Grassland

Ross Dilks, an agronomist with Agrii and a dairy farmer in Derbyshire, says although his clients have tried a variety of home-grown feed sources over recent years, his experience shows grass is consistently the most cost-effective way to feed dairy cows.

Exploring all the options to increase milk from forage is yielding results on one Cambridgeshire dairy farm.

Yield mapping for grassland provides vital information to inform future decision making and diet planning and the technology need not cost the earth.

Machinery which is set up correctly lasts longer and makes better silage. These simple steps enable tedders, rakes and mowers to work effectively.

Switching to precision slurry application techniques leads to reduced contamination and improved grass growth. Two farmers share their stories.

Market forecasts show fertiliser prices are unlikely to drop any time soon as the perfect storm of high energy prices coupled with supply side issues mean stocks are tight and will remain so for the forthcoming season at least.

Inaccurate silage sampling can result in reduced performance and higher feed costs according to Dr Liz Homer from Trouw Nutrition GB who urges dairy farmers to make sure the samples sent for analysis are representative of the whole face.

With the price of ammonium nitrate almost three times what it was this time last year, it is not surprising that many farmers are thinking hard about what they can do to mitigate this escalating input cost. And it is not just fertiliser prices which are rising.

Findings from the grass monitoring project, GrassCheckGB, and updates on specific grassland research were discussed at a recent webinar. Angela Calvert and Katie Jones report.

New fencing guidelines for Countryside Stewardship (CS) have been described as a ‘victory for common sense’ by English farmers.