When to graze wheat with sheep

[jg123]

As above.



I have my own 1,200 store lambs so timings on and off won't be a problem



I'm not looking for the feed but more if it will decrease disease later in the year..... will it increase straw? Straw is important to me.



I'm guessing heavy mob grazing and back out ASAP is best?



Had big plans for it this year but maybe its out the window now after the winter we have had. Nothing has been rolled and all needs to be heavy rolled for stones in the spring anyway so stones after sheep isn't a worry

Fields are pretty dry, would take sheep by next week with current conditions

I'll try and post some pictures of the crops



Thanks

 

[jg123]

That's the first field drilled and the last one drilled, about 10-14 days apart. All simular to them. I'm guessing it's a month off sheep at least?

 

[Gong Farmer]

Technically you need to get them off before any sign of stem erection (GS30), same as rules for rolling. But to be on the safe side it would be better to get them off by mid Feb, roll then put some N on asap.

Must admit it doesn't look particularly forward though.

 

[Nearly]

As a peasant I'd say this might be the year not to graze, but roll instead?
There isn't a spare leaf on mine.

 

[jg123]

Ye to be honest I'm thinking it's not the year to try, I'm happy with the establishment but it's been half drowned all winter until now!

 

[Badshot]

You don't want any poaching, at all.
It needs to be dry enough they don't make a mess, don't let them wander through gateways etc, and don't overgraze.

 

[MrNoo]

You'd need floating sheep around here.

 

[HarryB97]

I’ll graze half my winter cereals in the next few weeks, the rest isn’t forward enough. I’ve left ungrazed bits in the past and never noticed a difference in the quantity of straw but you can see a clear drop in height between the crop so I presume it tillers more which compensates for the height. Normally I graze them from Christmas up to the middle of feb depending on cover crops and sheep numbers etc.

 

[beardface]

When the tides gone out

 

[CornishTone]

Be sure to assess each field coming out of winter. Might not be the best course of action for every field if wheat is struggling after all the wet. Reckon only one of our fields will be forward enough to graze this year. I tend to plan for end Jan/beg Feb with a view to not go much later than mid Feb but, as long as you're not grazing into GS30 you should be safe-ish. Few days max and if they look like they might make a bit of a mess, get them off.

 

[farmerm]

Currently Grazing off some failed OSR that I am hoping might just be salvaged into a half crop of barley... dare not put the sheep on the little bit of wheat that made it out the ground, it will be less than half a crop it makes anything.

 

[Hill Ground]

Whats you fencing situation? If it requires electric I would suggest there's not going to be enough to warrant putting up the fence.

 

[jg123]

3 strands of barb and a good hedge, good enough to mob for a few days. However starting to think its not worth it this year as we will be super busy when it drys up..... unless the wheat suddenly jumps with us.

 

[AlphaBravoPapaSux]

Just started here. Winter barley will be done in the next week. Then we’ll be onto wheats, which we can stay on until 7th March.
Last year in my trial plots we did 0.3t/ha extra on the grazed areas, and the areas that were grazed without a T0 were best. This year we’ll graze most of the winter cereals and they won’t have a T0.
Yours look ready to go at IMO.

 

[jg123]

@AlphaBravoPapaSux that's iinteresting from someone that's experienced in it. Have you noticed any effect on straw? Went to a trials event on a big farm (2000ac cereals) and they grazed everything

 

[AlphaBravoPapaSux]

No real difference on straw, ever so slightly shorter possibly on the grazed sections. Grazing definitely acted as a better PGR, no grazed areas went flat last harvest, whereas a few ungrazed areas left me stressed in the combine seat

 

[CornishTone]

No difference in straw height at all come the end. The grazed stuff caught up amazingly well.