21 December 2021

How to graze new leys on the platform

To benefit from higher grass yields in the long term, spring reseeds need a light grazing and careful management in their first 6 months. Start by doing a ‘pull test’ to establish whether seedlings have rooted properly and then use young calves to nip off leaves from 6 weeks after establishment. “The last thing you want to do is to graze and lift out seedlings,” says LIC consultant Sean Chubb. “You only want to take off the top 4 cm to encourage regrowth and tillering, so use calves because they won’t graze as low or as hard as older stock. There is no point in doing all that hard work if you then have to oversow next spring. “In their first year, new leys need preferential treatment: leave a residual growth of 5 cm, potentially graze less and then perhaps correct for this in autumn. Accepting less tonnage this year means you will be rewarded with better growth in future.” Using heavier livestock not only risks overgrazing and slowing regrowth, but also compaction where reseeding has involved a full seedbed preparation leaving a light, fluffy soil. When direct drilling into an established sward, however, cows can be used to do a light first grazing. After its first grazing, a new ley should be left to grow to 2.5–3 leaves and not be overgrazed. Leaving slightly higher covers avoids taking energy out of the plant: roots need to grow down and out, says Sean. “This is particularly important going into summer. New leys are more susceptible to drought and dying from overgrazing,” he points out, adding that a typical 10% of the platform reseeded each year is not a large enough area to affect measuring and software calculations.

27 March 2020

The impact of lost grazing days

The cost of a lost grazing day to businesses is an important calculation, even for experienced grazing managers.

2 January 2020

Spring Grazing in Autumn Calving Systems

Strategic Farm - At this meeting we will discuss Spring Grazing in Autumn Calving Systems, Join dairy grazing consultant, Andre Van Barneveld and SDF farmer Arthur Owen and explore how to prepare your gazing platform for maximum success at this event in North Wales

30 August 2019

Optimising Lamb Performance: Norfolk

Optimising lamb performance through nutrition

21 December 2021

WEBINAR: Getting the best out of your autumn reseeds

Reseeding is an important part of grassland management on any farm and is essential for maintaining productive grassland. Join this webinar to get advice on making the most of this process.

28 February 2025

Soil fertility and structure for rotational grazing

Maintaining good soil health is essential to optimise production from both grazing and silage swards. In this section, you’ll find out how to assess your soil and see how beef farmer, Johnny Haimes uses his nutrient management plan.