One Year Summer Sown Grazing Blend Breakcrop

[DrWazzock]

Is there such a thing?
Ideally I want to sow a blend in July following winter barley for sheep grazing for one year to be ploughed up or direct drilled a year later in September. It must provide ground cover, balanced grazing through the year, nitrogen fixing by use of legumes and also contain non invasive or pernicious grasses of reasonable feed value. Not really required for hay.
I’ve put it this here in the general agricultural section as it’s not just a livestock issue but needs to fit an arable winter cereal rotation as a one year break crop to break both the Take All and sheep worm cycle.
Though I’d like to drill once a year I wouldn’t be averse to reinforcing it in the spring with different plant species and it could be rested between grazing sessions.

 

[serf]

Is there such a thing?
Ideally I want to sow a blend in July following winter barley for sheep grazing for one year to be ploughed up or direct drilled a year later in September. It must provide ground cover, balanced grazing through the year, nitrogen fixing by use of legumes and also contain non invasive or pernicious grasses of reasonable feed value. Not really required for hay.
I’ve put it this here in the general agricultural section as it’s not just a livestock issue but needs to fit an arable winter cereal rotation as a one year break crop to break both the Take All and sheep worm cycle.
Though I’d like to drill once a year I wouldn’t be averse to reinforcing it in the spring with different plant species and it could be rested between grazing sessions.

Prota plus maybe

Unless it's a bit expensive for 12 months when I think it will do longer ?

 

[nxy]

Ryegrass and crimson clover BUT I would be worried about introducing resistant ryegrass into an arable rotation. Millet and Sorghum will give you summer grazing but nothing in winter. Pure crimson clover maybe. Even maybe redrill millet in the spring into it if you have access to a direct drill

 

[beardface]

Did a thread on this a couple years back. Think the consensus was a short term let mix or cover crop type mixes topped up in the spring.

I think a brassica with regrowth potential, plus a bit of clover (berseem or crimson) and some cheap ryegrass. Then could top up with say westerwolds and a bit more annual clover in the spring.

 

[M-J-G]

I don't see that being any issue, clover and a good share of early grasses could easily be ready for grazing with sheep in September if sown in July.

We put in a longer term ley after WB last year and it was used from October until early January for sheep and then from March onwards for sheep and cattle, it could easily have been cut if required.

Of you want to avoid ryegrass there are plenty of alternative grasses, I like plantain for sheep too

 

[le bon paysan]

Short term ryegrass even with clover etc. will bolt and go to seed in the following year as it likes nitrogen. Looking sideways, oats and peas after combining and DD grass and annual clover springtime.

 

[DrWazzock]

Thanks. Food for thought.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Maybe I’m being thick here, but what’s wrong with a bog standard grass and clover ley

 

[DrWazzock]

Maybe I’m being thick here, but what’s wrong with a bog standard grass and clover ley

Maybe nothing. But wondered if I could do a faster cheaper more varied option less expensively as it’s only in the ground for one year. Also something that is bigger by autumn. I’d wondered about turnips in the mix as they’d be a decent size by autumn drilled in July then an under storey of cheap cereal/ clover/grasses/vetches/chicory to take us through a year. I quite like the idea of oats as they are a Take All break. Peas sound good as well. Wouldn’t matter if some components were killed out by frost after they’d served a purpose. My only concern with a straight ryegrass clover mix is it won’t be ready by autumn for much more than a nibble.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Maybe nothing. But wondered if I could do a faster cheaper more varied option less expensively as it’s only in the ground for one year. Also something that is bigger by autumn. I’d wondered about turnips in the mix as they’d be a decent size by autumn drilled in July then an under storey of cheap cereal/ clover/grasses/vetches/chicory to take us through a year. I quite like the idea of oats as they are a Take All break. Peas sound good as well. Wouldn’t matter if some components were killed out by frost after they’d served a purpose. My only concern with a straight ryegrass clover mix is it won’t be ready by autumn for much more than a nibble.

I guess it depends exactly what you want to achieve but whatever gives the best grazing iOS likely to be the cheapest option whatever it costs.
I can certainly remember dad adding a small amount of stubble turnips to a reseed when I was younger, also a bit of cereal seed to give some early bite but that might be going against what you want as a break crop

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Italain Ryegrass , add 2 kg of Late Perennial to give a bit of bottom ,there are a host of legumes, i would include some red as its more reliable than the shorter term ones
Italian grows like stink so yiu will need to keep on top of it ,any other grass is a waste for just 12 months
Brasicas are unlikely to last that long

 

[nxy]

Maybe nothing. But wondered if I could do a faster cheaper more varied option less expensively as it’s only in the ground for one year. Also something that is bigger by autumn. I’d wondered about turnips in the mix as they’d be a decent size by autumn drilled in July then an under storey of cheap cereal/ clover/grasses/vetches/chicory to take us through a year. I quite like the idea of oats as they are a Take All break. Peas sound good as well. Wouldn’t matter if some components were killed out by frost after they’d served a purpose. My only concern with a straight ryegrass clover mix is it won’t be ready by autumn for much more than a nibble.

Oats are probably a good shout but better for cutting than grazing. Black/Diploid oats can be quite impressive and will grow well when late sown. You are probably less worried about heat than us but ryegrass late spring sown can come to absolutely nothing here in a normal year.

 

[nxy]

Italain Ryegrass , add 2 kg of Late Perennial to give a bit of bottom ,there are a host of legumes, i would include some red as its more reliable than the shorter term ones
Italian grows like stink so yiu will need to keep on top of it ,any other grass is a waste for just 12 months
Brasicas are unlikely to last that long

We have resistant ryegrass which I suspect came on to the farm in seed. You need to be sure that you are not going to let a single plant go to seed and buying late heading varieties is no guarantee against a rogue resistant weed hiding in that bag of seed that's going to seed anytime it likes.. So there is no more ryegrass being sown into arable fields here.

 

[Tarw Coch]

We added some Italian ryegrass to a ley a few years back, can’t get rid of it, wholecrop wheat on the field this year full of it, came back well and was riundupped again before drilling barley.
Talking with a predominantly arable farmer back in the summer says he’s got a field infested with it, his words were it was a bigger problem than black grass

 

[DrWazzock]

We’ve only tried IRG once in one field. It was good first year we drilled it then unfortunately it went to seed in a drought this late spring summer just before we got it topped. I presume I need to let it all chit on the surface for a year or two without ploughing the seed down. It seems to have faded anyway so we’ve drilled it straight in with a perennial ryegrass clover mix and chicory. It’s not really an arable field anyway as it’s a huge dry sandbank so will be left in grass.

 

[DrWazzock]

Oats are probably a good shout but better for cutting than grazing. Black/Diploid oats can be quite impressive and will grow well when late sown. You are probably less worried about heat than us but ryegrass late spring sown can come to absolutely nothing here in a normal year.

Same. Spring sown grass has been a bit of a disaster due to dry weather.