How productive is it to roll grassland?

The cost of diesel and time makes it important for each tractor job to have a positive financial outcome. This blog asks about the benefits of rolling grass in the spring, and suggests the outcome may actually be negative. 

Farmers might do a simple experiment to measure the benefits. If they are non-existent it may well be cheaper to take the day off and go fishing.

Fields not poached the way they once were

When cattle were regularly out-wintered there was a need to level out the poached land to save mowers and other machinery from being damaged and to encourage grass plants to tiller. For a generation, farmers have brought cattle in to be wintered in yards and sheds, and grass swards are largely undamaged. It means that rolling might be as much cosmetic as agronomic. 

There's no doubting the beauty of  freshly rolled grassland. The alternate dark and light stripes paint a picture which can be admired by all who pass, and give the land a cared-for appearance. Making hundreds of acres look like a vast sports field shows care and attention, and grassland management. A Gray's ballast roller was one of the first implements I bought as a fresh faced dairy farmer in the 1970's, and it was a matter of pride to have it fully ballasted with water, even if it did pull the tractor sideways when rolling slopes. The rolling job was the first rite of spring, the job done when the daffodils were in bloom, and the results could be admired from afar.

The truth was revealed in one wet spring when a 50 metre wide strip down the full length of one silage field was left unrolled. The relentless rain that March kept the tractor off the field. The unrolled strip was still visible in early May when the crop was being mowed, and then it was clear that the grass was taller in the unrolled part. Perhaps it was only four inches taller, but that was enough to be visible. It certainly seemed that we were taking as much grass off the unrolled strip as the rest of the field - it wasn't noticeably less dense - and that was the last season I used the roller as a regular tool, only getting it out on land which had been badly damaged. After that I never rolled simply as because it was part of good grassland management. 

Simple experiment

Maybe I was mistaken, maybe it is worth the expense. But farmers might want to assure themselves the time and money spent doing the job is actually producing a return. Leaving a few unrolled strips down the centre of fields might look untidy but would be an experiment worth doing. The weighing scales will provide the answer, and you can tell whether the rolled area is yielding the necessary £4 per acre more grass - or whatever is the cost of using the roller on your farm. 

Perhaps the money could be better spend on another field operation, be it weed control in the spring or later on in the season when the docks come back quickly after cutting. 

Summary

1. Assess the extent of sward damage through poaching, across the whole field

2. Check the effect of the roller - is it pressing clods and stones down away from the mower?

3. Experiment and leave a marked strip or two out from rolling

4. Vital to check weigh the grass yield on rolled and unrolled part of the field

It would be valuable to get the results of any tests carried out by farmers. 

Please leave your comment, and let me know other farming tips which you find valuable. 

Practical Farm Ideas helps farmers to cut costs.