Opportunities for new forage species

Project details
The aim of this project was to review current predictions for weather patterns in GB over the next 20 years, as recently published by the Met Office using their UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) analysis tool, to review forage crops used by dairy farmers outside Britain and to generate a list of options for new forage opportunities following climate change in GB.

Some of the outcomes relating to forages and grasses of the future are:

• New mixtures of grasses and legumes may need to be developed as the climate changes.
• For forage crops some adaptations for climate change will be common to all species whilst others will vary depending on whether the forage is part of a short term rotation or a long term ley
• Selection and breeding of varieties better able to tolerate prolonged periods of drought are an area which should be focused on, along with using deep rooting forage mixes that can draw water from further down.
• The key species of improved grasslands in substantial parts of Europe, Australasia and to a lesser extent North and South America are forage grasses in the families Lolium (ryegrasses) and Festuca (fescues) and forage legumes in the families Trifolium (clovers) and Medicago (particularly Medicago sativa, alfalfa (or lucerne)). These species are the major source of grazed and conserved feed for dairy, beef and sheep production.