On Farm Reseeding Trial

On farm reseeding trial offered interesting results for Meath dairy farmer

Oliver Clarke used three different reseeding methods at the same time on his farm last year in an effort to find out what works best for his land type.

Oliver Clarke carried out a trial on his farm comparing reseeding strategies. Oliver is milking 80 Norwegian Red and Friesian crossbred cows on his farm in Fordstown, Navan, Co Meath.

Underperformance He had three paddocks pinpointed for reseeding last year because they were populated with underperforming old pasture grass varieties. These old swards were not growing enough grass especially in the shoulders of the year which was limiting the time cows were spending outside grazing. Keen to reduce his dependence on bought in expensive concentrates, Oliver is upping his reseeding policy. With grazed grass the cheapest form of fodder for livestock this is a sensible strategy to have. He plans on doing some reseeding every year to increase the percentage of ryegrass in his pastures.

Reseeding

Last May Oliver set about reseeding the three underperforming paddocks. Each paddock was reseeded using a different strategy in an effort to compare techniques for this particular farm. The three techniques included:

1. Plough: The traditional plough, power harrow, land leveller and sow were used in one paddock. Followed by rolling, fertiliser application (three bags of 10:10:20/acre), lime application (2t/acre) and post emergence spray.

2. Minimum tillage: Paddock was sprayed off with Glyphosate and two runs of a powerharrow were used, with the paddock seeded simultaneously on the second run of the power harrow. Followed by rolling, fertiliser application (three bags of 10:10:20/acre), lime application (2t/acre) and post emergence spray.

3. Stitching in: One half of a paddock was sprayed off with Glyphosate and the other half was not. Over a week later the paddock was grazed tight to remove any remaining vegetation. Patrick Farrelly from Agrimann BM LTD stitched in grass seed using an Erth Engineering Agriseeder. Followed by fertiliser application (three bags of 10:10:20/acre), lime application (2t/acre) and post emergence spray.

Grass seed

Each paddock received the same grass seed mix – Master Crop Premium Grazing. The Premium Grazing Sward Grass seed is suitable for intensive, continuous grazing systems which fits in perfectly with Oliver’s grass based dairy system. The leading grass varieties on the Pasture Profit Index (PPI) are to the fore in the Premium Grazing Mix. The varieties Abergain and Drumbo ensure maximum spring growth. Aberchoice and Astonenergy for their high D values. These are Tetraploid and Diploid varieties. There is also a combination of leading small and medium-leafed clovers from the recommended list. The combination of ryegrass varieties and clovers ensures a highly palatable mixture.

Outcome

Oliver said all three methods of reseeding worked and they have turned out very well. “If you looked at the paddocks today you would find it difficult to find any differences between them,” he explained. However there were differences in the cost involved and the time taken carrying out the reseeding jobs depending on the method used.

Out of the three options he felt the stitching in method worked best for his farm. “The seed seemed to grow quickest here because the ground wasn’t disturbed and the moisture was still intact,” Oliver explained. Tractor work was kept to a minimum resulting in less fuel consumption and cost. He would advise other farmers to spray off the land before stitching in to ensure the new grass is given every opportunity to outperform the old sward.

According to Teagasc the main benefits of reseeding grassland results in improvements in the quantity and quality of grass grown. They say new reseeds should grow in the region of 20 - 40% more grass and a lot of this extra growth will occur in the spring and autumn.