alternative forages

A question for ye lads with cattle and sheep on a forage crop. I know that you have to feed hay, silage or straw to them while they are on it. Would it work if you had grass for them. So let's say that you had them over 2 fields. 1 with forage rape and the other with grass and if you were moving the fence on both fields by the same amount each time. Would it be sufficient for them?
 
A question for ye lads with cattle and sheep on a forage crop. I know that you have to feed hay, silage or straw to them while they are on it. Would it work if you had grass for them. So let's say that you had them over 2 fields. 1 with forage rape and the other with grass and if you were moving the fence on both fields by the same amount each time. Would it be sufficient for them?
Lush soft winter grass wouldn't have enough fibre........I found that out last week didn't lose the animal but he and a few others to a lesser extent did a fair impression of a beach ball. bit of straw and 28 of them pick away at it might get 5-6 days from a bale so eating about 1kg straw/head/day
 
A question for ye lads with cattle and sheep on a forage crop. I know that you have to feed hay, silage or straw to them while they are on it. Would it work if you had grass for them. So let's say that you had them over 2 fields. 1 with forage rape and the other with grass and if you were moving the fence on both fields by the same amount each time. Would it be sufficient for them?
In theory it would probably work, but you’d destroy a grass field strip geazeing over the winter.You would almost certainly have to plough and reseed afterwards.
 
It was a little bit by accident but our fodder rape had a lot of volunteer barley in it, I did not spray it out and it provided a great roughage source to the heifers while they are on it, they have silage also but eat very little and if they were without it for a day or 3 there would be not problem at all, we are block grazing and not strip grazing
 
It was a little bit by accident but our fodder rape had a lot of volunteer barley in it, I did not spray it out and it provided a great roughage source to the heifers while they are on it, they have silage also but eat very little and if they were without it for a day or 3 there would be not problem at all, we are block grazing and not strip grazing

monoculture alternative forages are asking for trouble, lots more species and sow some oats or rye and it will be a much more balanced feed and no need for any bales in the fields. you wont get the out and out yield of crop, but animals will do better and less chance of feck ups
 
monoculture alternative forages are asking for trouble, lots more species and sow some oats or rye and it will be a much more balanced feed and no need for any bales in the fields. you wont get the out and out yield of crop, but animals will do better and less chance of feck ups
Suppose it also reduces things like clubroot etc aswell. Fair points tho
 
What's the verdict then BB? Lucky get out of jail card this year and Maybe repeat again even if a more 'normal' winter?
It Worked a dream. Don’t know would I do it again, the grant was a real help. I’ll add it all up later when it’s baled and see what kind of total yield I got, I know what I’ve spent on it so should be able to take a guess at the economics. Yard is relatively empty here again so I might consider more next auguat
 
It Worked a dream. Don’t know would I do it again, the grant was a real help. I’ll add it all up later when it’s baled and see what kind of total yield I got, I know what I’ve spent on it so should be able to take a guess at the economics. Yard is relatively empty here again so I might consider more next auguat
you have to take into account aswell that we got one of the handiest and most growthy winters on record. Most years bales made the 15th of October or the 15th of April maybe resembling soup. hard to look beyond a good crop of your own wheat for wholecrop
 
you have to take into account aswell that we got one of the handiest and most growthy winters on record. Most years bales made the 15th of October or the 15th of April maybe resembling soup. hard to look beyond a good crop of your own wheat for wholecrop
Dont burst my bubble
 
Spraying off the westerwolds here early next week for maize, will get its 2nd grazing 5days later, sowed immediately after maize last Oct, very slow start so only 1st grazed in mid Feb by the heifers. Cost me 70e/ac to sow, plus about 40units fert and 2kgls/ac slurry, and putting a rough figure of 2 grazings of 1300kg/ha, if I value each kg of dm there at 12.5c, call it 125e/ac worth of a crop, that's less than breakeven, however if I value it at 20c/kg which I would of gladly taken last winter then its 210e/ac and defo worth it. Them figures are all for grazed in the paddock, absolutely forget about trying to harvest it.

And as Ozzy said if it was a wet winter or spring hmm, would of been - 100e/ac probably.
 
I sowed Redstart about 5 days ago, after whole cropping wheat. It got a good dose of slurry, a run of the Karat and sown with the Vaddy. Ideal weather for it.
View attachment 68590
Going sowing Redstart this week hopefully...took a light crop of silage,sprayed off the field and hoping to drill in the Redstsrt with a Guttler,question I have is whether a dose of watery slurry would do harm to it after the guttler?or would it be of benefit?
 
Going sowing Redstart this week hopefully...took a light crop of silage,sprayed off the field and hoping to drill in the Redstsrt with a Guttler,question I have is whether a dose of watery slurry would do harm to it after the guttler?or would it be of benefit?
I usually spread the slurry first, then give it a run of the Karat and sow with the Vaddy, but last year the slurry got delayed on a small bit sown after longterm lea, it got a good dose straight after sowing and it only damaged the Redstart where the slurry was badly overlapped with near an inch of heavy slurry.
 
I usually spread the slurry first, then give it a run of the Karat and sow with the Vaddy, but last year the slurry got delayed on a small bit sown after longterm lea, it got a good dose straight after sowing and it only damaged the Redstart where the slurry was badly overlapped with near an inch of heavy slurry.
Excellent so avoid the overlap and should be the finest...how much fert did you put out at sowing along with the slurry?recommend splitting the nitrogen I see
 
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