Best grassland improvement implement

[Kiwi Pete]

Those shorter winter days are why we are more likely to use root crops over winter, rather than be able to cell graze big mobs of stock on grass that’s actually in a productive state in the winter. Very few places in the UK get meaningful winter growth, and those are generally close to the sea and in spots where warmer currents sweep in from the South West (Pembrokeshire, S.Devon, Cornwall, Rhyl, and a few other patches up the West Coast). Everywhere else, grass growth over winter is next to nothing, whatever the cultivars growing.
My (old pp) lambing paddocks here are rested from November and are only showing minimal growth by early April most years. New ryegrass leys show more winter growth, but not much unless they are short term grasses like Westerwolds/IRG.
We’re at quite a low altitude and latitude, and generally have lower rainfall, than many of the posters on here.

How high are you, Neil, my go go google maps hasn't ever really pinpointed you
But, gosh it's a nice-looking bit of countryside from above.

We're trialling a couple of bromes, prairie grass etc here against annual RG, really quite surprising how well the bromes do by comparison once the soil is cold.

The problem with the sward that "nature provides" here, is that it gives about 13 months worth of production in 13 weeks, which is how I picture some of your lower and more temperate hill-country performing
So what were trying to do with the cell grazing is a multipronged approach

1. Infiltration, crucial here now
2. Alter the sward compostion towards more species - to cover more months
3. Maintain more feed in better condition, rather than stressing it to seed at a few inches tall and then having nothing want to eat it

Those are probably miles different resource concerns to what most people have

 

[S J H]

There is another thread about the same block, looking for someone to graze it. There’s your chance, as it seems nobody in the Eastern counties wants the work.?

Have you seen how long he's letting you have it for?

 

[neilo]

How high are you, Neil, my go go google maps hasn't ever really pinpointed you
But, gosh it's a nice-looking bit of countryside from above.

We're trialling a couple of bromes, prairie grass etc here against annual RG, really quite surprising how well the bromes do by comparison once the soil is cold.

The problem with the sward that "nature provides" here, is that it gives about 13 months worth of production in 13 weeks, which is how I picture some of your lower and more temperate hill-country performing
So what were trying to do with the cell grazing is a multipronged approach

1. Infiltration, crucial here now
2. Alter the sward compostion towards more species - to cover more months
3. Maintain more feed in better condition, rather than stressing it to seed at a few inches tall and then having nothing want to eat it

Those are probably miles different resource concerns to what most people have

We’re only between 350’ and 500’, so a lot lower than some. Those higher up and/or further North, will have an even shorter growing season, hence very limited options for grazing of anything resembling a production ration, and the high numbers of stock put in expensive sheds, necessitating expensive feeding systems with expensive feed (compared to moving an electric fence on growing grass paddocks).

 

[neilo]

Have you seen how long he's letting you have it for?

Yes I know, but I was replying to the guy that wanted to farm it.

 

[Henarar]

i think it was @ Global Ovine that said that he would actually prefer the type of seasons for grass growth like we get rather than a more flat rate of growth throughout the year...

Where does he farm ?

 

[Bury the Trash]

Where does he farm ?

dunno up Somerset way could be ,yeah up Bristol way ir...


Actually i quite like Bristol , but im not keen to live there ( he says quickly changing the subject )

 

[Henarar]

dunno up Somerset way could be ,yeah up Bristol way ir...


Actually i quite like Bristol , but im not keen to live there ( he says quickly changing the subject )

last time I went to Bristol they cut me up

 

[Sharpy]

Where does he farm ?

New Zealand, not sure where.

 

[Bury the Trash]

last time I went to Bristol they cut me up

park and ride , or better still, train.

lot of character in the city ir, never new much about it before, getting to like it now, ...few more police sirens than at home though.... ha ha .

 

[Henarar]

park and ride , or better still, train.

lot of character in the city ir, never new much about it before, getting to like it now, ...few more police sirens than at home though.... ha ha .

we did go on the part and ride from the M5
I was taking literally when I said they cut me up

 

[Bury the Trash]

we did go on the part and ride from the M5
I was taking literally when I said they cut me up

Ah right , iswym for an operation ? ...

 

[Henarar]

BRI

 

[som farmer]

last time I went to Bristol they cut me up

the last time I tried to navigate the Cumberland basin, my remarks were unprintable, never again.

 

[Bury the Trash]

i think it was @ Global Ovine that said that he would actually prefer the type of seasons for grass growth like we get rather than a more flat rate of growth throughout the year...

....or words to that effect.....well actually it was the same subject but commenting on the difference in between North Island and South Island , New Zealand.
....anyway enough of my waffle ....

@Global ovine 's post...
" The very north of NZ's NI is sub tropical, not temperate as the rest of NZ, and certainly not cool temperate as in the deep south of NZ. That said, three things came out clearly in this excellent interview regarding the video kindly put up by unlacedgecko, they were; soils were naturally very poor and the region suffers from summer drought and very prone to pugging damage in their mild winter.

Polywire and water reticulation were rather cheap costs to set up the system, but the capital costs of soil chemistry improvement would have been large to support sufficient grass growth and maintenance fertiliser due to high phosphate retention, but that, I suspect, is not the nub of your discussion.

Growing season isn't the real issue here, it's how much pasture grows in total over the year. NZ's far north grows much less total dry matter than NZ's deep south. The annual growth profile is rather flat compared compared to the deep south which has a 100 day plus winter, dramatic spring and maintains a high rate over summer/autumn. Hence per hectare carrying capacities of southern farms are much higher where surpluses are conserved and moved forward into winter and often associated with root and kale crops. Like many regions in Scotland, longer daylight hours during the growing season and superior soils give farmers many options to grow more DM. It's up to them wherever they farm to ration and utilise it according to their system.
Such a system used in the video reduced the seasonal pugging problem and enabled DM grown to be carried forward over the summer pasture growth depression. That system can be adapted to many environments.

Personally I would rather farm livestock in a very seasonal environment with a reliable summer/autumn, than farm crap soils in a winterless environment with no guarantee of 5 months growth. However the sea fishing is unbelievable up there. "