Leafy turnip flowering

[Dkb]

I had to sow a 25% leafy turnip 75% rape for an environmental scheme.

This is now being grazed off by store lambs but today just noticed that the leafy turnip is beginning to flower

Is this poisonous? I’ve heard that it is

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Some health problems can occur when grazing flowering brassica crops, often it's less of an issue if the animals have been grazing it and it begins flowering (opposed to putting untransitioned stock onto a crop in flower).

Not sure if your environmental scheme means low fert but if so that's a bonus - most of the issues with grazing are due to highly "fed" crops, especially nitrogen and even sulphur (in this case, stock can get 'redwater' from high levels of SMCO's in the flowering plant - S-Methyl Cysteine sulphOxide if you want to get tricky).

Just monitor the stock and if you notice poor performance or red urine, wobbly or scoury stock, take them off.

 

[Dkb]

It would of gotten 75kg of 18-6-12 last September. I don’t think that counts as highly fed but maybe it does.

Thanks for the info it’s a bit of a relief to be honest. I’ll monitor them and maybe not make them graze it out fully as they actually seem to prioritising the rape over the flowering leafy turnip.

 

[neilo]

When my turnips start to bolt to head, I usually abandon strip grazing and let them into the lot. If you strip graze the unglazed block will be growing so fast you’ll end up with a load of woody stems. If you let them into the lot they will range over it and nip all the growing shoots out first, stopping the flowering.

I’ve never had a problem grazing/tidying up brassicas like that, butit’s always been with sheep that have been grazing roots for months by then. I believe there might be a problem if you put a fresh bunch of sheep on it though? Germinal put out a press release about it acouple of weeks ago, maybe @Kevtherev or @Great In Grass could post it up?

 

[Great In Grass]

When my turnips start to bolt to head, I usually abandon strip grazing and let them into the lot. If you strip graze the unglazed block will be growing so fast you’ll end up with a load of woody stems. If you let them into the lot they will range over it and nip all the growing shoots out first, stopping the flowering.

I’ve never had a problem grazing/tidying up brassicas like that, butit’s always been with sheep that have been grazing roots for months by then. I believe there might be a problem if you put a fresh bunch of sheep on it though? Germinal put out a press release about it acouple of weeks ago, maybe @Kevtherev or @Great In Grass could post it up?

Post #749
https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/countryside-seeds-ltd.41646/page-38

 

[Al R]

Now you tell us
I just turned 100 ewe lamb singles into a block of stubble turnips which are just showing the odd bud, they havnt seen it before but everything else was moved onto grass to start lambing

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Old wives tale

 

[polk_farmer]

Anyone know how much the feed value alters when it goes to head (as in is it still good enough food to provide for doubles)? Our turnips started bolting start of Feb as it's so mild. The doubles are on them at the moment and they are still clearing the breaks pretty well, just wondering how protein/ energy levels alter. Start lambing 8th March

 

[Dkb]

Thanks everyone for all the info it’s after putting my mind at ease and saving me a lot of money as I can keep grazing

 

[neilo]

Anyone know how much the feed value alters when it goes to head (as in is it still good enough food to provide for doubles)? Our turnips started bolting start of Feb as it's so mild. The doubles are on them at the moment and they are still clearing the breaks pretty well, just wondering how protein/ energy levels alter. Start lambing 8th March

No data behind it, but i’ve Always assumed that the new shoots are probably very high in protein, but the woody, lignified stems they put up if left, will be about as good a feed as cardboard.

Might be totally wrong of course, but that’s what logic suggests to me.

 

[polk_farmer]

No data behind it, but i’ve Always assumed that the new shoots are probably very high in protein, but the woody, lignified stems they put up if left, will be about as good a feed as cardboard.

Might be totally wrong of course, but that’s what logic suggests to me.

Thanks, kind of my thinking, did wonder if the bulbs lost abit of feed value with the bloody great stem coming out of them. Even if they start leaving a bit when the stems get too hardcore, withe the dry winter were going to have a surplus, and it's so cheap to grow abit of waste doesn't really matter, it all goes back in the ground at some point

 

[neilo]

Thanks, kind of my thinking, did wonder if the bulbs lost abit of feed value with the bloody great stem coming out of them. Even if they start leaving a bit when the stems get too hardcore, withe the dry winter were going to have a surplus, and it's so cheap to grow abit of waste doesn't really matter, it all goes back in the ground at some point

That’s my thinking too. Nothing is wasted, even if the sheep don’t graze it tight.
I have a 13ac field that I direct drilled in early October, rather than leave bare stubble. It’s level with the top of my wellies and even starting to bulb in places. I’ll be turning 250 store lambsover the lot in a week, but they won’t do much more than take the top off I suspect, even if left until early April. I keep telling myself that the nutrients returned from the ‘wasted’ crop, arethose that would otherwise have been leached out over winter......maybe...... Or I could go all arable farmer, and pretend it was one of these fashionable ‘cover crops’ all the time.

 

[polk_farmer]

That’s my thinking too. Nothing is wasted, even if the sheep don’t graze it tight.
I have a 13ac field that I direct drilled in early October, rather than leave bare stubble. It’s level with the top of my wellies and even starting to bulb in places. I’ll be turning 250 store lambsover the lot in a week, but they won’t do much more than take the top off I suspect, even if left until early April. I keep telling myself that the nutrients returned from the ‘wasted’ crop, arethose that would otherwise have been leached out over winter......maybe...... Or I could go all arable farmer, and pretend it was one of these fashionable ‘cover crops’ all the time.

Fashionable and progressive.......until they all flower and the neighbours think you're growing a field full of charlock

 

[Dkb]

Just to let everybody know. I’m taking sheep off of the flowering turnip/rape tomorrow and there has been no ill thrive or dead sheep. Quite the opposite I fact thrive has been great. However the sheep were on rape all along and did favour the non flowering brassicas over the flowered ones.

 

[polk_farmer]

We've got a few acres of turnips left over due to the dry weather, about 3-4ft high now and flowering. Rather than just top it off we thought we'd risk it for a biscuit and chucked our ewe Hoggs on it, along with a bale of haylage. Been on it a week so far and (touch wood) no I'll effects