Ryegrass opinions

[FarmerK]

I’m thinking of growing ryegrass in a couple of fields for a year then reseed back into grass the following.
Does anyone think this will be a good idea? The extra silage won’t come in wrong and I’d have plenty of lambs to eat it right down at the autumn.

If so how are people planting it? Just over seeding on current grass or are people burning the field off then drilling it that way?
Any opinions would be great. Thanks

 

[Great In Grass]

Wireworm could be a problem with grass following grass, how long has the current ley been down?

 

[deleted user 837354]

Why only for a year?

Spray it off now, soil test, dung and plough it. Drill 25kg/acre spring barley and harrow box in grass seed on top.

Apply 50 units N. Mow the lot off first week of July.

 

[FarmerK]

Wireworm could be a problem with grass following grass, how long has the current ley been down?

Been down for as long as I can remember. The ground only has around 3inch of soil then it’s down to clay. I’m no expert in any of this so I’m just looking for opinions really

 

[Agriimark]

What @deleted user 837354 said, should be fine. Id be leaving it in for more than a year though

 

[Agrivator]

I’m thinking of growing ryegrass in a couple of fields for a year then reseed back into grass the following.
Does anyone think this will be a good idea? The extra silage won’t come in wrong and I’d have plenty of lambs to eat it right down at the autumn.

If so how are people planting it? Just over seeding on current grass or are people burning the field off then drilling it that way?
Any opinions would be great. Thanks

Do you mean Italian Ryegrass as a pioneer crop to give a biggish silage yield. The more persistent Perennial Ryegrass will likely be a major constituent of the subsequent reseed anyway, so it would be silly to sow it for a year, and then to replace it with a permanent reseed next year.

And as AgriiMark above said, the Italian could be left down for two years. Or you could just sow a permanent mix, but include Italian or Westerwolds Ryegrass as a nurse crop to give some extra bulk in the first and second years.

 

[deleted user 837354]

If the land is relatively clean of perennial weeds already why not just reseed it with a 3-4 year cutting ley with some lofa and some bulky tetraploid PRG in it and keep cutting it? No sense in spending money on seed and then doing away with it the next year. Reseeding ain't cheap.

Whatever you put in, make sure the 25kg of spring barley goes in first. It's a must for spring reseeding as it acts as a nurse crop.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

If your going to mow it with spring Barley then don't round bale it ......you will have every rat in Britain visiting you and will end up with crap silage !!

 

[Yale]

We’ve put a couple of fields in with Oliver seeds mix ‘Sabre’.

Short term mix for 2-3 years however we have laid off it over the winter and it has a great cover for ewes and lambs now at 1000ft.

We’d ploughed them as they were rough however you could take a chance and glyphosate,then direct drill it in end of April/beginning of May depending on your climate,probably earlier.

 

[FarmerK]

I’m thinking of growing ryegrass in a couple of fields for a year then reseed back into grass the following.
Does anyone think this will be a good idea? The extra silage won’t come in wrong and I’d have plenty of lambs to eat it right down at the autumn.

If so how are people planting it? Just over seeding on current grass or are people burning the field off then drilling it that way?
Any opinions would be great. Thanks

I’ll correct myself. I didn’t quite mean 1 year. I just meant short term. Thanks

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I’ll correct myself. I didn’t quite mean 1 year. I just meant short term. Thanks

Sheep to better with a long term ley with clover , long stemmy grass no good

 

[neilo]

I have a similar field, which was apparently reseeded 30 years ago......with a ‘2 year’ mix. Local show is in that field every August, but cancelling this year means I have a window to reseed it.

My plan is to spray off once it’s growing again (sheep grazed bare until yesterday), apply a healthy dose Fibrophos to correct low P&K, then DD stubble turnips in as a pioneer crop. I’ll graze that with weaned lambs in August, then spray off flush of weeds again with a lower rate of glypho and DD a long term PRG/clover ley.
If there was a compaction issue, I would draw a swardlifter through it after the first spray, but certainly not the ideal time to do it.
First job though, is to get a man in with a digger to clean out the ditches, which are currently full of a neighbours topsoil from grazing fodder beet on a steep field!

@Joe984 , if you can manage without the extra silage and you have the stock to utilise a brassica crop, a brassica break makes a good job of clearing weeds, leaves a well conditioned topsoil full of nutrients and eliminates the problem of a lot of soil pests. It’s relatively cheap too.
Short term grass leys are expensive, particularly if you use some of the high cost plough based establishment methods posted above.

 

[FarmerK]

I have a similar field, which was apparently reseeded 30 years ago......with a ‘2 year’ mix. Local show is in that field every August, but cancelling this year means I have a window to reseed it.

My plan is to spray off once it’s growing again (sheep grazed bare until yesterday), apply a healthy dose Fibrophos to correct low P&K, then DD stubble turnips in as a pioneer crop. I’ll graze that with weaned lambs in August, then spray off flush of weeds again with a lower rate of glypho and DD a long term PRG/clover ley.
If there was a compaction issue, I would draw a swardlifter through it after the first spray, but certainly not the ideal time to do it.
First job though, is to get a man in with a digger to clean out the ditches, which are currently full of a neighbours topsoil from grazing fodder beet on a steep field!

@Joe984 , if you can manage without the extra silage and you have the stock to utilise a brassica crop, a brassica break makes a good job of clearing weeds, leaves a well conditioned topsoil full of nutrients and eliminates the problem of a lot of soil pests. It’s relatively cheap too.
Short term grass leys are expensive, particularly if you use some of the high cost plough based establishment methods posted above.

Thanks for that. I’m kind of after the extra silage. I’ve been looking today into a high protein low Input mixture with potential of 3-4 cuts a year as well as a grazing period. This would work perfect for me as I’d be able to fatten lambs on it after silage time.

Thought about slot seeding it? Any options?

 

[neilo]

Thanks for that. I’m kind of after the extra silage. I’ve been looking today into a high protein low Input mixture with potential of 3-4 cuts a year as well as a grazing period. This would work perfect for me as I’d be able to fatten lambs on it after silage time.

Thought about slot seeding it? Any options?

Barenbrug ProtoPlus (@greatingrass ) or Oliver’s have a new similar mix called Crimson Tide. IRG and Crimson clover.

If you slot seed it in, make sure conditions are right and that you have destroyed the existing grass properly.
Be aware that the rotting root mass makes short term acidity just where you’re putting the seeds. Get round that by either spraying off early, spraying off at/after drilling or putting some lime on after spraying.
Grubs might be an issue, but they also might not.

 

[FarmerK]

Barenbrug ProtoPlus (@greatingrass ) or Oliver’s have a new similar mix called Crimson Tide. IRG and Crimson clover.

If you slot seed it in, make sure conditions are right and that you have destroyed the existing grass properly.
Be aware that the rotting root mass makes short term acidity just where you’re putting the seeds. Get round that by either spraying off early, spraying off at/after drilling or putting some lime on after spraying.
Grubs might be an issue, but they also might not.

I’ve heard a few people have cut the current grass then grazed it right off, then seeded it and left the sheep in a few days to eat the fresh regrowth. Any opinions on this?

 

[Great In Grass]

I’ve heard a few people have cut the current grass then grazed it right off, then seeded it and left the sheep in a few days to eat the fresh regrowth. Any opinions on this?

That's a very good way.

 

[neilo]

I’ve heard a few people have cut the current grass then grazed it right off, then seeded it and left the sheep in a few days to eat the fresh regrowth. Any opinions on this?

As I have posted previously, it’s only good for seed salesmen and DD contractors. It will come back green, bit it will mostly be the grass species you’re trying to replace.

With grass seed at £50-60/ac and DD contractor at £20+/ac, what do you hope to achieve by saving £5/ac on the glyphosate (at 5L/ha)?

 

[deleted user 837354]

As I have posted previously, it’s only good for seed salesmen and DD contractors. It will come back green, bit it will mostly be the grass species you’re trying to replace.

With grass seed at £50-60/ac and DD contractor at £20+/ac, what do you hope to achieve by saving £5/ac on the glyphosate (at 5L/ha)?

With the cost of reseeding truthfully being in excess £100/acre howsoever you want to do it, can folk really afford to fudge about with it. I would do your option Neil and put a different crop in first.

The trouble with direct drilling is that weed grasses are going to arrive on scene very fast. May not be an issue if the ley is only being kept 2 years but it will if its supposed to be down for 5.

 

[jackyoung123123]

I have a similar field, which was apparently reseeded 30 years ago......with a ‘2 year’ mix. Local show is in that field every August, but cancelling this year means I have a window to reseed it.

My plan is to spray off once it’s growing again (sheep grazed bare until yesterday), apply a healthy dose Fibrophos to correct low P&K, then DD stubble turnips in as a pioneer crop. I’ll graze that with weaned lambs in August, then spray off flush of weeds again with a lower rate of glypho and DD a long term PRG/clover ley.
If there was a compaction issue, I would draw a swardlifter through it after the first spray, but certainly not the ideal time to do it.
First job though, is to get a man in with a digger to clean out the ditches, which are currently full of a neighbours topsoil from grazing fodder beet on a steep field!

@Joe984 , if you can manage without the extra silage and you have the stock to utilise a brassica crop, a brassica break makes a good job of clearing weeds, leaves a well conditioned topsoil full of nutrients and eliminates the problem of a lot of soil pests. It’s relatively cheap too.
Short term grass leys are expensive, particularly if you use some of the high cost plough based establishment methods posted above.

I have a field which hasn’t been reseeed in 10 plus years, would turnips grow if I sprayed the field off then went through it with a combi drill once - powerharrowing the sprayed off ley and planting the turnips in one go

 

[hally]

If the field is very open and thin, or badly damaged by overwintering stock then very good results can be had by overseeding certainly prolonging the sward for a few more years. There are numerous trial results showing this. The standard overseeding rate is 8 to 10kg of a vigorous and rapid establishing mix such as a tetraploid or shorter term ryegrass, so the cost would less than £40/acre for the seed.
The biggest saving is the time the field is out of production though. I agree a full reseed following brassicas is the best option but that field is out of production while the crop establishes and then again while the grass establishes which is a big chunk of a season. However a overseeding mix can be drilled in, the sheep left on for a further week the cleared for only 3 weeks and then gently reintroduced. Just noticed @Great In Grass has a good photo on his website showing before and after results from overseeding for all the doubters on here.