Afternoon All,
We're exploring changing our system from conventional to organic and wanted to get some advice on organic rotations.
We're looking to dedicate all our arable land (light chalk) to produce organic feed for finishing our suckler Angus X calves.
Current thoughts are for a 9-year rotation of which roughly half would be dedicated to silage making and the other half to cereal production.
Ideally, we'd like to minimize cultivations and direct drill to improve soil quality.
Possible Rotation:
- Red Clover Ley for 4 Years
- Winter Wheat followed by Stubble Turnips
- Spring Barley followed by (Cover Crop TBC)
- Spring Peas
- Winter Wheat followed by Stubble Turnips
- Spring Barley followed by (Cover Crop TBC)
Does this seem sensible or are we creating extra work with the cereals when we could finish the animals off silage alone?
Could we get away with ploughing only once in the rotation (when terminating the red clover ley)?
Would the 5 year break from red clover protect us against clover rot (Sclerotinia trifoliorum)?
Would stem eelworm (Ditylenchus dipsaci) be a problem and could we manage it with a biofumigant cover crop like Oil Radish?
Any suggestions for other winter cover crops for feeding outwintered cattle?
All thoughts welcome.
We're exploring changing our system from conventional to organic and wanted to get some advice on organic rotations.
We're looking to dedicate all our arable land (light chalk) to produce organic feed for finishing our suckler Angus X calves.
Current thoughts are for a 9-year rotation of which roughly half would be dedicated to silage making and the other half to cereal production.
Ideally, we'd like to minimize cultivations and direct drill to improve soil quality.
Possible Rotation:
- Red Clover Ley for 4 Years
- Winter Wheat followed by Stubble Turnips
- Spring Barley followed by (Cover Crop TBC)
- Spring Peas
- Winter Wheat followed by Stubble Turnips
- Spring Barley followed by (Cover Crop TBC)
Does this seem sensible or are we creating extra work with the cereals when we could finish the animals off silage alone?
Could we get away with ploughing only once in the rotation (when terminating the red clover ley)?
Would the 5 year break from red clover protect us against clover rot (Sclerotinia trifoliorum)?
Would stem eelworm (Ditylenchus dipsaci) be a problem and could we manage it with a biofumigant cover crop like Oil Radish?
Any suggestions for other winter cover crops for feeding outwintered cattle?
All thoughts welcome.