Break crop proved to be an invaluable forage

With the primary aim of providing a break crop between reseeding of grass leys, for one Carmarthenshire dairy farm, root crops also provided a much-needed source of extra feed for cows and helped extend dwindling forage reserves. Richard Cole farms in partnership with his son Edward at Llwyngwydd Farm, Whitland, Carmarthenshire, where they run a herd of 200 milking cows across more than 162 hectares (400 acres).The herd produces an average of 7,900 litres at 4.2% butterfat and 3.3% protein, with all milk going to Muller.Edward says: "We run a rotational grazing system and aim to turn the cows out around March and they will stay outdoors until October."Grass is the key part of the herd's diet and to complement our spring and summer grazing, we aim to take three cuts of good quality grass silage a year, which we feed out with a soya and rape mix as a total mixed ration over winter."This is then topped up with an 18% compound which is fed to yield through the parlour." Richard and Edward were looking to reseed some old, poorer performing grass leys to improve their productivity and sought advice on the best type of seed mix to use.Richard says: "We work closely with Michelle Cross from ForFarmers and she came and had a walk around some of the fields we were planning to reseed."She highlighted the risk of frit fly and leather jackets damaging grass if we sowed new grass seed straight away in place of the older leys."She advised I put a break crop in before sowing the new grass seed and suggested sowing a root crop which would also provide some additional forage." ""Sowing a break crop between grass leys reduces the risk of pests and improve soil structure."Michelle CrossSupport Michelle also recommended Rapid Root and Winter Graze mixtures to provide a good mix of forage rape, stubble turnips and kale.She says: "Sowing a break crop between grass leys reduces the risk of pests and improve soil structure."The break crop also provides a potential source of extra feed for livestock, and in hot, dry conditions experienced in previous summers, significantly reducing grass growth and forage yields on-farm, I thought it wise for Richard and Edward to grow something which could be grazed later in the season and help extend forage stocks during winter." The crop was sown over 9.3ha (23 acres) of land, established well and was ready to utilise 12-14 weeks after sowing.Richard says: "We had struggled with grass growth on-farm in summer during dry spells.Not only because we harvested less grass silage, but we also as we had to start feeding it out much earlier in the season to help maintain cow performance and cow health."As we had sown the break crops, we were able to turn out about 50 of our pre-bulling heifers, along with in-calf heifers and this provided plenty of good quality grazing between December and April.