Pasture improvements

[Bill the Bass]

Our cows have made a mess of a low lying heavy field in August, it’s quite badly poached. Would it be a good idea to broadcast some grass seed onto it and then flat roll it in?

 

[Great In Grass]

Watch the video at the bottom of the page it will give you most of the info you need. https://www.barenbrug.co.uk/farming/good-grass-guide/index-2

 

[Agrivator]

Watch the video at the bottom of the page it will give you most of the info you need. https://www.barenbrug.co.uk/farming/good-grass-guide/index-2

I couldn't find the second video.

 

[Great In Grass]

If you watch this one below you can then go through them one by one (5 in total).

 

[Great In Grass]

If you watch this one below you can then go through them one by one (5 in total).

No, it doesn't I lied! It goes on to amenity grass. I will find them and post them in order.

 

[Great In Grass]

Barenbrug Good Grass Guide - Index 1 - How to Score Your Fields for Maximum Profitability

Barenbrug Good Grass Guide - Index 2 - How to Score Your Fields for Maximum Profitability

Barenbrug Good Grass Guide - Index 3 - How to Score Your Fields for Maximum Profitability

Barenbrug Good Grass Guide - Index 4 - How to Score Your Fields for Maximum Profitability

Barenbrug Good Grass Guide - Index 5 - How to Score Your Fields for Maximum Profitability

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Our cows have made a mess of a low lying heavy field in August, it’s quite badly poached. Would it be a good idea to broadcast some grass seed onto it and then flat roll it in?

Hard to say without seeing it . Send some pictures if you can and is it a long ley - late diploids will take some stick and come back
Without seeing it -run a tine harrow over it Role it sow some seed -harrow and role again. If you sow the seed first it will get lost in the holes

 

[Kevtherev]

Scratch&patch

 

[deleted user 837354]

Depends how bad it is.

If it's literally a collection of hoof prints with the odd bit of green about, a harrowing and a go with the roller might sort it. At the other end of the scale a powerharrow might be required....

 

[Danllan]

Depends how bad it is.

If it's literally a collection of hoof prints with the odd bit of green about, a harrowing and a go with the roller might sort it. At the other end of the scale a powerharrow might be required....

For many the best option would be to leave it for a month or so, then put sheep over it; and repeat till fixed.

 

[nails]

It is funny cos i trod a field bad early this spring , rolled it whilst there was still some moisture in it and it has grown better this year than for years

 

[hendrebc]

It is funny cos i trod a field bad early this spring , rolled it whilst there was still some moisture in it and it has grown better this year than for years

That will be what @Kiwi Pete calls animal impact.

 

[jackrussell101]

Does anyone use those swardlifters?

If so, how do you get on?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

It is funny cos i trod a field bad early this spring , rolled it whilst there was still some moisture in it and it has grown better this year than for years

That's basically what I aim to do all winter with the sheep and calves, what they tread in they can't take away with them so it is "conservation"

Most graziers aim for high utilisation, which is why they have a high pasture turnover rate, we aim for severe non-selective grazing once per year and let the grass recover properly after.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Does anyone use those swardlifters?

If so, how do you get on?

The Erth one looks interesting- I tried a Parowplough this week but to much lift

 

[som farmer]

we call our 'tine' machine a subsoiler, but its basically a lifter, depending on what you want to achieve, shallow leaves a crumbly hump, but deeper is a 'cleaner' slit, Ours is replacing the plough, and we find it a wonderful machine, where it came from, was mainly clay, and deemed rubbish ! But on our lighter soils, it works.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Fields we take 4 silage cuts off, they get a bit of stick over the season - but can't have anything that makes them uneven

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I think @neilo and @ploughman1963 both use a swardlifter with good results.
Timing is important as you don't want it any good for moleploughing, or you smear it and make a worse problem than you had before.
Must be dryish to get a good shatter, and eventually it will slump back to where it was - if the reason for the compaction isn't addressed. Good tool to get air back into the soil though.

 

[Bill the Bass]

I don’t really want to do anything mechanical - I’m not fan of a big rive up and black smoke, it will also never get truly dry enough for a sword lifter such is the soil type.

I was actually thinking about running a few wintering sheeep over it for a short period - it hasn’t had sheep on over winter for two years on account of the mess they have made in the past.

Most of our grazing is rotational with a 17 day rest but this field is set stocked, I hope to start paddocking it up next season.

I would love to call it animal impact as then at least when people come down the farm track it sounds like I know what I’m doing, but alas it is only my incompetence.

 

[czechmate]

The Erth one looks interesting- I tried a Parowplough this week but to much lift

Paraplow’s are brilliant
Just slow for modern day farming