Herbal leys for dairy cattle grazing

Jdunn55

Member
And dont get me started on GS4 Cant get paid for it on organic registered land there for if you're already doing something you don't get rewarded!
This pisses me off as well, same with hedges, you get paid (very well!) for repairing or putting up hedges but for those of us who maintain and look after our hedges theres no payment for that!

We cant even get the payment for not cutting the hedge every 2 years because cornish hedges don't count!
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
there are now, so called grazing lucerne varieties, how good they are, no idea. Having grown lucerne here, in some of the driest ground, it grows well, bugger when l ploughed it up, roots were worse than couch, took 2 or 3 years to completely die out, in the following grass ley, so some persistence, they use it for grazing mixes, in the states. Might have been tempted this autumn, massive change for us, very little need to reseed, just 2 small blocks.
Back onto chicory, will post a pic, of how quickly it recovers from grazing, quite impressive.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
there are now, so called grazing lucerne varieties, how good they are, no idea. Having grown lucerne here, in some of the driest ground, it grows well, bugger when l ploughed it up, roots were worse than couch, took 2 or 3 years to completely die out, in the following grass ley, so some persistence, they use it for grazing mixes, in the states. Might have been tempted this autumn, massive change for us, very little need to reseed, just 2 small blocks.
Back onto chicory, will post a pic, of how quickly it recovers from grazing, quite impressive.
Overgrazing will kill it ,the grazing veraties have a lower crown but still have to be carefull
 

sheepdogtrail

Member
Livestock Farmer
very dry. But full on flood during the winter
On our river bottom paddocks that flood most years chicory will get root rot if it is under anaerobic conditions for more than 30 days during the winter. A flood that comes and goes in a weeks time, most chicory cultivars will persist. I would at least try 1 kg/ha and see how that does. You could also plant a handful of seeds out there next spring in a low spot and see how it does over the winter in 2022 - 2023. Our genetic base is Puna II. Probably not the best for dairy cows as it could cause milk taint if the cows were consuming high concentrations of it in their rations.
 

sheepdogtrail

Member
Livestock Farmer
Some info on chicory.

In general, for dairy, you would want to try find a variety that produces lower lactones.

It has been about 10 years since I looked into this, but a variety that is based off of Choice or Puna genetics would be a better fit for milkers. Ping someone at Aber, they will know for sure.
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
P

How much would you say is the correct amount, Plantain don't do as well here , I put in a diverse mix of clover and use Tertraploud Grass so it's not as dense in the bottom
The main thing I've learnt is not to go near a field with Herbs until the weeds are sorted ,especially Docks
Depends on the mix and purpose, but between 800 and 1200 grams per hectare is what we usually mix for the more diverse mixes. So that's ½kg per acre at the top end.

You'd maybe go higher with more open upright grasses being a large component of a seed mix, eg for dairy use - dairies are hard on pastures and plant loss becomes a factor with crown trampling in wet conditions, or for areas with genuine summer dry conditions that inhibit grass growth
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
How do these herbal leys tolerate wet ground?
Fine, IF you let them grow back properly.
You really need to let the tap roots grow back between grazings as they aren't heading deep for moisture, and when moisture isn't limiting then it's difficult to give fields that time.

As above chicory is easy to kill if you let stock roam on the grazed stuff, because it doesn't appreciate crown damage and will rot off. Plantain rapidly takes off after grazing whether hot, dry, wet or cold

Possibly the best bet is to just stitch a few different species somewhere and see what grows on your place, under your management - costs are high enough without sowing a whole heap of stuff that doesn't grow, or soon falls over.

Alot of these deeper rooters won't root deep if there's a pan, or high aluminium creating a "chemical pan", so the results will vary from place to place
 

Spudley

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
Fine, IF you let them grow back properly.
You really need to let the tap roots grow back between grazings as they aren't heading deep for moisture, and when moisture isn't limiting then it's difficult to give fields that time.

As above chicory is easy to kill if you let stock roam on the grazed stuff, because it doesn't appreciate crown damage and will rot off. Plantain rapidly takes off after grazing whether hot, dry, wet or cold

Possibly the best bet is to just stitch a few different species somewhere and see what grows on your place, under your management - costs are high enough without sowing a whole heap of stuff that doesn't grow, or soon falls over.

Alot of these deeper rooters won't root deep if there's a pan, or high aluminium creating a "chemical pan", so the results will vary from place to place
Thanks that's very helpful
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Fine, IF you let them grow back properly.
You really need to let the tap roots grow back between grazings as they aren't heading deep for moisture, and when moisture isn't limiting then it's difficult to give fields that time.

As above chicory is easy to kill if you let stock roam on the grazed stuff, because it doesn't appreciate crown damage and will rot off. Plantain rapidly takes off after grazing whether hot, dry, wet or cold

Possibly the best bet is to just stitch a few different species somewhere and see what grows on your place, under your management - costs are high enough without sowing a whole heap of stuff that doesn't grow, or soon falls over.

Alot of these deeper rooters won't root deep if there's a pan, or high aluminium creating a "chemical pan", so the results will vary from place to place
could be that rotational grazing, as in on/off, doesn't affect them so badly as in, field grazing- grazing whole field, then move.
Certainly we are seeing very rapid recovery, behind the dairy, will pic later. But the crunch will be, what it does next year. As this is year 1, we are on a steep learning curve, so far, so good.
the variety is puna.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Birds foot trefoil and cocksfoot on waterlogged soils???
Where did you read that Derek?
Ot floods in winter but is extremely dry in summer
You may disagree with what Nick says but what about Cotswolds Seeds

Strengths

It grows early in the spring and has a comprehensive root structure travelling to depth and therefore thrives on light, free-draining soil. It is equally at home on soils prone to flooding
 
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som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
for anybody thinking along these lines, the 'cotswold seeds catalogue' is a very good starting base, there is a lot of answers for farmers questions, and lots of pics, on what the herbs actually look like, they are also on utube. Rather expensive to buy from though !
 

Friesianfan

Member
Location
Cornwall
I’m looking for a bit more milk and yield from GS4 so had a play around and came up with this. What’s everyone’s opinions?
2kg abergreen
2kg aberzeus
2kg aberbann
2kg abergain
0.5kg cocksfoot
0.5kg Timothy
0.5kg meadow fescue
0.5 kg fetulolium
1.5kg red clover
0.5kg birdsfoot trefoil
0.5kg alsike
0.5kg white clover
0.5kg sainfoin
0.25kg chicory
0.25kg plantain
0.25kg burnet
0.25kg yarrow
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Apart from the blue flowers! Don't look anything like or grow like a daisy !
I wouldn't want more than the odd field for grazing .
our cows really like chicory, watched one actively seeking out chicory, in preference to grass. We have put odd handfuls in with fert, for some fields, there are now odd plants, all over the farm, even those fields not targeted. That has suprised us, no need for a proper seed bed, to establish it, it's like a weed, but a useful one. The obvious use, of herbs, is the long taproot, for those that have them, giving growth in a dry time, bringing up minerals, and breaking through minor pans.
 

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