Winter cover crops for livestock

[Clive]

So sheep were successful for us last year despite the cover crop not being planted with feeding them at all in mind

Planning a lot more sheep this year, so am no considering what cover crop mixes would be best suited to feeding them better / for longer whilst still benefiting my soil through maximum diversity and biomass but still keeping it cheap

I've always avoided oats in covers but if grazing them they seem to be a logical choice ? Maybe an Oat, bean, pea, linseed based mix as I can farm save all them , maybe some millet ? and stubble turnips or radish

any suggestions ? @Pedders ?

 

[SilliamWhale]

Im planning to broadcast some normal oats after wheat.

Maybe fodder rape after winter barley.

 

[Will Blackburn]

You see these forage brassicas sown for out Wintering and they need fibrous feed (bales) placed to balance the feed, so a mix of brassica and grass species(oats/ryegrass/millet/volunteer cereal) would save finding complementary fibre.

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

Why a complex variety Clive and not just straight stubble turnips to maximise feed mass? Interested in your thoughts on this.

 

[beefandsleep]

Turnips and/or forage rape or a kale hybrid like swift. That will grow the most dry matter or biomass if you like.

 

[SilliamWhale]

You see these forage brassicas sown for out Wintering and they need fibrous feed (bales) placed to balance the feed, so a mix of brassica and grass species(oats/ryegrass/millet/volunteer cereal) would save finding complementary fibre.

But would the brassica have a chance to bulk. I know the idea is the mix but it may be better to grow in separate fields. But maybe the mix is better and lower stocking rate will make just as much money

 

[Will Blackburn]

My concern would be the brassica outcompeting the grass, something always favours one over the other, but mixing should reduce tracking?

 

[beefandsleep]

But would the brassica have a chance to bulk. I know the idea is the mix but it may be better to grow in separate fields. But maybe the mix is better and lower stocking rate will make just as much money

Most money will be made by growing the maximum amount of feed that you can and finishing as many sheep as it will carry. I get that you are growing the cover crops for soil fertility reasons primarily and the sheep are incidental but I remain unconvinced that a variety of species gives any significant advantage over a pure stand of swift for example which puts down a huge root mass in a very short space of time.

 

[More to life]

Growing brassica makes rape in the rotation difficult at least that's what I've found so I dropped the rape. Stubble turnips make/save more money than rape for me.

 

[Pigless]

I tried 4 fields last year 1 stubble turnips 1 forage rape 1 a mix of the two and 1 field of buster cover crop mix, The straight ST fed the most sheep for the longest and they looked happiest on it, after the sheep came off the bulbs left greened up again prior to spraying and drilling (Strip till).
The forage rape did the sheep well but did not last as long, and did not green up as much.
The cover crop was very expensive and looked impressive but the sheep did not seem to do as well on it.
All fields went back into Spring Barley and as yet (awns out) there is no diff. as I can see.
I use to farm in NZ and usually half the arable acreage had oats broadcast on after harvest to be grazed by cattle, and then into spring barley.
They were called green feed oats never saw any left to go into ear and they always lasted well through winter -10 quite common. Bit nervous of trying it in Cornwall in case they turn to a slimy wet mess, the climate was a lot drier in canterbury and although we had the frost it always thawed out in the daytime.
Cheers

 

[Pedders]

Theres no escaping that a straight stubble turnip or turnip and rape mixture will give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to feeding the sheep ...however this won't necessarily be the best thing for the soil ... a sheep urinating after eating turnips onto bare ground is like pouring rocket fuel on it.. I think a fair compromise is a radish turnip and rape brassica mix with some broadleaves legumes and grasses to soak it all up .... we do a supergraze mix for just this job Oats sunflowers vetch Austrian winter peas buckwheat linseed Radish stubble turnips and Forage rape comes in about £13.00 an acre so hardly worth mixing your own ......

 

[SilliamWhale]

Fancy putting your price list and choice up @Pedders

 

[Pedders]

this seasons prices are just coming so will do as soon as they come in .....

 

[rob1]

If roundup goes then CC will be very risky in DD

 

[Shutesy]

If roundup goes then CC will be very risky in DD

They will take some thinking about, frost kill only species, or species that can be killed by topping or rolling? As I'm only 1 year into strip-till atm not full no-till I think we would end up getting the plough out again if we loose glyphosate this soon

 

[rob1]

They will take some thinking about, frost kill only species, or species that can be killed by topping or rolling? As I'm only 1 year into strip-till atm not full no-till I think we would end up getting the plough out again if we loose glyphosate this soon

cant see a way round it, even with grass breaks to reduce BG I need it to kill the grass

 

[Shutesy]

cant see a way round it, even with grass breaks to reduce BG I need it to kill the grass

I'm just hoping the EU commission see sense. Even digging the plough out again won't control grassweeds without glyphosate in the armoury.

 

[neilo]

You see these forage brassicas sown for out Wintering and they need fibrous feed (bales) placed to balance the feed, so a mix of brassica and grass species(oats/ryegrass/millet/volunteer cereal) would save finding complementary fibre.

I've been outwintering sheep on brassicas for nearly 3 decades and I've not fed bales with forage brassicas for many years, as I don't want to compact the fields with machinery. The only time I would consider it, would be to supplement for a forage shortage. Assuming @Clive isn't going to be baring the crop right down, they wouldn't touch any bales that were put out anyway.

However, forage brassicas wouldn't provide the 'maximum diversity' he says he wants. Just for sheer bulk of quality fodder, which is easy enough for broken mouthed ewes (assuming that's the plan?) to graze efficiently, I would want to use a high proportion of forage brassicas in the mixture. That's assuming there's no OSR close in the rotation, of course.

A kilo/ac (or less?) of stubble turnips at £3-4/kg, and don't spray the cereal volunteers out (if you want diversity). Chuck some home saved cereals or beans in from the store if you wish. Job's a cheap/good 'un.

There appears to be a lot of money made out of unnecessarily fancy cc mixes, IMHO.

 

[Clive]

Why a complex variety Clive and not just straight stubble turnips to maximise feed mass? Interested in your thoughts on this.

diversity, I want the cover crop to improve my soil, only 50% of it will be grazed, the rest I want back in the soil, trampled in and still providing a green cover until the day I drill it, as an arable farmer the soil is my priority here not the sheep

I also think (from my limited sheep experience so far) that animals like diversity as well just as soil does, last years sheep did well on the mixed species grazing

 

[Clive]

I've been outwintering sheep on brassicas for nearly 3 decades and I've not fed bales with forage brassicas for many years, as I don't want to compact the fields with machinery. The only time I would consider it, would be to supplement for a forage shortage. Assuming @Clive isn't going to be baring the crop right down, they wouldn't touch any bales that were put out anyway.

However, forage brassicas wouldn't provide the 'maximum diversity' he says he wants. Just for sheer bulk of quality fodder, which is easy enough for broken mouthed ewes (assuming that's the plan?) to graze efficiently, I would want to use a high proportion of forage brassicas in the mixture. That's assuming there's no OSR close in the rotation, of course.

A kilo/ac (or less?) of stubble turnips at £3-4/kg, and don't spray the cereal volunteers out (if you want diversity). Chuck some home saved cereals or beans in from the store if you wish. Job's a cheap/good 'un.

There appears to be a lot of money made out of unnecessarily fancy cc mixes, IMHO.

not cull ewes this year - going to try some bed and breakfast in lamb easy care ewes instead I think