Regenerative Agriculture

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Yes but it was only a couple of kg/ha in a mix- it's everywhere early on and now it's that full of clovers that it's difficult to spot which is who.
I'm going to put about 4kg in my ex-pea paddock though, 4kg of reds, and a kilo each of white, arrowleaf and alsike.
Plus plantain, chicory, peas and barley, and some sunflower if I can get seed in time...

We take biodiversity seriously
Ill have to try some in that block i really like the idea of balsana. Does it have to runnto seed once a year or is it a perennial likethe white clover? Sorry fornthe basic questions i have read about it but forgotten most of it :oops: most of what ice read has been aboit growing it on its own seen very little about it in a grazing mix.
Im going to have to start slowly just introducing some white and red clovers and see how it goes then add more and more stuff as i go along. Mostly so i dont upset the old people who dont like change :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: but ill get there. Ill hopefully have loads of useful legumes in with my tough reliable old PP in a few years :love::love:
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Ill have to try some in that block i really like the idea of balsana. Does it have to runnto seed once a year or is it a perennial likethe white clover? Sorry fornthe basic questions i have read about it but forgotten most of it :oops: most of what ice read has been aboit growing it on its own seen very little about it in a grazing mix.
Im going to have to start slowly just introducing some white and red clovers and see how it goes then add more and more stuff as i go along. Mostly so i dont upset the old people who dont like change :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: but ill get there. Ill hopefully have loads of useful legumes in with my tough reliable old PP in a few years :love::love:
Here I can do what I like but at dads I share your pain :rolleyes:

I want to start getting useful things other than grass growing in at least half our grass "paddocks" this season if I can. I wonder what @Great In Grass or @Kevtherev can supply at sensible cost? :whistle:

On the 88 acres rented ground there are no fences and no water tanks (but there IS a water supply to the shed - tanks and fencing may follow in the next few years :sneaky:).

Have you chaps any thoughts how to start the incorporation process if I were to run the flail topper through any excess herbage there?

25 acres is in reygrass mixture taken as first cut silage with regrowth taken as hay. 16 acres will be drilled into maize for silage this year with a repeat of last year's trial of grass overseeding straight after drilling the maize but I may look to include clovers and other herbs this time. I don't want to swamp out the maize so it needs to get going ahead of the herbage but ideally I'd establish the mixed sward under it then flail top the lot after the maize silage is taken in September leaving the toppings to break down over winter (I can hear Dad now - "What the hell have you done THAT for?").
 
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hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Here I can do what I like but at dads I share your pain :rolleyes:

I want to start getting useful things other than grass growing in at least half our grass "paddocks" this season if I can. I wonder what @Great In Grass or @Kevtherev can supply at sensible cost? :whistle:

On the 88 acres rented ground there are no fences and no water tanks (but there IS a water supply to the shed - tanks and fencing may follow in the next few years :sneaky:). Have you chaps any thoughts how to start the incorporation process if I were to run the flail topper through any excess herbage there? 25 acres is in reygrass mixture taken as first cut silage with regrowth taken as hay. 16 acres will be drilled into maize for silage this year with a repeat of last year's trial of grass overseeding straight after drilling the maize but I may look to include clovers and other herbs this time. I don't want to swamp out the maize so it needs to get going ahead of the herbage but ideally I'd establish the mixed sward under it then flail top the lot after the maize silage is taken in September leaving the toppings to break down over winter (I can hear Dad now - "What the hell have you done THAT for?").
I think there is a thread here somewere about undersowing maize?
A friend of mine who comes from Bolivia ised to grow maize and sow pumpkins and squashes underneath it to fatten pigs so im sure it could be done somehow. I think poaching from harvesting it was the main issue in the thread about it. The stuff in bolivia was harvested by hand so not really an issue there probably not relevant to what you want to know but interesring all the same.
Would a flail cut low enough to slow the regrowth down in ryegrass? I saw a FB post somewere about someine who was cutting with a mower very close to the ground spinning some seeds on then putting sheep in to graze anything that grew after for a week or so and tread in the seeds. Seemed to work well but not sure if what grew back was just plain aftermath or the new seeds. He seemed convinced it had worked though.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
For a first try it didn't go too badly..

20170923_185312.jpg


A bit thin in places

20170923_185039.jpg

so I will be looking to overseed in February or March with a herbage overseed. I aim to sow the grass sooner this year (the maize was at the 2 leaf stage when I broadcast the grass seed last spring meaning I couldn't harrow or roll it in).

Live and learn (y)
 

Kevtherev

Member
Location
Welshpool Powys
Ill have to try some in that block i really like the idea of balsana. Does it have to runnto seed once a year or is it a perennial likethe white clover? Sorry fornthe basic questions i have read about it but forgotten most of it :oops: most of what ice read has been aboit growing it on its own seen very little about it in a grazing mix.
Im going to have to start slowly just introducing some white and red clovers and see how it goes then add more and more stuff as i go along. Mostly so i dont upset the old people who dont like change :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: but ill get there. Ill hopefully have loads of useful legumes in with my tough reliable old PP in a few years :love::love:

Yes Balansa is in stock with Hurrells there may be another few varieties in soon.
Paradana was the only variety last year.
Seems to like wetter conditions
Look up the Balansa clover thread. @hendrebc
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Here I can do what I like but at dads I share your pain :rolleyes:

I want to start getting useful things other than grass growing in at least half our grass "paddocks" this season if I can. I wonder what @Great In Grass or @Kevtherev can supply at sensible cost? :whistle:

On the 88 acres rented ground there are no fences and no water tanks (but there IS a water supply to the shed - tanks and fencing may follow in the next few years :sneaky:).

Have you chaps any thoughts how to start the incorporation process if I were to run the flail topper through any excess herbage there?

25 acres is in reygrass mixture taken as first cut silage with regrowth taken as hay. 16 acres will be drilled into maize for silage this year with a repeat of last year's trial of grass overseeding straight after drilling the maize but I may look to include clovers and other herbs this time. I don't want to swamp out the maize so it needs to get going ahead of the herbage but ideally I'd establish the mixed sward under it then flail top the lot after the maize silage is taken in September leaving the toppings to break down over winter (I can hear Dad now - "What the hell have you done THAT for?").
I think every year would be overkill tbh.
Our paddocks are left one year in 3 as a minimum and seems to be enough for most species to build a seedbank - can't see a hard seeded clover as balansa being any different.
That's my goal with mowing really, if I do it early I diminish the ability of the early heading species to reproduce (dogstail, vernal, fog, browntop) but the aftermath heading of the medium rotation ryegrass and timothy should be enough to push the sward composition the right way.
That's the plan anyway.
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Finally caught up with this thread read the aricles and watched the videos some good stuff here (y)
Just to contribute something back this is the FB group were i first heard of regenerative agriculture. Not sure how to make a link from fb so heres a screenshot instead its quite easy to find. Some useful and interesting things here
Screenshot_2018-01-12-07-22-49.png
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
Finally caught up with this thread read the aricles and watched the videos some good stuff here (y)
Just to contribute something back this is the FB group were i first heard of regenerative agriculture. Not sure how to make a link from fb so heres a screenshot instead its quite easy to find. Some useful and interesting things hereView attachment 620696

Someone actually has 60 head of milking Devons? Don't have Facebook
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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