Winter work on grassland will pay dividends

Some timely ideas for grassland farmers to think of doing now

A 'Think Piece' Blog:  Traditional grass management involves doing nothing over the winter months. Farmers wait until the soil warms up in the spring, when fertiliser is applied and the roller and the chain harrow get their annual outing. This Blog suggests that farmers who forget about their grassland over the winter are missing a trick. There's plenty of planning, and also when conditions are right some field work which will pay dividends in the following season.

Winter is the time for livestock farmers to plan the next season's grazing. Six months from now cattle and sheep will be getting much if not all their feed from the grass you grow, and the more pre-season preparation you can do the better grass production will result. Stock will grow, gain condition and provide financial returns on low cost grazing. 

What areas of the grazing need to be checked, and what can I do about it in the cold winter months?

Fertiliser wastage

Fertiliser wastage

Did you know that nine farmers out of ten waste fertiliser by failing to mount the spreader on the tractor accurately? That the waste of fertiliser can be between 5 and 10 per cent. A striped colour happens when some parts of the field get more than the planned amount, and other parts get less - BUT it's only visible when the difference is more than 15%. The farmer may well use the correct quantity, but the spread pattern is wrong... simply because the the machine has been put on inaccurately.

At today's fertiliser prices it racks up a loss few farmers can afford. Improve accuracy and there's an opportunity to reduce the amount applied. Improve accuracy and total yield improves as each plant receives the recommended calculated application.

There's a useful Practical Farm IDEAS on-line report on www.farmideas.co.uk/reports.php which has 15 useful tips to get the job done correctly, without spending money on a new fertiliser spreader.