Catch crop for sheep after Barley , not stubble turnip

[andybk]

Landlord looking to get seed ready for drilling after winter barley , will be available till April for sheep (for my replacement ewes and selling rams ) , whats best catch crop for sheep for repeated grazing , he isnt keen on stubble turnip as a lot of his is into enviro projects and public about , WE had oats or rye and vetch last year , late sown and cold start didnt help but did graze well (vetch never really got started properly )
Thought about redstart , sounds good , was reading about gorilla? rape also sounds good
also need an option on some fields for following rape crop and clubroot
pretty good ground bit heavy after rain can get greasy , dries out fairly quickly very similar to devon red soil

edit :sorry mods didnt notice other thread running , may merge if you like

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Somoeone Said Redstart is not that Winter Hardy
If you don't want stubble turnips then a Cover Crop Mix, would he be happy with Raddish mixed in

 

[michael N123]

Kale

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Kale

August be a tad late unless he gets the barley off quick

 

[som farmer]

redstart

 

[michael N123]

August be a tad late unless he gets the barley off quick

Depending on location people are already getting winter barely off now

 

[andybk]

recon were about 3 weeks off harvest

 

[neilo]

Redstart and the like will be similar to stubble turnips in terms of getting muddy, and there is no regrowth over winter, so it will be a one hit wonder like turnips.

Anything will be more expensive than turnips/rape, but a Westerwold/rape mix might work well if he wants to keep it looking cleaner?

More importantly, if it’s in an environmental scheme, what do the scheme rules dictate?

 

[andybk]

Redstart and the like will be similar to stubble turnips in terms of getting muddy, and there is no regrowth over winter, so it will be a one hit wonder like turnips.

Anything will be more expensive than turnips/rape, but a Westerwold/rape mix might work well if he wants to keep it looking cleaner?

More importantly, if it’s in an environmental scheme, what do the scheme rules dictate?

the enviro option is on other areas than the arable , but there is wider public access , another local feeds turnips on arable and it gets messy when forcing them to eat it to start and there is run off from the mud , did i see you normally add rye to redstart mix to get lambs going on it ?
I generally keep stock moving if its wet , then go back later so i can control the mess , but he doest want ST as i need to get them eating it (mess) , a late planted miniature fodder beet would be useful lol

 

[neilo]

the enviro option is on other areas than the arable , but there is wider public access , another local feeds turnips on arable and it gets messy when forcing them to eat it to start and there is run off from the mud , did i see you normally add rye to redstart mix to get lambs going on it ?
I generally keep stock moving if its wet , then go back later so i can control the mess , but he doest want ST as i need to get them eating it , a late planted miniature fodder beet would be useful lol

I just plant straight stubble turnips after winter Barley ground. I did a westerwold/rape mix a few times, which produces a huge amount of fodder for the Autumn (assuming it rains), but regrowth would be very steady/negligible after it gets cold. It does create an early bite in the Spring, if you keep off it over winter. The ryegrass in the mix means they have a steadier transition from grass, so no growth check. Seed for that mix is over £30/ac though, compared to stubble turnips at a fiver.

I’m not rich enough to afford Rye to put in a mix, but grows at lower temperatures still iirc.

Does the landowner have OSR in his rotation? If he does then he might want to avoid any brassicas anyway?

 

[andybk]

I just plant straight stubble turnips after winter Barley ground. I did a westerwold/rape mix a few times, which produces a huge amount of fodder for the Autumn (assuming it rains), but regrowth would be very steady/negligible after it gets cold. It does create an early bite in the Spring, if you keep off it over winter. The ryegrass in the mix means they have a steadier transition from grass, so no growth check. Seed for that mix is over £30/ac though, compared to stubble turnips at a fiver.

I’m not rich enough to afford Rye to put in a mix, but grows at lower temperatures still iirc.

Does the landowner have OSR in his rotation? If he does then he might want to avoid any brassicas anyway?

yes has rape in some , can use brassicas in front of maize crop though

 

[Hesstondriver]

the cheap scate option is to slip a bit of N on to the barley stubble and graze the regrowth

 

[andybk]

the cheap scate option is to slip a bit of N on to the barley stubble and graze the regrowth

sheep do well on volunteers took some ewes off some (wheat) a while back came off like show sheep

 

[Hesstondriver]

sheep do well on volunteers took some ewes off some (wheat) a while back came off like show sheep

the stubble roots do help to keep the soil together too, if you wanted to get really extravagant you could roll the stubble to get a better germination

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I cant see rape or Redstart lasting till April , you would pushing stubble turnips
A cover crop mix that has some Rye in for around £20 acre will cover uncertainties of the weather, you don't want to lose the lot in early Jan if you get hard frost

 

[st piran]

Hungry gap would last until April comfortably at about £15 acre

 

[st piran]

7kg of westerwolds and 1kg of rape would come in under £20 I would think.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

7kg of westerwolds and 1kg of rape would come in under £20 I would think.

It would but a good cover crop is doing two jobs , Westerwolds is not a great soil improver , if you want that