Redstart for grazing lambs

[Andyt880]

I am planning on sowing approx 3 acres of redstart now in early May to graze lambs on after weaning time, say mid August. I have never grown or grazed brassica before so all advice is greatly appreciated.
My plan is to spray off the old PP and plough it.
Any tips for the seeding process?
I have read some old threads about it and I know some people don’t like sowing it this early as there is a fear of drought conditions but I am in Northern Ireland and we don’t often get a week through spring and summer without rain at some stage.

 

[ollie989898]

Can you get away without ploughing it?

 

[Andyt880]

The field has been in grass for as long as I know and there would be a fair old thatch in the bottom of it. I thought ploughing would leave the best job of it. I’m not sure if I could get someone to DD it in. It’s not all that common a process over here.

 

[neilo]

Spray off and DD if you possibly can, failing that, spray off, lightly disc, broadcast & roll?

I have gone off using straight brassicas for weaned lambs (before winter anyway). They stand still for 3 weeks when you put them on it, while their rumens adjust to the change of diet, and the same again if you move them back onto grass afterwards. IME you can avoid that check by drilling a mix of IRG and a brassica (5-10%), which a lot of companies sell now. Seed is a good bit dearer at £30-35/ac, but production is higher and the IRG gives a useful bite very early in the Spring, or an early silage cut if you like.

 

[ollie989898]

Spray off and DD if you possibly can, failing that, spray off, lightly disc, broadcast & roll?

I have gone off using straight brassicas for weaned lambs (before winter anyway). They stand still for 3 weeks when you put them on it, while their rumens adjust to the change of diet, and the same again if you move them back onto grass afterwards. IME you can avoid that check by drilling a mix of IRG and a brassica (5-10%), which a lot of companies sell now. Seed is a good bit dearer at £30-35/ac, but production is higher and the IRG gives a useful bite very early in the Spring, or an early silage cut if you like.

That sounds expensive a mix for only a single seasons grazing though??

 

[neilo]

That sounds expensive a mix for only a single seasons grazing though??

IME the output is massively higher than a straight brassica though and regrowth from the IRG is faster and more reliable. It also makes for a more balanced diet for a ruminant, so animal performance is better. The IRG will also start growing in February (here) which is a lot earlier than anything else grows, so gives a valuable early bite when I need it most.
By my reckoning, it costs around £20/ac more to grow than a straight brassica like Redstart, which doesn’t take a lot of grub or performance to pay for.

 

[ollie989898]

IME the output is massively higher than a straight brassica though and regrowth from the IRG is faster and more reliable. It also makes for a more balanced diet for a ruminant, so animal performance is better. The IRG will also start growing in February (here) which is a lot earlier than anything else grows, so gives a valuable early bite when I need it most.
By my reckoning, it costs around £20/ac more to grow than a straight brassica like Redstart, which doesn’t take a lot of grub or performance to pay for.

Ah I see, you are keeping the crop for longer, the OP wants to drill now and graze off in August or that is how I saw it. Does the redstart go that long?

 

[Andyt880]

Yes I was planning on doing a reseed in the spring after grazing the redstart into the autumn. What are the benefits of not ploughing?

 

[ollie989898]

Yes I was planning on doing a reseed in the spring after grazing the redstart into the autumn. What are the benefits of not ploughing?

Cheap and easy. Also you conserve moisture.

 

[Andyt880]

Spray off and DD if you possibly can, failing that, spray off, lightly disc, broadcast & roll?

I have gone off using straight brassicas for weaned lambs (before winter anyway). They stand still for 3 weeks when you put them on it, while their rumens adjust to the change of diet, and the same again if you move them back onto grass afterwards. IME you can avoid that check by drilling a mix of IRG and a brassica (5-10%), which a lot of companies sell now. Seed is a good bit dearer at £30-35/ac, but production is higher and the IRG gives a useful bite very early in the Spring, or an early silage cut if you like.

Have you ever seen the results of giving it a few runs with the discs and then broadcasting and rolling? Would it create enough of a seed bed for proper germination?

 

[neilo]

Have you ever seen the results of giving it a few runs with the discs and then broadcasting and rolling? Would it create enough of a seed bed for proper germination?

I always DD as I have my own drill, but you only need a bit of tilth for the seed to strike.....and some moisture.

 

[Skintagain]

Lambs sh!t go backwards as it’s too strong for a start and then get flies terrible it’s not for me anymore. Good for later on. I would prefer putting some stubble turnips in for Christmas when things get hungrier.

 

[neilo]

Yes I was planning on doing a reseed in the spring after grazing the redstart into the autumn. What are the benefits of not ploughing?

I have a field I’m looking at doing similar with. It will be sprayed off, swardlifter run through and then DD’ed with an IRG/brassica (or maybe crimson clover instead of the brassica), graze after weaning and again in Feb/March, then spray off again to DD in a long term ley. Two hits of glyphosate will hopefully see the couch & weeds off, the swardlifter will take out the little ripples that have formed where it was ploughed 3 crops previously!

An adjoining field will be sprayed off and DD’ed with stubble turnips, grazed after weaning, then min-tilled to level a few bits, with an Autumn reseed. Only doing it that way as local show will be back in that field next August (cancelled this year obviously), so need it standing traffic a bit.

 

[Woolless]

Spray off and DD if you possibly can, failing that, spray off, lightly disc, broadcast & roll?

I have gone off using straight brassicas for weaned lambs (before winter anyway). They stand still for 3 weeks when you put them on it, while their rumens adjust to the change of diet, and the same again if you move them back onto grass afterwards. IME you can avoid that check by drilling a mix of IRG and a brassica (5-10%), which a lot of companies sell now. Seed is a good bit dearer at £30-35/ac, but production is higher and the IRG gives a useful bite very early in the Spring, or an early silage cut if you like.

Have you a link for the IRG/brassica mix? Ta.

 

[rhifsaith]

Forage Catch Crop | Swede, Turnip, Kale & More | Oliver Seeds

We offer a wide range of agricultural, landscaping and specialist seeds. This includes maize, grass seed, environmental seeds, organic seeds and more.

shop.oliver-seeds.co.uk

Just sprayed off a field and going in with raptor

 

[Andyt880]

Forage Catch Crop | Swede, Turnip, Kale & More | Oliver Seeds

We offer a wide range of agricultural, landscaping and specialist seeds. This includes maize, grass seed, environmental seeds, organic seeds and more.

shop.oliver-seeds.co.uk

Just sprayed off a field and going in with raptor

Is that just a rape and grass mixture? Will u reseed it after its grazed?

 

[rhifsaith]

Is that just a rape and grass mixture? Will u reseed it after its grazed?

Yes just westerwolds and Winfred rape which regrows
Graze that from July onwards,hoping to split an 8 acre field in two.
I’ve got an Aitchson drill so May just top it up with tornado or similar and get a few cuts off it next year

 

[Dkb]

Have you ever seen the results of giving it a few runs with the discs and then broadcasting and rolling? Would it create enough of a seed bed for proper germination?

Will work perfectly. You might have to disc it 2 or 3 times to break up the old sod. It’s also an ideal time to lime the field.

 

[kildarej]

summer 18 i disc harrowed 9 acres of old pasture in early August twice, spread 2.5 bags of 18.6.12+s and sowed restart with a slug pellet applicator then ring rolled it immediately after. it wintered 30 weanling cattle from November till February along with 1 bale of haylage every 2 days.A strip wire was used to give them 1-2 meters per day depending on weather..had mostly angus x friesian weanling on it and they thrived like stink..had coats like mammoth and grew into big cattle after it

have plans this year to do some for store lambs after it was such a success with the cattle

 

[Andyt880]

What type and how much fertiliser to you guys put on when sowing the redstart? I will be putting a nice covering of old fym on before cultivating