Give Your Grass a Lift in the New Year

January 2010

On numerous occasions this column has recommended feed supplements and other products which Cornwall Farmers can provide to increase performance by addressing a particular ongoing issue or problem. While this is a very important part of our service, we are primarily in a position to cover all a farmer’s needs, and today we look at the topic of healthy grass, and how an investment in another area, machinery, can actually reduce the need for specialist feed supplements in the future.

Healthy grass is the bedrock of a productive farm and the New Year is the right time to consider what can be done to create ideal grass for grazing and silage. We would always encourage that if an issue can be fixed at the outset, then this is worth considering so long as the machinery costs are reasonable and cost effective - as they are when looking at the issue of soil health and grass improvement.

Before fetching out the fertilizer spreader, let’s first think about soil health and condition. Soil benefits from efficient aeration, which promotes fertilizer and slurry uptake and reduced run-off, improves drainage and earthworm movement. In addition, root aeration leads to better root development and function thus increasing the levels of mineral and nutrition available to the herd.

The direct result of good grassland management is that in the summer the herd performs better and well aerated soil dries quicker so the cows can be turned out to land earlier, which reduces bought-in feed costs.

Cornwall Farmers’ machinery division offer two machines which will provide many years’ value to the farmer in this area, the Opico Sward Lifter and the Opico Grass Harrow. The Sward Lifter has blades which go about 18” in the ground and is designed to break up pans and surface compaction while lifting and opening up the subsoil for improved aeration and drainage.  This should be used on dry ground, as the field needs to be reasonably dry beforehand so that the soil crumbles effectively, otherwise it will merely smear.

The other operation that can be undertaken is raking the ley with the Opico Grass Harrow. This machine provides two key benefits: the rake operates in a similar way to a chain harrow, breaking up the thatch and rejuvenating old pastures or stimulating new grass. It can also be used, with a seeder box to over sow the grass, or grass and clover, to improve the leys. Instead of re-seeding the leys and letting that go for five years or more, one could over-seed every three years which greatly improves the nutritional value of the grass.

In summary, why do all this now? We are trying to increase milk yields from forage. Working on the grass early in the year as shown above increases stocking rates because the grass is healthier; allows earlier turn-outs; extends the life of the leys so you can start re-seeding from about year three, thus reducing re-seed costs because there is no need to plough up the leys and work the ground and then wait six months for it to establish. Good preparation work now will over a period of time reduce feed costs because you are getting better nutrition from the grass. Machinery and re-seeding is an initial investment cost, but over a number of years you soon get that back through the resultant improved feed quality.

For further details on the Opico range, please contact Andrew Nicholas on 07881 507840 for a demonstration to be undertaken on your farm. Andrew and his team will be pleased to put the machinery to a test on a section of one of your fields, so that the benefits of their work can be viewed as the grass grows.