East england dairy farming

[sjt01]

What do you irrigate, and what forage do you find grows best?
Trying festulolium and cocksfoot here (south coast sandy soil) to get deeper roots. Ryegrass not well suited...

We irrigate our grazing paddocks of Early Grazer mix, mostly ryegrasses. We grow a cutting ley after winter barley, sprayed off after first cut then strip till maize. That also needs irrigation. We also grow lucerne which really suits our soil, keeps going during a drought and the roots do wonders for soil structure.

 

[Princess Pooper]

Would you need winter housing though?

Very definitely. been -10c and several inches of snow this week.... but underneath the ground is absolutely soaking, floods have been out round here for the last 3-4 weeks.

 

[spin cycle]

our annaul rainfall average is around 20 inch , that dont grow a lot of summer grass

you need irrigation over here for serious grass growing IMO

 

[Princess Pooper]

First cut grass silage yields (May) are usually pretty good, second cut sometimes nothing there (early July) , a September cut usually OK. Clover leys a useful filler for the summer months.

 

[sjt01]

Very definitely. been -10c and several inches of snow this week.... but underneath the ground is absolutely soaking, floods have been out round here for the last 3-4 weeks.

Same in N Norfolk, we have had to hire a pump and pump some low lying floods that are encroaching on our fields (for Spin - Stiffkey Long Lane) into our irrigation main and thence to a ditch. The source is from a pit hole in our neighbour's field, across his field, across one of ours, into the low place on the road, and across onto another field. The road is over 18" deep. Fortunately the neighbour is on good terms, and is going shares with the cost of the operation.

 

[Tim G]

I've heard that Genus are pulling their technicians out of the area, clearly they don't think there will be an increase of milking cows in East Anglia.

 

[sjt01]

I've heard that Genus are pulling their technicians out of the area, clearly they don't think there will be an increase of milking cows in East Anglia.

We have never had technician service available here, just Colin visiting to sell semen!

 

[Tim G]

We have never had technician service available here, just Colin visiting to sell semen!

Colin is staying on to sell semen I'm told. It won't make any difference to me but I think there are a few who have been left in a muddle, one tech has gone already and the other only there for a couple of months more.

 

[sjt01]

Colin is staying on to sell semen I'm told. It won't make any difference to me but I think there are a few who have been left in a muddle, one tech has gone already and the other only there for a couple of months more.

He is a local lad, and used to work for us many years ago.

 

[Tim G]

He is a local lad, and used to work for us many years ago.

Ivve not met him, he did call here and spoke to my wife, let's just say he's not called again.

 

[fenhayman]

I understand that in East Anglia in the depression of 1920's with grain prices at rock bottom, conventional arable farmers were going bust.
Many farms were taken over by Scots who successfully reared cattle on a ranch type, low cost, system. Many Scottish family names still involved in East Anglian farming.

 

[Tim G]

Some of the biggest farms around here all from Scotland originally.

 

[happycows]

Another herd heading west

 

[sidjon]

Another herd heading west

View attachment 943264

And another

 

[ollie989898]

I do think that irrigating grasses to feed to cows to make milk is utter madness mind.

 

[sjt01]

I do think that irrigating grasses to feed to cows to make milk is utter madness mind.

It is only something we do in extremis, not as a routine, but it enables us to keep dairying and making cheese in N Norfolk

 

[beefandsleep]

Surely the answer is maize and Lucerne silage and all year housed mega dairies?
Does anybody grow sainfoin? Always a plant that interested me but not for my heavy clay. I dream of 20 inches by the way, sounds marvellous.[emoji23]

 

[sjt01]

Surely the answer is maize and Lucerne silage and all year housed mega dairies?
Does anybody grow sainfoin? Always a plant that interested me but not for my heavy clay. I dream of 20 inches by the way, sounds marvellous.[emoji23]

We used to grow sanfoin in the '50s, now lucerne but might be tempted to try some sanfoin some time. The only problem with lucerne is getting rid of it in a zero till situation - with deep roots after 5 years it takes some killing.

 

[crashbox]

Surely the answer is maize and Lucerne silage and all year housed mega dairies?
Does anybody grow sainfoin? Always a plant that interested me but not for my heavy clay. I dream of 20 inches by the way, sounds marvellous.[emoji23]

I heard sainfoin doesn't like acid.
I've just included some in an autumn seeded herbal let but don't think it's come through. Sandy soil, acid prone, here.

 

[Jdunn55]

I heard sainfoin doesn't like acid.
I've just included some in an autumn seeded herbal let but don't think it's come through. Sandy soil, acid prone, here.

We did the same as part of a trial by duchy college, they basically shoved a huge quantity of stuff in a key and saw what grew and what didnt, lucerne did well surprisingly, sainfoin however didnt grow, it's a shame as according to what cotswolds seeds says about it on their website its better than grass