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Know How / Grassland management

In the current challenging climate, all livestock producers are under pressure to maximise the cheapest food source – forage. See the latest thinking on grazing methods, forage systems, reseeding and varieties as well as how others are making more from grass and maize.

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GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Why low stocking rates are working for two Irish dairies

Achieving the optimum stocking rate means finding a balance between feeding cows for peak production and effective utilisation – without putting too much pressure on grass supplies or resorting to…

LIVESTOCK

Benefits of soil mapping for forage production

Soil-mapping grassland at a north Yorkshire dairy farm and using the data to vary lime applications within fields has captured cost savings on liming of £35/ha. The Pratt family want…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

How grazing change can help soil health and resilience

Farming using regenerative principles is helping the Cowcher family reduce costs and build resilience on their organic beef and sheep farm. Intensive rotational grazing over several years had produced positive…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

How soil winner cut N 60% with no loss of grass growth

The 2022 Soil Farmer of the Year runner-up has cut fertiliser use and introduced herbal leys and new grazing methods on his Haverfordwest dairy farm. Andrew Rees started to question…

SHEEP

£40 a lamb profit forecast from arable farm's spin-off

Bringing sheep onto a Hertfordshire farm to graze multispecies leys and cover crops has helped improve soils and control blackgrass on the arable land, while becoming a profitable livestock enterprise…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Farmer cuts out concentrates to secure future for beef

The cost of rations has always been critical to the profitability of the beef enterprise on Jonathan Guilding’s Somerset farm. But this year, in the face of spiralling feed prices,…

Practical advice

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GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Guide to soil biology and how to protect it

Many farms are closer to being “regenerative” than they might think, says a leading soil scientist. Ian Bell of Northern Soil Regen told delegates at Carbon Calling in Cumbria last…

LIVESTOCK

How regen practices can help cut inputs for livestock farmers

Regenerative farming can present an opportunity for dairy and mixed farms to lower production costs and greenhouse gases by reducing reliance on synthetic fertiliser and supplementary feed. Stephanie Race, founder…

LIVESTOCK

Winter costs: Why beef and sheep farms should plan ahead now

Dramatic cost increases mean cashflow plans should be made now for livestock so businesses are not faced with difficult decisions come the autumn. “The earlier the better” is the mantra…

BEEF

How silvopasture can help with heat stress

When farm environment adviser Luke Dale-Harris set about creating the Devon Silvopasture Network, helping farmers find ways to manage heat stress in their livestock was central to his thinking. There…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

8 expert tips for efficiently grazing herbal leys

Multispecies herbal mixes are becoming increasingly popular among livestock farmers as a means of driving production and environmental gains (see “The numbers”). The benefits of these leys range from improved…

SLURRY AND MANURE MANAGEMENT

Slurry grants: Funding and changes around the UK

Tighter muck and slurry spreading and storage requirements are now in place across the UK. We take a look at the rules for each of the nations, what funding is…

Insights

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GROUNDSWELL

7 farmer tips on moving to regenerative farming

At a packed Groundswell event on 22 June, a panel of farmers talked to delegates about the challenges and benefits of moving to regenerative agriculture. Infrastructure and time were two…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Ulster farmers must act to avoid forage crisis

Immediate steps to ensure sufficient winter forage supply need to be taken by Northern Irish farmers facing unprecedented cost escalation, say farm advisers responding to stark findings of a survey. …

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

How remote sensing tech can help fine-tune grass management

A farm-level study in Wales has shown remote sensors can provide valuable information on how grass responds to inputs. Furthermore, they can do this in greater detail and more rapidly…

SHEEP

Trial finds ewe data is route to bigger lamb cheque

Efforts to grow income from lamb sales should start with having sheep in optimal condition at lambing and tupping, a farm trial has shown. A Rothamsted study, which analysed how…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Grass access worth £26 a cow in 100-day robot trial

A Northern Irish study found margin over feed was £26 a cow greater for cows offered pasture access over a 100-day period. This was despite a 12% fall in milk…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Winter grazing crop outperforms brassicas in sheep trial

A winter grazing crop of Italian ryegrass, berseem clover and forage rape can finish more than twice as many lambs as an equivalent acreage of brassicas, a farm trial has…

Maize

MAIZE

Why a Dorset farmer is undersowing maize with field beans

Dorset dairy farmer James Houghton is planting field beans beneath a crop of maize in a trial which he hopes will boost the protein content of feed and potentially reduce…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

How undersowing can help soils and bring grazing income

Undersowing maize with companion grass mixes as winter grazing for sheep is returning a profit for a Welsh livestock farm, while also protecting soils. Mathew Van Dijk undersowed 5ha (12…

FEED AND NUTRITION

How to cut silage spoilage and on-farm plastic with HOB film

Opting for high-oxygen barrier (HOB) films instead of black plastic sheets has been shown to reduce silage clamp losses from 15% to 7%. This could go some way towards protecting…

LIVESTOCK

6 top maize growing tips to help livestock producers

Results from a new survey of maize growers have revealed valuable cropping knowledge which can be shared to help livestock producers get more from their crop. Nearly 100 producers, with…

FEED AND NUTRITION

How maize shredlage aids digestion in dairy rations

Feeding maize shredlage is helping a Dorset dairy farm maintain a rolling milk butterfat average of 4.2%. Joe and Sam Foot harvest all the maize they grow for their dairy…

MAIZE

How maize undersown with grass provides two-fold benefit

For the past six years, David Pursey has undersown maize with Italian ryegrass to protect against soil erosion and provide a post-lambing spring bite for ewes and lambs. “We decided…

FEED AND NUTRITION

How forage maize no-till system cuts costs and improves soil

No two years are the same in farming, as Max Tite’s experience of growing maize with minimal soil disturbance shows. But, with the right weather conditions, he has found that…

FEED AND NUTRITION

3 ways to get the best results from maize crops

Making use of cover crops, adopting mechanical weed control practices, and fine-tuning the timing and depth of drilling can all help optimise maize production, according to the latest research by…

AHDB resources

See AHDB resources on rotational grazing

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Video

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BEEF

Video: Return of native beef breed benefits Welsh farm

Livestock farmer Richard Lewis swapped his Limousin cattle for native Welsh Blacks and has seen the farm flourish. He invested in 45 head of the cattle, which was quite an…

DAIRY

Video: How a dairy farmer cut concentrate costs by £30,000

Close monitoring of daily production and producing more milk from forage have enabled a Suffolk farmer to reduce concentrate use by almost one-third. In 2019, Jonny Crickmore was comparing the…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Video: Silage gas escape sparks health and safety alert

A video on Twitter showing a deadly brown gas escaping from a freshly clamped silage pit has sparked a health and safety warning, after the gas was identified as the…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Video: Advice on feeding fodder beet to dairy stock

Fodder beet is the largest-yielding fodder crop available and is high in sugar and metabolisable energy (ME), making it a direct replacer for cereal grain. It fits dairy well because…