DD turnips into permanent pasture without glyphosate

[Derrick Hughes]

To the opp , I did it they came well at the start , then a slow death for most of them , got about 1/3 of a crop , won't do it again , hybrid rape , some stubble turnips and Crimson Clover

 

[Jerry]

Ive had just under 300 ewes on 22 acres since 1st December. They still have about 5 acres to go through. They get a 3 day section and not moved until its bare ground so sometimes its 4 day moves.

 

[neilo]

Any idea on numbers I should be putting to it? I have a batch of 41 doubles that I was thinking of putting to it to see how it goes

I would have thought 41 ewes wouldn’t make a dent in it tbh, especially when it starts shooting up again. Three times that I would of thought, but depends if you’ve got anything that could take off any surplus after?
Be aware that when it does start to bolt it throws up woody flowering stems very quickly. When that starts happening I take the fences down and let them take the tops out of all of it, otherwise the bit you leave to graze later has next to no feed value and you have a pile of sticks to get rid of somehow.

That Appin makes a lot of feed ime.

 

[Jerry]

I have 3 acres of aspin turnip/redstart to graze now with ewes. They will be lambing from 27th of March on so I would like it to keep them until 12/14th of March (5weeks approx). How many ewes should I expect a crop like this to carry. I will be strip grazing. How much hard feed should I be starting to give them and how soon? Any other tips? Never grazed ewes on forage crop before

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Move day. They are clearing it up nicely with it being dry.

new 3 day section ready for them.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Looking very professional,

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Move day. They are clearing it up nicely with it being dry.

new 3 day section ready for them.

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Any reason you are feeding long strips instead of blocks?

 

[Jerry]

Any reason you are feeding long strips instead of blocks?

just easier with the shape of the field and using an atv fencer. One run out and one run to pick up. Nice and simple. No corners to worry about.

 

[Andyt880]

I would have thought 41 ewes wouldn’t make a dent in it tbh, especially when it starts shooting up again. Three times that I would of thought, but depends if you’ve got anything that could take off any surplus after?
Be aware that when it does start to bolt it throws up woody flowering stems very quickly. When that starts happening I take the fences down and let them take the tops out of all of it, otherwise the bit you leave to graze later has next to no feed value and you have a pile of sticks to get rid of somehow.

That Appin makes a lot of feed ime.

I have a few ewes due to lamb in a weeks time, how would they do on it after they lamb down and the lambs get up and going a week or two? I’m thinking I could easily start them at the other side of the field and both batches could graze towards the middle

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I have a few ewes due to lamb in a weeks time, how would they do on it after they lamb down and the lambs get up and going a week or two? I’m thinking I could easily start them at the other side of the field and both batches could graze towards the middle

Would be giving them a couple of pulled turnips each before they lamb to get them used t it, then start them off at the other end of the field. And carry on with plan a for the main lot.

 

[Andyt880]

Would be giving them a couple of pulled turnips each before they lamb to get them used t it, then start them off at the other end of the field. And carry on with plan a for the main lot.

Yes good idea giving them a few tops now whilst in the shed to lamb, I would be feeding meal to the ewes for a few weeks before and after they go out too so hopefully it wouldn’t stall them changing over to the turnips

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Yes good idea giving them a few tops now whilst in the shed to lamb, I would be feeding meal to the ewes for a few weeks before and after they go out too so hopefully it wouldn’t stall them changing over to the turnips

Personally, depending on your mineral situation, I would rely less on the cake and more on the turnips which a, are good grub and already paid for and b, will not keep for ever, unlike the money in your pocket if you don't have to buy so much cake. I would also make sure they get used to the bulbs as well as the tops while they're inside

You've done a really good job of getting a good crop ready just when the sheep most need it. Take advantage of it, they will love it.

 

[Andyt880]

Personally, depending on your mineral situation, I would rely less on the cake and more on the turnips which a, are good grub and already paid for and b, will not keep for ever, unlike the money in your pocket if you don't have to buy so much cake. I would also make sure they get used to the bulbs as well as the tops while they're inside

You've done a really good job of getting a good crop ready just when the sheep most need it. Take advantage of it, they will love it.

Thanks. I generally don’t seem to have any mineral deficiency problems that I know of. I did bolus ewes pre tipping and pre lambing for a year or two (sucked in by sales pitches) but haven’t given any bolus for the last 18 months with no obvious problems.
I had been considering giving the in lamb ewes a mineral drench and bolus when on the turnips as a precaution.

The less feed I have to buy in, the better. I have a lot of other overheads against the sheep so every saving is a bonus

What would you recommend in terms of keeping mineral levels correct for those lactating ewes if on the turnips/rape?

 

[neilo]

Thanks. I generally don’t seem to have any mineral deficiency problems that I know of. I did bolus ewes pre tipping and pre lambing for a year or two (sucked in by sales pitches) but haven’t given any bolus for the last 18 months with no obvious problems.
I had been considering giving the in lamb ewes a mineral drench and bolus when on the turnips as a precaution.

The less feed I have to buy in, the better. I have a lot of other overheads against the sheep so every saving is a bonus

What would you recommend in terms of keeping mineral levels correct for those lactating ewes if on the turnips/rape?

I wouldn’t get too worried about using boluses just because they’re on roots. I never used them back home as didn’t have the deficiencies and lock ups we have here. We wintered sheep on stubble turnips for 20 odd years there without any problems.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Thanks. I generally don’t seem to have any mineral deficiency problems that I know of. I did bolus ewes pre tipping and pre lambing for a year or two (sucked in by sales pitches) but haven’t given any bolus for the last 18 months with no obvious problems.
I had been considering giving the in lamb ewes a mineral drench and bolus when on the turnips as a precaution.

The less feed I have to buy in, the better. I have a lot of other overheads against the sheep so every saving is a bonus

What would you recommend in terms of keeping mineral levels correct for those lactating ewes if on the turnips/rape?

Wouldn't like to give specific advice. Anyone keeping sheep near you on similar soil types? They would be the ones to ask.

We have high potash and mag lockup here, so the cheapest solution is 5o to 100g of cake just to get the minerals into them.

 

[Andyt880]

Seem to be going down well so far. Eating it fairly clean without pushing them to hard. They are eating a fair bit of the bulb of the turnip now

 

[JSmith]

I wouldn’t move them again until they’ve cleaned all them turnips up off that grazed ground, or give them half the allocation so they get some leaf but don’t move so often so you make them clean it up!! Looks good amount of food there for you though

 

[Jonny B88]

Ok thanks for the info. I got the field scratched with a Howard roto tiller and sowed with a cutler type seeder. Fired a bit of fertiliser on after 3 weeks or so when I seen it had established and shut the gate.
What time of year was the crop seeded?

 

[Andyt880]

What time of year was the crop seeded?

It was sown on the 5th of august and got 2bags/acre of 16-15-14 after about 3 weeks