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Barenbrug more than a century of knowledge and experience in grass innovation
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<blockquote data-quote="Great In Grass" data-source="post: 7437749" data-attributes="member: 79"><p>[ATTACH=full]943931[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Dr Gillian Young, AFBI grass breeder</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Improving grass varieties increases profitability on farm</strong></p><p> </p><p>Reseeding with improved ryegrass varieties has been shown to increase on-farm production efficiencies year on year in terms of grass utilization and livestock output. The AFBI ryegrass breeding programme, at Loughgall, in N. Ireland, has been successfully improving ryegrasses for more than 60 years, crossing the best with the best to make steady improvements in important economic traits, such as yield and quality. Into the future, environmental traits, such as nutrient efficiency, carbon sequestration and tolerance to stress, will all become even more important than they are today, and breeding for improvements in ryegrass will have an important part to play in how we deal with such emerging threats to farm production.</p><p> </p><p>The AFBI ryegrass breeding programme has been in place at Loughgall since 1952, and since then more than 50 varieties have been included on recommended lists, making it one of the most successful programmes in the UK and Ireland. These varieties are persistent and high-yielding for grazing and conservation and are specifically bred for best performance on farms in the UK. New modern varieties produce 10% more in yield per hectare than varieties used twenty years ago, and also possess improvements in other traits, such as disease-resistance and winter-hardiness. Considerable effort has also been invested into breeding for improved digestibility at every stage in the breeding programme, as highly digestible forage produces more meat and milk. Improvements in all of these traits translate directly to increased grass utilization and decreased feed costs for farmers who regularly reseed with new improved varieties.</p><p> </p><p>Grass breeding takes a long time: it can take up to 15 years to produce each variety at a cost of around half a million pounds each, highlighting the huge investment that breeders make to produce only the very best possible grasses for use on farm. Initial crosses are made between pairs of selected mother plants under controlled conditions, crossing the best with the best to combine traits of interest and ultimately produce improved daughter plants, which become new varieties. Large-scale testing of these varieties is then conducted across the UK and Ireland to ensure that only the best-performing varieties on farm make it to market. All varieties ultimately go through a stringent national listing process, by which varieties are independently tested at sites across the UK to ensure that only the best and most-improved varieties make it into recommended lists for use in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The ongoing research and development work undertaken by the AFBI grass breeding programme ensures that a steady supply of new varieties are produced that can meet the requirements of the grassland and livestock industries in the UK. Initial grass-breeding research is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in N. Ireland, with near-market research funded by our long-standing commercial partner Barenbrug. Continued investment in the programme, strongly enhanced by our excellent connection with the commercial sector, will ensure a steady supply of new grasses, which can meet the ever changing demands of the agriculture industry. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Dr Gillian Young</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>[ATTACH=full]943934[/ATTACH]</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Great In Grass, post: 7437749, member: 79"] [ATTACH type="full"]943931[/ATTACH] [SIZE=6][B]Dr Gillian Young, AFBI grass breeder[/B][/SIZE] [B]Improving grass varieties increases profitability on farm[/B] Reseeding with improved ryegrass varieties has been shown to increase on-farm production efficiencies year on year in terms of grass utilization and livestock output. The AFBI ryegrass breeding programme, at Loughgall, in N. Ireland, has been successfully improving ryegrasses for more than 60 years, crossing the best with the best to make steady improvements in important economic traits, such as yield and quality. Into the future, environmental traits, such as nutrient efficiency, carbon sequestration and tolerance to stress, will all become even more important than they are today, and breeding for improvements in ryegrass will have an important part to play in how we deal with such emerging threats to farm production. The AFBI ryegrass breeding programme has been in place at Loughgall since 1952, and since then more than 50 varieties have been included on recommended lists, making it one of the most successful programmes in the UK and Ireland. These varieties are persistent and high-yielding for grazing and conservation and are specifically bred for best performance on farms in the UK. New modern varieties produce 10% more in yield per hectare than varieties used twenty years ago, and also possess improvements in other traits, such as disease-resistance and winter-hardiness. Considerable effort has also been invested into breeding for improved digestibility at every stage in the breeding programme, as highly digestible forage produces more meat and milk. Improvements in all of these traits translate directly to increased grass utilization and decreased feed costs for farmers who regularly reseed with new improved varieties. Grass breeding takes a long time: it can take up to 15 years to produce each variety at a cost of around half a million pounds each, highlighting the huge investment that breeders make to produce only the very best possible grasses for use on farm. Initial crosses are made between pairs of selected mother plants under controlled conditions, crossing the best with the best to combine traits of interest and ultimately produce improved daughter plants, which become new varieties. Large-scale testing of these varieties is then conducted across the UK and Ireland to ensure that only the best-performing varieties on farm make it to market. All varieties ultimately go through a stringent national listing process, by which varieties are independently tested at sites across the UK to ensure that only the best and most-improved varieties make it into recommended lists for use in the UK. The ongoing research and development work undertaken by the AFBI grass breeding programme ensures that a steady supply of new varieties are produced that can meet the requirements of the grassland and livestock industries in the UK. Initial grass-breeding research is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in N. Ireland, with near-market research funded by our long-standing commercial partner Barenbrug. Continued investment in the programme, strongly enhanced by our excellent connection with the commercial sector, will ensure a steady supply of new grasses, which can meet the ever changing demands of the agriculture industry. [B]Dr Gillian Young [ATTACH type="full"]943934[/ATTACH][/B] [/QUOTE]
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