May 2006
How to get the best grass mixture for your system
Steven Bentley from NIAB explains
Independent testing of grass and clover varieties is conducted at three NIAB centres, in Devon, Shropshire and Yorkshire.
Testing is designed to assess the value of each variety for commercial livestock production, focusing on three key criteria:
* Yield - physical bulk of crop
* Quality - value for meat and milk production, expressed in terms of digestibility
* Persistence - potential to regenerate once cut or grazed.
Evaluation methods have been developed and refined over many years to provide the only fully independent set of trials data directly relevant to farming conditions in England & Wales. On average only one in 20 varieties tested will be recommended by the independent Herbage Trials Advisory Committee, which is made up of seed merchants, technical experts, growers and breeders.
So farmers can be confident that varieties in the new Herbage Varieties Guide have demonstrated a genuine competitive advantage for commercial livestock production in the UK.
Using material not tested through this system may reduce the initial seed cost but could be a false economy. Reduced yield and quality from such varieties can easily result in more than 10% loss in livestock productivity.
Sourced from Grass & Forage Farmer Summer 2006