy of renewing worn out swards.
“Grassland is currently reseeded at an average rate of just 2 – 3% per year across the UK,” adds Helen Mathieu. “This is well below the level required to maintain swards in their most productive state and means there will be lost opportunities in terms of quality feed production. By reseeding more regularly, dry matter and feed quality are increased, and factors such as extended grazing or use of alternative forage crops can be used to advantage.”
Large scale demonstration areas at the organically farmed Rhug Estate have been sown with contrasting Germinal mixtures that have been selected to demonstrate some of the more recent successes from the IBERS Aberystwyth University forage breeding programmes.
“There will be a dual purpose mixture, including diploid and tetraploid perennial ryegrasses from the Aber® HSG range as well as some hybrid ryegrass and large leaf white clover,” she explains. “This is a good example of a ley that will produce high quality grazing and a relatively late first cut and will persist for five years – significantly longer than an Italian ryegrass ley.
“For those more interested in a specialist silage ley, with high protein potential, there is a perennial and hybrid ryegrass mixture including AberClaret red clover, one of the new longer lasting varieties from the IBERS breeding programme. This gives this top quality, high protein ley the added persistency of five year duration.”
The Germinal exhibition area will also feature other forage crop examples as well as a display of reseeding equipment, including machinery suitable for sward renovation, direct drilling and establishing into a ploughed and cultivated seedbed.
“Regular reseeding should be a priority on livestock farms and seen as an investment and not a cost,” adds Helen Mathieu. “There are many ways of going about it, and having flexibility in terms of method and timing is important, so we’ll be covering all the main approaches at Royal Welsh Grassland.”
Welsh Grassland Tour Guide 2016
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