Countryside Seeds Ltd

Countryside Seeds Ltd

As of the 1st July a slight change to the business, it's become incorporated and with it a change of name. Farm machinery sales have not been a part of Farm Equip's business for a number of years and we felt now was the time for a new name to reflect more of what we do, so Countryside Seeds Limited was born.

We still offer friendly service and advice with up to date products at keen prices.

Company History

Farm Equip was launched by myself (Kevin) on the 1st January 1980. Initially selling farm consumables from the back of a yellow transit van.

Over the past few years the business has become almost predominately the sale of seed in its varies guises where it be a single bag of lawn seed to tonnes of grass/cereal seed.

I am in the very lucky position to be a distributor for some of the UK’s leading seed houses which include Barenbrug UK Ltd, DLF Trifolium Ltd, Grainseed Ltd and Soya UK to name a few.

I am more than happy to work with the customer on compiling their own mixture.

To contact me you may PM through the forum or I am very happy to be telephoned on 07881 804442.
Email: [email protected]

As like a lot of you I'm self employed so no 9-5 here so please telephone at your convenience.

 

[Great In Grass]

The BIOCELL YEAST bucket range;

 

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Grass pasture management scheme launched

Barenbrug, one of the largest grass seed producers in the UK, today announces the launch of a pioneering new, research programme with farmers nationwide to explore how proactive grassland management can significantly improve yields and profitability.

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The inaugural Barenbrug Grass into Gold programme is being supported by Dow Agrosciences. Ten farms from across the UK have been selected to take part in the initiative, which will include an intense, hands-on programme of activities designed to develop wider awareness of best practices in farm grassland management.

Throughout the year, participating farmers will work closely with Barenbrug's grass cultivation research experts to discover how to use and manage fields an d pastures more efficiently, leading to a significant uplift in the profitability of their farm business.

The Barenbrug team will deliver tailored guidance, information and practical support to the individual farmers via one-to-one liaison, dedicated workshops and farm visits. The farmers will be able to share ideas, experiences and information about pasture production with other farmers from across the UK. Throughout the year they will closely assess the pasture cover on their farm and keep grazing data to assess the growth of grass in specific areas.

The programme kicks off over the coming weeks. During April and May, Barenbrug's regional grass experts have been visiting each participating farm to analyse the condition of fields and pastures, and discuss what each farmer wants to achieve from the scheme and through the adoption of enhanced grassland management techniques.

Other educational events are planned with the group over the coming months. In addi tion to dedicated support and advice, each farmer will receive up to £5,000 of products and services including grass seed and a range of soil improvement products.

The ten farms selected to take part in the first phase of the programme are:

In England & Wales:
Richard Morris - Southern Pitts Farm, Pembrokeshire, (Dairy)
Mike Miller - Greville Hall Farm, Evesham, Worcestershire (Dairy)
Elizabeth Benton - Cucumber Farm, Chichester, West Sussex (Dairy)
J M and D Shepherd - Birchills Farm, Hassop, Derbyshire (Dairy)
R G Bacon - Hadcliffe Farm, Wadshelf, Derbyshire (Mixed)

In Scotland:
Mark Donald & Harriet Smith - Rhynaclach Farm, Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire (Sheep)
Craig Malone - Pitcairn Farm, Cardenden, Fife (Beef & Sheep)
Robert & Charlotte Baillie - Longlea Farm, Netherburn, South Lanarkshire (Dairy & Sheep)

In Northern Ireland:
Ian Pollock - Braemar Farm, Castlerock, County Londonderry (Dairy)
Sean Fullerton - Maghera, County Londonderry (Dairy)

James Ingles, Head of Agriculture at Barenbrug UK, said: "Good grassland management is essential to maximise enterprise profitability. We're launching Grass into Gold to help farmers across the UK get the most out of every blade of grass. Our grass varieties are the result of hundreds of years of research and development, and we've got a wealth of information and practical advice to share with dairy farmers. Recognising that different farmers face different challenges - depending on where they are located - we've picked participants from across the UK to work alongside. We look forward to getting to know these individuals, understanding more about their grassland management issues and to having a positive impact on their businesses."

 

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Es Mambo frighteningly good performance Winter Oilseed Rape;

 

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Game Cover Chemicals: As many of you are in the process of sowing or indeed have sown your game cover crops I thought it would help if I posted a page from our catalogue in relation to chemicals that may be used on game cover crops, a PDF file is also attached for download:

 

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Maize herbicide guide 2015, following on from game cover chemicals most maize seed is now in the ground. The MGA produces a star guide to herbicides each year and this years is below.

 

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How to Maintain and Renovate Horse Grass Paddocks. Advice on Equine Paddocks.

 

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Mycotoxins are a big problem in animal rations. They are produced by moulds as a defence mechanism, so are only present when a mould is under stress.
Each type of mould will produce its own mycotoxin making it impossible to know which toxin is present. This makes it vital that a binder works across the full range of mycotoxins found in farm rations.
The most common symptoms of mycotoxins are;

• Scouring
• Poor performance
• Swollen hocks
• Mastitis / cell counts
• Abortions
• Reduced intakes
• Loss of fertility

MicroSafe Max™ is a dual action mycotoxin binder which is able to eliminate the greatest range of mycotoxins.

MicroSafe Max™ is available in 25kg bags and is used at 50g/head/day for the first week and 25g/head/day thereafter.

In farm use MicroSafe Max™ has proved to outperform other single action products on the market.

Look out for an early order offer in the "For Sale" section soon!

 

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Secure Covers: Please PM for details and prices.

 

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Winter cereals - Autumn 2015 Availability List 1 – 15th June 2015;
WINTER WHEAT:

Nelson

An exciting dual purpose variety suitable for both the milling and feed market. Nelson offers HIGH bread making quality with FEED Wheat Yields. It has very good disease resistance especially to septoria nodorum and mildew and displays a large broad flag leaf. It is a typically tall German wheat with excellent standing ability with early maturity. Nelson produces an extremely high specific weight and has done in a multitude of various growing seasons.

For those looking to achieve a milling premium, Nelson is an ‘E quality’ wheat (the highest rating for milling in Germany) and there are UK mills who have agreed to pay group 1 premiums for this harvest for the variety.

Being tall and producing high straw yields, combined with its high specific weight and feed wheat yields also makes Nelson the ideal variety for on farm use.

This is a variety which is suitable for early or late sowing and is extremely winter hardy.

Seed is limited so advise booking early.

 

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SECURO Winter Triticale

 

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Spring silage success but farmers should sharpen sward skills between cuts

Initial indications from farm visits undertaken by the agricultural grass team at Barenbrug during late May and early June seem to show that good average silage yields have been achieved across the UK this spring. While crops did not grow particularly tall, Barenbrug reports that they were dense - probably because of the extra tillering that occurred over an extremely mild winter.

James Ingles, Head of Agriculture at Barenbrug UK, said: "Winter 2014 was the mildest on record for more than 30 years meaning perennial ryegrasses remained active in most parts of the UK from November to February. Obviously this was good news for farmers but it was a different story from March to May with a frosty finish to spring, and a cold start to summer, which hampered the final phase of grass growth. Our initial silage analysis test results seem to reflect this."

Barenbrug undertakes a detailed analysis of silage every year - looking at results achieved across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. While the company's spring 2015 review is still ongoing some interesting results are beginning to emerge. Silage tested is showing good water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) levels thanks to average sunshine hours. However, crude protein levels appear below par - probably because of colder spring soil temperatures, which can stop plants taking up nitrogen and converting it to protein.

Looking ahead, Barenbrug believes a good second cut could be on the cards for many UK farmers. Following the first cut, the fields that Barenbrug has assessed are looking very green - normally a good sign of fast regrowth. But the company is warning against complacency and urging farmers to use the time between cuts to assess the make up of their swards and plan what work is required ahead of next year's growing season.

Concluding, James said: "Having taken the first cut, farmers will know which pastures are not performing and should think about earmarking them for replacement. Dairy farmers wouldn't leave a three-quartered cow unseen to - and it should be the same with grass. Why persist with under performing fields when you could tackle them head on and improve yields and profitability."

To help farmers looking to renovate their grassland Barenbrug has developed a simple field indexing system that makes it easy to conduct a quick visual assessment of sward status and mark it on a scale of one to five. The guide also contains handy hints and tips so farmers can decide if a partial reseed is required or full-scale renovation.

Download our Good Grass Guide PDF

 

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The odds are stacked against big bales - please PM for pricing and details.

 

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Forage rye is the crop for early bite grazing for cattle and sheep in the spring. An early sown crop can also provide an additional light grazing for sheep before Christmas. Zero grazing is another option which is now being exploited by a number of farmers and forage rye can also be made into big bale silage. Forage rye helps you to maximise the amount of fodder you can produce from your land by enabling 3 crops to be grown in two years.

Limagrain's variety Humbolt was bred specifically for forage production (it is not a grain variety) and so it has good early spring growth and excellent winter hardiness.

The average fresh yields will be in the region of 20-24 tonnes/hectare with a crude protein content of 12% and an ME of 10 MJ/kg DM.

You should allow one hectare of Humbolt to provide around 2 weeks grazing for 25 cows. Dairy cows prefer to graze the crop at a height of 20-25 cm and an electric fence is important to reduce wastage in the field.

Some farmers mix Italian ryegrass with their Humbolt as this enables them to extend the grazing season.

 

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BONFIRE is a forage rye variety grown as a winter cover crop for forage or biogas production. Please contact for pricing.

 

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BARKANT Stubble Turnips, new 2015 season crop has been recently harvested and barring any problems (vigour/germ ect) will become available for sale shortly. PM for a price on new season seed.

A proven and reliable, Barenbrug-bred variety that is high yielding, versatile, highly nutritious, traditional stubble turnip with early maturity (60 to 90 days).

Characterised by a much higher proportion of leaf compared to other turnips and its tankard shaped bulb, two thirds of which grows above ground, enhances utilisation.

Suitable for summer forage and can provide autumn/early winter feed. It’s winter hardy, highly digestible with high dry matter yield.

Stubble Turnips are very flexible. It can be sown either in a standing crop of cereals, straight after the cereal harvest or perhaps after early potatoes.

Why grow Stubble Turnips?

• Perfect alternative to silage
• Fast growing catch crop
• Autumn or winter feed
• Economical to grow
• Flexible sowing options
• Helps reduce winter feed costs

Sowing rate
Broadcast - 8kg/ha (3.2kg/acre)
Drilled - 5kg/ha (2kg/acre)

Pack size Available in 5kg/25kg packs

Essential information
Sow April to June for summer use or July to early September for autumn use, a well grown catch crop can provide you with up to 40 tonnes per acre of palatable feed from October through to December.

Around 20kgs of stubble turnips will be roughly equal in energy value to either 2kg of barley of 4.5kg of high quality hay. An average autumn crop will provide one days grazing for 1,000 ewes or 500 cows per acre.

 

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Turn over a new leaf - Practical ways to get your grassland more productive

If you are thinking about making changes across your farm business, why not start from the ground up and look at how you are managing your grassland. Taking the time to pro-actively improve your fields, pastures and paddocks could have a positive impact on yields and profitability - for a relatively small investment.

Here are five simple steps from the agricultural grass experts at Barenbrug designed to help you improve your grassland during the year ahead!

Step 1: Walk your fields

Look carefully at any areas of grassland that you have. If grass is an unhealthy shade of yellowy green or if you have water lying on the surface after rainfall, you could be facing a soil structure problem. Left untackled this could affect production and persistency levels later in the year causing the sward to fill up with weed grasses. This in turn will decrease your yield and affect spring growth significantly. Check for areas of bare ground where grass is thin or where weeds have already taken over - especially common in feeding areas and around gateways. Look also for high and low areas where bare patches might occur, and damage caused by pests such as rabbits and moles.

Step 2: Look at what lies beneath

Examine soil structure. Basic nutrient tests are inexpensive and will help you understand the levels of essential elements present. You should also dig a hole with a spade to examine the top few inches, which are so important to the grass life-cycle. If you see signs of compaction, use either a sward lifter or aerator to alleviate the problem. The choice of tool will depend on the depth of compaction. Shallow compaction, up to 20cms, can be corrected by slitting the field with an aerator. Deeper compaction is best treated using a sward lifter, which will lift and shatter the soil, allowing deeper root penetration and a healthier soil.

Step 3: Deal with weeds

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If you spot weed grasses, tackle them immediately. They are usually shallow rooted and pull out very easily. If they make up more than 40% of the sward, harrow hard to remove them. With a sward of more than 70% weed grasses, the best option is to reseed.

Step 4: Prepare the ground

If overseeding is necessary, pick a mixture designed specifically for renovation. Before seeding, harrow or rake vigorously with a spring tine or chain harrows. This can be carried out by machine or, for very small areas, by hand. The aim is to remove all dead material including shallow rooted grass and weeds in the base of the sward. Opening up the sward lets in air and light, allowing clean, fresh growth to come from the base of the plant. It also levels any molehills and highlights vulnerable parts of the field.

Step 5: Overseeding

After harrowing, use a grass mixture designed specifically for the job in hand. The best time to reseed is when the ground is moist and warm, and soil temperatures are above 8°C. The ideal window in the UK is typically between April and September when conditions allow grass seeds to germinate and grow without competing against weeds. Rolling the ground after sowing helps seed-soil contact to promote germination. Reseeding in these conditions allows the plant to develop a good root structure that is ready to spread and grow the following spring, so quickly increasing grass cover.

Once soil structure is right and any reseeding has taken place, you stand a good chance of growing a healthy grass crop. Remember that all grass will benefit from feeding with fertilisers but take care not to apply when sowing. New plants have no roots and are unable to take up nutrients. Instead, you would favour the existing sward and create more competition for the new plants.