Catch crop advice

COYR

New Member
Looking at renewing grass by taking cut of hay/silage, ploughing once bales are off and seeding with feed rape or similar undersown with grass to get winter feed crop with grass getting a good start for the coming year. Anyone have any experience of doing this? Thanks Mike...
 

HarryB97

Member
Mixed Farmer
If you want winter feed i'd focus on growing a straight forage crop and then drilling grass in the spring as otherwise you compromise both crops from the start. I wouldn't plough after the silage cut as u'll have a mud bath come the winter u'll be better off direct drilling a forage crop
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Looking at renewing grass by taking cut of hay/silage, ploughing once bales are off and seeding with feed rape or similar undersown with grass to get winter feed crop with grass getting a good start for the coming year. Anyone have any experience of doing this? Thanks Mike...

As above posts

Best to View it the other way around , put a bit of rape in with the grass not a bit of grass in with the rape .
The best this should then be expected to do is add a bit of quicker feed bulk in the reseed.
Also Best to eat it off in / by the autumn as well else the big leaves will kill grass under them if left too long through the winter.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Looking at renewing grass by taking cut of hay/silage, ploughing once bales are off and seeding with feed rape or similar undersown with grass to get winter feed crop with grass getting a good start for the coming year. Anyone have any experience of doing this? Thanks Mike...

If you want to graze the crop in winter, any grass will get completely mullered, unless you can run an extremely low stocking rate.
As above, far better to grow a decent forage crop for strip grazing overwinter, then sow grass properly next Spring.

As above, I wouldn’t let a plough anywhere near before planting a winter fodder crop. If you really feel an irresistible urge to use one, then do so after grazing the crop.
 
When exactly are you hoping to establish the forage crop? There is ample time to get a crop of kale in now, but for a winter crop you want forage rape/turnip sown August- September so you can graze it over winter. Eat that off, plaster it with manure and sow a new grass ley in March-April. Sow 35kg/acre of spring barley first at the usual depth with a combi drill, then grass harrow box your chosen grass mixture in. 50 units on soon as the rows appear, spray and weed out as soon as the grass has 3 leaves and mow the lot off in July.(y)
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
Question to the masses and the experts apare to be gathering on this thread.

Have a Winfred mix to sow into about 7 acre to graze weanlings through as late as I can, looking after Christmas. Ground has been mucked hard early on and grass is going great guns, what and how would you establish root crop? I was going to plough but may not now...?

Advise please
 

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