LOOKING FOR EARLY GRAZING IN 2012?

If your forage cropping plans for 2012 include a requirement for really early grazing in the spring then there is one crop which you need to add to your armoury – forage rye.

The crop will often be ready for grazing as much as three weeks earlier than Italian ryegrasses and it offers a remarkable degree of flexibility. Not only can it be grazed in-situ but it can be zero grazed or cut and made into big bale silage. Certainly, if it is grazed in the field then it is important to ensure that an electric fence is used to avoid undesirable wastage.

It is not just dairy units exploiting all the benefits that forage rye has to offer – many sheep farmers in the UK are also using it to lengthen the grazing season and reduce the cost of home grown feed. In fact if the crop is sown early enough in a mild autumn it is often possible to run sheep over the field in late November or early December.

The crop shown in this picture was being grown on a dairy farm in Nottinghamshire and it was grazed during March and April 2011. This palatable crop (the variety is Humbolt) can have other subtle benefits on livestock farms – for example it can be used to help mop-up residual nitrogen and keep soil erosion at bay.

Forage rye is a catch-crop so if it is sown on its own it can be followed by another high yielding, spring sown fodder such as kale or fodder beet.

If you want to extend the length of grazing then it is possible to mix the rye with Italian ryegrass. If you sow forage rye on its own it is very important to consume it before it becomes ‘stemmy’ because once this stage is reached the crop will loose its feed value and will not be as attractive to grazing animals.

If you would like more information about forage rye then just e-mail us using the following address ( info@limagrain.co.uk ) and we will arrange to send you a copy of The Forage Crops Guide. As well as featuring forage rye this 28 page booklet covers a number of other leading forage crops including kale and fodder beet. 

April 2011