Grass-breeding specialist Barenbrug UK has announced the first ever Grass Clinic at UK Dairy Day, encouraging growers to be more ambitious about getting more from their grass.
“Cost-effective, sustainable, with benefits for soil health and biodiversity, good quality grass – whether grazed or conserved – is the cheapest feed for the dairy cow,” said Barenbrug’s agriculture manager, David Linton.
“When managed for maximum productivity, grass delivers astonishing dry matter and energy levels. Cows can convert around 85% of that energy into milk on grass. The grass really is the basis for profitable, sustainable, productive dairying.”
UK Dairy Day will take place on the 14th of September at the International Centre in Telford and Barenbrug invites anyone with a query about their grass to drop in for insight and advice.
“The secret to good grassland is to ‘think crop’,” said Mr Linton. “But grassland agronomy doesn’t have to be complicated. Underperforming grassland can quickly become good grassland in just a few steps.”
There’s no need to book and the team will be available all day at the stand, but Mr Linton explained that attendees will get the most value from it if they first index their fields using the company’s Grassland Index guide.
“That will help our experts to suggest the best course of action and offer the most appropriate advice, alongside tips on species and variety selection. Farmers really can grow their future with grass, helping to sustain farm resilience by maximising quality homegrown forage.”
The Grassland Index can be viewed here.