SHEEP producers have been urged to grow swedes for a high energy winter feed for ewes and finishing lambs.

Martin Titley, from Limagrain UK, said with soils warming up, early June is the ideal time to sow swedes.

He said: "Swedes cost about £403 per hectare – or £62 per tonne of dry matter – to grow, yet produce 80 to 90 tonnes of feed per hectare. They can be grazed from October to February, depending on the variety."

The companies field trials highlight the high-energy content of swedes at 12.8 to 13.1MJ. "These energy values are higher than most other forage crops, making them one of the lowest cost but highest yielding and feed value options available," said Mr Titley. "Even when yields are moderate, they are still a cost-effective feed."

Grown on a range of soils, swedes also do well in moist and cooler conditions, making them ideal for most UK sheep farming areas. Swede crops should be drilled into a level seedbed on free draining fields that can be easily grazed.

Swede seed should be treated for flea beetle and sown into a soil with a pH around 6.5. "And it is worth selecting a disease resistant variety," he said. "There’s some high performance varieties that are both clubroot and powdery mildew tolerant."

The latest Limagrain trials show popular varieties Gowrie and Lomond produce dry matter yields 18 per cent and 11 per cent higher than Ruta Otofte. Both were bred by the James Hutton Institute in Scotland.

“However, the variety should also suit the system," said Mr Titley. "Lomond and Gowrie produce high dry matter yields and consistent performance for feeding from November to January.

"Invitation, meanwhile, has the highest dry matter content of all varieties on trial at 12.6 per cent and a relative dry matter yield six per cent above the control, but it is especially winter hardy so suitable for long keep systems and feeding in January and February."

See lgseeds.co.uk/swede for more details.