"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
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Top picture is old pasture bottom picture is ryegrass ley. Both cut for silage end of May both had the same levels of muck spread on after silage which hasn’t gone in that well due to it being dry. I measured them both today. Unfortunately I didn’t measure them after silage so I can’t say the growth per day but I do know the difference.
Which one has had the most growth?
There's a good TDM/ha more in your old pasture, by my eye.
I remember we did a similar experiment on the dairy farm I managed, the young guy was just doing his Feeding&Pastures module at the time.
We made two cages, cut the grass in both and dried them out to work out the DM per day an the old sward grew nearly double the DM of the young paddock in an effluent zone. But the plate meter told a different story, and my tow-behind pasture meter was even further out!
Over 1000kgDM/ha out!
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
There's a good TDM/ha more in your old pasture, by my eye.
I remember we did a similar experiment on the dairy farm I managed, the young guy was just doing his Feeding&Pastures module at the time.
We made two cages, cut the grass in both and dried them out to work out the DM per day an the old sward grew nearly double the DM of the young paddock in an effluent zone. But the plate meter told a different story, and my tow-behind pasture meter was even further out!
Over 1000kgDM/ha out!
but nobody would go to all the bother and expense of a reseed to grow less grass wood they ?
estimates of up to 200 quid an acre to do it
I know quantity isn't everything but come on now I got ridiculed for suggesting it wasn't worth it, there must be something wrong here
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
but nobody would go to all the bother and expense of a reseed to grow less grass wood they ?
estimates of up to 200 quid an acre to do it
I know quantity isn't everything but come on now I got ridiculed for suggesting it wasn't worth it, there must be something wrong here
Did you not sign up for 'The Fool's Club'?

No wonder there's a profit crisis in agriculture....
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
but nobody would go to all the bother and expense of a reseed to grow less grass wood they ?
estimates of up to 200 quid an acre to do it
I know quantity isn't everything but come on now I got ridiculed for suggesting it wasn't worth it, there must be something wrong here
That's only the financial cost.
When you really examine regrassing, it carries a time cost.
And a biological slaughter.

Is it worth it??
 

Samcowman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
That's only the financial cost.
When you really examine regrassing, it carries a time cost.
And a biological slaughter.

Is it worth it??
No I shouldn’t think so. And if it is done the more diversity the better and should be a last option.
The trouble with ryegrass is it seems to be a bit like a high yielding Holstein needs lots of feeding and pampering or it doesn’t perform.
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
No I shouldn’t think so. And if it is done the more diversity the better and should be a last option.
The trouble with ryegrass is it seems to be a bit like a high yielding Holstein needs lots of feeding and pampering or it doesn’t perform.
(y)
I was just thinking the same as I was putting up a fence just now, both are OK as long as you run after them all day with lots of inputs
 

Fenwick

Member
Location
Bretagne France
So the cow calf mob have just completed another round in 40 days. about 116 LWU /Ha on 2 day moves.
Which I calculated at an average 3.3 LWU/ Ha.

In the next round they should take a little longer as we took a cut off 5ha. So that might be 7 or 8 days more. But they are going to need it as we havent had enough rain (and had some pretty hot weather (37C!)) and everything is drying out! :(
phone 391.jpg

So I'm still finding myself praying for rain! None forecast for the next 15 days at least. Interested to see how it all pans out.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Last night we hosted Jessica Bensemann, a Kiwi Nuffield Schollar and staff member of the New Zealand Ministry of Trade International Development section. She's here on 6 months unpaid leave investigating drivers for uptake of Regenerative Agriculture.

She was at Groundswell and spoke to the 3LM team there who put us in touch.

We had a detailed and wide ranging discussion regarding Regenerative Agriculture in its various forms as well as our coming move to NZ.

@Agrispeed - Would you be able to host her while she's here if she could make it down your way?
 

tinsheet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Somerset
Steers on third round on herbal ley 32 day rotation, observations so far, more cattle required to much grass:LOL::rolleyes:.
chicory in flower:rolleyes:
Weighing them next week, heifers on old permanant pasture doing 1.2kg a day average from turn out in April:)

Fresh move

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2 days, got ahead of them abit
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A-Team with prototype fencing gear holdall!

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Poorbuthappy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Last night we hosted Jessica Bensemann, a Kiwi Nuffield Schollar and staff member of the New Zealand Ministry of Trade International Development section. She's here on 6 months unpaid leave investigating drivers for uptake of Regenerative Agriculture.

She was at Groundswell and spoke to the 3LM team there who put us in touch.

We had a detailed and wide ranging discussion regarding Regenerative Agriculture in its various forms as well as our coming move to NZ.

@Agrispeed - Would you be able to host her while she's here if she could make it down your way?
Ah, it was Jessica I spoke to. Has she looked in on this thread?
She's very welcome stop here if she's in the SW. Though our holistic management is very much in its infancy!
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Ah, it was Jessica I spoke to. Has she looked in on this thread?
She's very welcome stop here if she's in the SW. Though our holistic management is very much in its infancy!
I did point her to this thread. :love::rolleyes:

I'm not sure she's planning to venture down to the Cornish republic but I thought I'd ask on her behalf as Agrispeed is probably the most developed holistic grazer I'm aware of in the UK at present. She had been up to Yorkshire though I believe :nailbiting:

She's braving London again today for the Bob Dylan concert in Hyde Park :cool:
 

Poorbuthappy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
I did point her to this thread. :love::rolleyes:

I'm not sure she's planning to venture down to the Cornish republic but I thought I'd ask on her behalf as Agrispeed is probably the most developed holistic grazer I'm aware of in the UK at present. She had been up to Yorkshire though I believe :nailbiting:

She's braving London again today for the Bob Dylan concert in Hyde Park :cool:
She told me she was hoping to get down to the SW, but whether as far as Cornwall I don't know. Certainly if she does @Agrispeed would be 1 to visit, and hoping to get there myself before summer's out.

We are easier to get to being only 15 mins from M5 near Devon Somerset border.
 

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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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