Which variety of Fodder Beet

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Grew Bangor last year , big yield but but what we harvested is only just keeping ,with a lot of clamp management. I guess it's the low dry matter for both these things. What variety can people recommend for grazing November/December,and also lifting some , say In mid December, with a view to clamping it until mid April.
Thanks NHF

 

[Great In Grass]

You can't go wrong with some of these.

 

[neilo]

I've grown Geronimo for several years now, as a 'half way house' variety. Out of the ground far enough to graze, but also stores well in a clamp when lifted. It's available 'primed' which makes a fair difference to establishment rate, allowing either more plants per acre, or a lower seed rate to be used. I did work out that if I sold an extra half ton per acre, it paid for the priming, and it easily makes that much difference IME. Very rarely see a bolter either.

I certainly don't intend changing main variety, but do grow an area of a lower DM variety as well, in fields that will only be grazed.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Would Brigadier have a softer bite than Feldherr ? Or about the same? Aamoi

 

[neilo]

Would Brigadier have a softer bite than Feldherr ? Or about the same? Aamoi

I’ve not grown Feldherr, but have had some Brigadier for the last 3-4 years. Likely to change that to Feldherr this year, assuming I can get some seed at a reasonable price, to have a slighter higher DM variety, whilst still being out of the ground.
Measuring yield from last year’s crops (I haven’t bothered this year as utilisation rate would make any theoretical calculations pretty meaningless imo), the ‘big’ Brigadier crop was some way behind the Geronimo in DM yield.

It is noticeable this year that the ground under the Geronimo is standing up to sheep traffic far better than the area of Brigadier that has been grazed (same field). The Geronimo root bits left below ground are at least giving some structure to the soil, whereas the Brigadier is cleared up leaving just mud. It’s an extreme year on our heavier soils though, and more than a little challenging for outwintering.

 

[Bury the Trash]

I’ve not grown Feldherr, but have had some Brigadier for the last 3-4 years. Likely to change that to Feldherr this year, assuming I can get some seed at a reasonable price, to have a slighter higher DM variety, whilst still being out of the ground.
Measuring yield from last year’s crops (I haven’t bothered this year as utilisation rate would make any theoretical calculations pretty meaningless imo), the ‘big’ Brigadier crop was some way behind the Geronimo in DM yield.

It is noticeable this year that the ground under the Geronimo is standing up to sheep traffic far better than the area of Brigadier that has been grazed (same field). The Geronimo root bits left below ground are at least giving some structure to the soil, whereas the Brigadier is cleared up leaving just mud. It’s an extreme year on our heavier soils though, and more than a little challenging for outwintering.

I shall go with Feldherr again this year if its availiable.

Rtlativly Very dry from April to September here last year but our first yr of fb still did well for grazing, very pleased with it and still plenty left.

This winter we had 5 consecutive nights of frost down to -5 and it was fine after when the weather warmed up again.

Not huge tops but that helps with less shorting of the strip fence
Root out of the ground far enough that a decent kick with your boot will knock it out .

 

[Great In Grass]

I shall go with Feldherr again this year if its availiable.

Rtlativly Very dry from April to September here last year but our first yr of fb still did well for grazing, very pleased with it and still plenty left.

It's available at present always one of the first to sell out though, £3.00 a box up on last year.

 

[davidroberts30]

Grew Bangor last year , big yield but but what we harvested is only just keeping ,with a lot of clamp management. I guess it's the low dry matter for both these things. What variety can people recommend for grazing November/December,and also lifting some , say In mid December, with a view to clamping it until mid April.
Thanks NHF

is it for grazing or lifting?

I use tarine for lifting and it keeps real well in a clamp

 

[neilo]

I shall go with Feldherr again this year if its availiable.

Rtlativly Very dry from April to September here last year but our first yr of fb still did well for grazing, very pleased with it and still plenty left.

This winter we had 5 consecutive nights of frost down to -5 and it was fine after when the weather warmed up again.

Not huge tops but that helps with less shorting of the strip fence
Root out of the ground far enough that a decent kick with your boot will knock it out .

Tops are very valuable in a grazing situation, containing nearly all the protein, calcium and phosphorus. Beet alone is very deficient in all of those without tops. Should provide more of a cover against frost too? I have taken to driving through my beet before fencing, just to make way for the fenceline.

Like a few others, I applied some late foliar N this year, purely to get more top growth. Some of the kiwis are developing regimes of much higher N applications, and split so that the last application would be in September/October (here), just to get more tops.

We've not really had a winter to test it here this year, but 2 years ago we had two 7 day periods at -10. The brigadier was knocked about a bit and some of it died/rotted, whereas the Geronimo was unscathed.

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

is it for grazing or lifting?

I use tarine for lifting and it keeps real well in a clamp

Probably going to grow too different varieties in the same field. Around half of the field is clay loam, that is prone to poaching, thinking now of growing a higher DM variety that hopefully will store well, and harvest this in December. The other half of the field , believe it or not is almost blow away sand. On this half I'm going to grow a variety that is best for grazing from November to March. Would ideally like something that is reasonably frost tolerant . Been around long enough to have seen several beet crops in the area destroyed by frost , as FB cost many of hundreds of pounds to grow, would like to avoid this.

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

is it for grazing or lifting?

I use tarine for lifting and it keeps real well in a clamp

Do you feed the Tarine to sheep whole ?

Although a lot of the FB I intend to harvest and store will be chopped and fed to cattle , a lot will be fed whole to sheep. Don't want to grow a variety that is too hard to eat, although with out knowing, I think they would cope with highest DM beet.
Has anyone experienced a problem with beet being too hard to eat ?

 

[neilo]

Do you feed the Tarine to sheep whole ?

Although a lot of the FB I intend to harvest and store will be chopped and fed to cattle , a lot will be fed whole to sheep. Don't want to grow a variety that is too hard to eat, although with out knowing, I think they would cope with highest DM beet.
Has anyone experienced a problem with beet being too hard to eat ?

Before we started growing fodder beet, I used to buy in a bit of C quota sugar beet which I clamped with some straw bales in a field. I assume most sugar beet would be higher DM/harder than fodder beet, but it was fed whole in the field (trickled out from telehandler in reverse) without any issues. It all gets a bit softer after a while in the clamp, but I’d still aim for a ‘middle of the road’ variety if growing it for feeding.

 

[davidroberts30]

Do you feed the Tarine to sheep whole ?

Although a lot of the FB I intend to harvest and store will be chopped and fed to cattle , a lot will be fed whole to sheep. Don't want to grow a variety that is too hard to eat, although with out knowing, I think they would cope with highest DM beet.
Has anyone experienced a problem with beet being too hard to eat ?

No I wash and chop for cattle

 

[davidroberts30]

No I wash and chop for cattle

And i did turn the tackers in after lifting to clean up ,they seemd to eat that ok

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Thanks to all who read and posted on this thread. After taking on board experiences of others, I have ordered Geronimo and Tarine seed for this year.
Let's hope for a good growing season.

 

[neilo]

Thanks to all who read and posted on this thread. After taking on board experiences of others, I have ordered Geronimo and Tarine seed for this year.
Let's hope for a good growing season.

I wonder if the price of seed will drop this year? Lots of people that grow it to sell had a good year last year, and increased acreage on the back of it. A lot of those crops have either been sold at near COP, or are still unlifted. I can’t think that there will be as much drilled this year.

 

[Sid]

What sort of cost is seed per acre?

 

[davidroberts30]

70-80

 

[neilo]

What sort of cost is seed per acre?

Anywhere from £50-90, depending on variety, seed treatment, primed (or not)….. and how much the seed merchant thinks he can wring from you of course.

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

The Tarine was £ 70 and the Geronimo was £ 75.6 per acre pack, both treated with insecticide and fungicide. The Bangor I used last year would have been £65 but as I mentioned earlier, this variety hasn't kept that well this year, and also the tops seemed to wilt back without there being much frost, perhaps another fungicide would have helped.