Educate me about Brassica crops

[Dog Bowl]

Got some tired PRG in the grazing rotation. Will be going into GS4 next year. Wondering about a brassica break crop.

After the next round of grazing, I am wondering if a brassica crop could be direct drilled into this grass (roundup first) to provide an autumn bite? Drilled mid July, would anything be ready by mid to late Sept?

If there is anything suitable, what would be recommended? It's to feed spring calved suckle cows and calves at foot.

 

[neilo]

If you get rain, then yes, you can get a first grazing in mid-late September.

I’ve developed a liking for Appin leafy turnip, but I’m told I have the last seed from Germinal. Other leafy turnips are available I think.
Failing that, any of the rape/kale hybrids would give you a grazing then, followed by regrowth before it gets cold, assuming it’s managed right.

 

[Dog Bowl]

August has been our 3rd wettest month the last few years, so . Otherwise it'll be a desert.

Someone I was talking to the other day had mentioned Redstart? Is this one of those hybrids?

 

[Kevtherev]

Any rape hybrids such as Winfred will do the job.
Winfred is a cross between stubble turnip and kale.
They say ready in 8 weeks but that’s entirely weather dependent.
Direct drilled into a burned off ley no problem.

 

[neilo]

Any rape hybrids such as Winfred will do the job.
Winfred is a cross between stubble turnip and kale.
They say ready in 8 weeks but that’s entirely weather dependent.
Direct drilled into a burned off ley no problem.

Juniper?

 

[Kevtherev]

Juniper?

Jupiter leafy turnip is another option yes

 

[neilo]

Make sure you have some slug pellets ready. Lots around after the a mild winter, despite the dry.

I DD'ed into some sprayed off grass last week and put 2kg/ac of pellets over it on Friday. They were all taken when I checked on Sunday! Another 2kg went on last night.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Stubble Turips, Hybrid Kale or Rape , should feed in 12 weeks if you get some rain to start it off , give it some thin slurry after you Sown it if you have any , that will give it a kick start ,

 

[Kevtherev]

Also remember when grazing brassicas there are TE deficiencies to address.
Iodine in calves is one I’ve experienced in the past but can be addressed by supplementary bolus.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

You may get an issue with bloat feeding young leafy green crops to cattle , we were aways troubled with it , grass run back helps , feeding straw or haylage with it and don't turn them on hungry ,

 

[Old drover]

I prefer kale of all forage crops drier than turnips and less bloat risk than rape. Feed adlib hay or haylage to reduce bloat risk.Keep them full and have cooking oil ready if you get bloat case. A wine bottle full will do. Most likely to occur on wet days . Check cattle a few times per day. Done right green crop is a very good feed and the stock will do well.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I'm thinking then with those valuable beef calves ,I would not bother , unless he's short of feed , or graze it later when crop as matured

 

[neilo]

I prefer kale of all forage crops drier than turnips and less bloat risk than rape. Feed adlib hay or haylage to reduce bloat risk.Keep them full and have cooking oil ready if you get bloat case. A wine bottle full will do. Most likely to occur on wet days . Check cattle a few times per day. Done right green crop is a very good feed and the stock will do well.

The OP wants to drill in mid-July and graze in September.

Kale is a grand winter feed, but needs to be in earlier, and grazed later.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The OP wants to drill in mid-July and graze in September.

Kale is a grand winter feed, but needs to be in earlier, and grazed later.

What you want and what you end up with can be a world apart sometimes, any Brasica crop will be lush and leafy at 8 to 12 weeks , Hybrid Kale will stem up later on if not Sown to thick , but even then as drover and myself have pointed out you still need to be on your guard,

 

[Kevtherev]

I think @neilo is on about Kale not a hybrid which traditionally does need to be in earlier.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I think @neilo is on about Kale not a hybrid which traditionally does need to be in earlier.

Yes I know he is

 

[Old drover]

If you sow a little later than is normal up the seed rate .20 PER CENT. A higher rate will catch more sun better in autumn, also the plants will compete for light and create a warmer microclimate it does make quite a difference . Slug pellets should go down the drill and broadcast some over the top. I lost20 acres once in wet weather when the slugs were top feeding and ignored the drilled pellets. School fees!

 

[Dog Bowl]

Hmm all food for thought. I can basically see a shortage of grazing on the horizon and feel I will have to buffer feed something to get through that. Its a shame this PRG has just given up in the dry weather this year. It genuinely looks like its been sprayed off. This has led me to think about gaining that forage back later in the season with a brassica crop.

I am concerned that this crop may over complicate things for what I want. It may lead to iodine problems? Cows may get over conditioned heading into winter? I would still need to be feeding out in the field, whether that's hay, haylage or straw, to combat the bloat effect... suddenly, I am thinking growing 20ac of this may complicate matters more than it should.

Any suckler farmers growing this stuff for end of season grazing?

Conversely what other crops could I go for to provide me with that bulk at the end of the grazing season? It looks fairly limited to brassica crops to me.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

Chicory.

With beef cows any cultivar will work. Not in 8 weeks, but perhaps a single bite in 12 weeks and depending on your growing and pasture conditions until next spring, it could be possible to have them take several bites in December and still provide early grazing in April.

Although if it is going to be ripped out in the spring, using Chicory will be dearer than a brassica crop.

What are your conditions now and what do you expect them to be in 12 weeks as well in 24 weeks?

Do you have a good idea on what the indexes are? Soil fertility still is important. It is not possible to create energy without utilizing another energy source in the process.

Below is a block I did back in late April. Sandy, Rocky, old horse pasture. I bale grazed it during the winter at a rate of 100 ewes (140 lbs) per acre after they took off the three years of fallow forage. In late April I speed disked it a few times and then power harrowed and broadcast a mix of turnips, kale, clovers, chicory and high sugar grasses.

Soil prep was less than ideal as the old PP had a fine hairy root mass. It still has not broken down all the way to this day. But I was able to create enough tilth to plant into it.

This is it post prepping and sowing on April 26th.

....well crap. The way that one used to be able to post pictures has changed. Need to read up on the new way. Got it.

This next photo is at day 34.

It has had lots of rain. About 8 inches since I planted in late April. The below photo is at 10 weeks post planting.

The above photos show what ok soil indexes are. Only because of the bale grazing is providing energy to the new plants and it has had some sun and optimal growing conditions. No pest. Yet anyway.

Below is another block I did about 3 weeks later. Same soil and same PP conditions. I did not bale graze over the winter I just had about 40 replacements graze off the old fallow PP. The soil indexes are poor. I don't know just what they are, but I am testing the soil now to find out. But from my eye, they are tired and have gone away. The soil as it is now can only support plants that are very efficient and have parasitic properties and other unique abilities that take energy from where ever they can get it in order to survive as a species.

In any case you can see the difference. This was taken 4 days ago.

<<< Insert your own shitty pasture image here, as the application will not allow me to insert mine. >>>

Man this new way of adding photos is a little buggy. Sorry for berserk formatting.

To my point. Results will vary with prior and future conditions. But you should be able to have some new food for your critters in 12 weeks if that is what you decide to do.

 

[neilo]

Hmm all food for thought. I can basically see a shortage of grazing on the horizon and feel I will have to buffer feed something to get through that. Its a shame this PRG has just given up in the dry weather this year. It genuinely looks like its been sprayed off. This has led me to think about gaining that forage back later in the season with a brassica crop.

I am concerned that this crop may over complicate things for what I want. It may lead to iodine problems? Cows may get over conditioned heading into winter? I would still need to be feeding out in the field, whether that's hay, haylage or straw, to combat the bloat effect... suddenly, I am thinking growing 20ac of this may complicate matters more than it should.

Any suckler farmers growing this stuff for end of season grazing?

Conversely what other crops could I go for to provide me with that bulk at the end of the grazing season? It looks fairly limited to brassica crops to me.

It’s really not complicated. Strip graze it behind an electric fence, with straw in a feeder, and it’s easy to limit intake and condition. It’ll make for some cheap keep and obviously last longer for being limited.

Bloat’s only going to be an issue if you let them have a lot (if then), like letting them loose in the field.
Pour some topical iodine along their backs before starting and you’ve covered that issue.