Time to invest in your grass ‘bank’ (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
Send us your pictures, video, news and views by texting DST to 80360 or email us
Time to invest in your grass ‘bank’
3:12pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Farming
By Mike Bridgen
WINTER DAMAGE: many grass leys will need over-seeding this spring
GRASSLAND farmers have been advised to plan remedial field work now to prevent forage shortfalls next winter.
Rod Bonshor, general manager for Oliver Seeds, said many were focused on feeding and eking out current forage stocks, but they also needed to think about how to bolster grassland productivity this spring and summer He said that about 20 per cent of the seed purchased by farmers to sow last autumn never made it into the ground.
“Luckily, unlike cereals where there are specific winter and spring varieties, all cool temperate grasses used in UK mixtures will germinate successfully when sown from March to September in good growing weather,” he said.
“Drilling the seed this spring will be fine as long as it has been stored in a cool, dry place over winter.”
Mr Bonshor said many fields had suffered from prolonged flooding, damage from vehicles or poaching by livestock.
“Grass dies if covered by water for too long, and you don’t have to travel too far to see gateways and areas around water troughs in a mess,” he said.
“Significantly damaged areas should be over-seeded as a priority before unproductive weed grasses, like annual meadow grass and bents, take hold. Perennial weeds such as docks will also take advantage if soil is left bare too long.”
Any new leys that were sown last autumn also needed checking for damage. If the winter water table was high, the young grass plants were likely to be shallow rooted.
“When the cold snap came, they could have been pushed out of the ground by the process of frost heave,” said Mr Bonshor.
“If the land is fit to travel, the only option is to try to roll the plants back down into the soil before they die. If already dead, the affected patches will need overseeding.
Rod Bonshor
“Grass leys are like a bank, if you don’t invest in them you won’t get a return.
“Introducing new, modern varieties this spring as full reseeds or repairing damaged areas, will produce greater yields of higher-quality grass which can be used to replenish the feed stores for next winter.”
