Forage Crops

[Boso]

I'm trying some sudangrass this year. As a summer slump backup. Not as a winter feed, however being able to rest the pastures some in the summer will leave me with more grass to graze during the winter.
Quite cheap to put in. Should cope well with the droughts we've had.

Fodder rape for winter.

 

[always busy]

How many 35kg lambs would you expect too fatten to 45kg on an acre of forage rape?

 

[Kevtherev]

Performer forage rye drilled 10th September
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Cutting today
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First time growing it and it could be very valuable as the grass is extremely poor in this part of South Norfolk this year.

That looks well

 

[unlacedgecko]

How many 35kg lambs would you expect too fatten to 45kg on an acre of forage rape?

Depends on how well the rape grows.

Winter grazing crop outperforms brassicas in sheep trial - Farmers Weekly

A winter grazing crop of Italian ryegrass, berseem clover and forage rape can finish more than twice as many lambs as an equivalent acreage of brassicas,

www.fwi.co.uk

 

[Boso]

How many 35kg lambs would you expect too fatten to 45kg on an acre of forage rape?

This winter I ran 175-200 adult in lamb ewes and in lamb ewe lambs on 25hectares of fodder rape-japanese oats mix (japanese oats could be replaced by something better, it's what the arable farmer wanted) for 9 weeks.
Few mineral buckets and salt licks. They did great.
Have no acces to land with turnips so can't compare.