Herbal Ley GS4

Agri Spec Solicitor

Member
Livestock Farmer
We are late to the Mid Tier party but thinking of applying next year.
If anyone has taken the herbal ley option and has a few years experience of working with it, then I would be pleased to know how you got on. We are on fairly heavy silt which can grow big crops from normal ryegrass mixtures. We need little P but K tends to be low. Plan would be to graze only native breed cattle (Belties) when not shut up for the required summer period. No sheep.
Any guidance appreciated.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Weeds I find the biggest issue , but some don't seem to concerned about that , also carful I don't overgraze it , it's does grow very well with out any inputs apart from some lime here , I don't claim on mine , would push up the clover content next time ,
I have unlimited supply of slurry and muck for K ,
 

JSmith

Member
Livestock Farmer
E72B8471-8CD4-4D8B-9BD3-80E20F5C47F7.jpeg
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Planted on very light Sandy ground, just had Digestate before planting late may
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
surely eating the leaf is a waste of time anyway, the roots are still there and ready to grow again……just cosmetic imo.
 

JSmith

Member
Livestock Farmer
Would anyone care to share their mixes they have planted? With their perceived pros and cons of said mixes?! @JSmith Yours looks a real picture
Had my seed off @Derrick Hughes so he might be better placed to tell you what’s in it better than I can!!🤣
That particular field is not a good piece of land an I actually forgot about it really with one thing an another going on, planted late really, I know I said may but it could easily of been June, then it got left until first week of September before I turned lambs on it! The clover leaves were as big as your hand nearly and the chicory always does well with us anyway, I’ve stitched quite a bit of that in over the years, always gives a bite in dry weather when there’s bûgger all else to eat and the stock love it
 

Dog Bowl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cotswolds
I have a PRG and white clover addiction. It works really well on my system but, with a mid tier agreement looming, I too need to look at these GS4 mixtures. How would these herbal leys stick intensive rotational grazing with cows and calves?
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
I have a PRG and white clover addiction. It works really well on my system but, with a mid tier agreement looming, I too need to look at these GS4 mixtures. How would these herbal leys stick intensive rotational grazing with cows and calves?
As long as you Rotational grazed rather than set sticking they work fine , that's how pastures should be grazing for maximum production any way , mines in its first year, grazed about 5 times and topped a fair bit to control some Redshank
 

JSmith

Member
Livestock Farmer
I have a PRG and white clover addiction. It works really well on my system but, with a mid tier agreement looming, I too need to look at these GS4 mixtures. How would these herbal leys stick intensive rotational grazing with cows and calves?
This is exactly what we do, the chicory, plantain an clover will handle the rotational grazing well, you’ll have to graze the chicory hard because it grows back like lightning, only grazed full GS4 mixes this year so can’t say how the more delicate herb type plants would handle being hammered! They don’t want hammering in the winter, that’s what they say anyway!
 

Dog Bowl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cotswolds
I do wonder about the longevity of some of the herbs and legumes within these mixes when they are grazed fairly intensively. To my mind species such as lucerne, which I grow very well as a forage crop, just won't stand being grazed hard. So, what could be am expensive, diverse seed mixture could, within a year or 2, end up being a PRG and clover ley with all the herbs and extras gone!
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Got to be a severe stocking rate for sheep to eat docks
we keep our dry cows, i/c hfrs, very tightly, behind elec fence, and back fence, to stop them getting to fat, an extra plus, they eat the docks right down, a trend that has continued after calving, they don't do a proper job, but clear about 35%, and not complaining ! Have been told, young docks are 25% protien, which l am quite happy to believe. But they are a right pain in the butt. We grow clover and herbs, dock control, spray wise, is now zero, it's a large dose r-up pre reseeding, grass only spray, then add clover/herbs, after that ......b-all.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
I do wonder about the longevity of some of the herbs and legumes within these mixes when they are grazed fairly intensively. To my mind species such as lucerne, which I grow very well as a forage crop, just won't stand being grazed hard. So, what could be am expensive, diverse seed mixture could, within a year or 2, end up being a PRG and clover ley with all the herbs and extras gone!
we have chicory and plantain, both keep down until the grass slows down, then they come into their own, plantain looks to have readily self seeded, chicory is hard to manage, the 2 and clover, have provided most of the sward, this back end.
first pic, plantain, on a very dry bank, that must have self seeded. The second, what occurs with to much chicory seed, in the mix.
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steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
I have been "zero grazing" a first season HL for my Severn Trent STEPS scheme (same as GS4, but not so strict rules). Only a 1.5ha block on some very heavy land. Mahooosive amount of chicory and RC that worried me as to the effects on the sucklers and there 6MO calves. They love it, having been grazing another HL mix over the summer.

Was going to mob graze and flush some ewes, but couldn't be arsed for such a small area this year :rolleyes:

The other HL areas have been grazed and mown.
 
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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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