Reseeding: this is an ideal year for it

If last year taught us one thing, it was the importance of grass to our systems of livestock farming. The cold and wet spring followed by the long, dry summer was a test of farmers’ resolve and feed stock reserves.

It hammered home the message that we need to have reserves of feed and intensive grass farms need high-performing pastures.

The good news is that 2019 has been better for grass growth and the much talked about feed reserves are nearly full on many farms

It was evident, particularly in the early stages of the drought, that fields with younger pastures and higher soil fertility were slower to be affected by soil moisture deficits.

The good news is that 2019 has been better for grass growth and the much talked about feed reserves are nearly full on many farms.

But the message must still go out that producing homegrown feed, and not relying on imports – whether of grain or hay – is a more sustainable long-term goal. We talk about air miles when it comes to food – the same applies when it comes to air miles of feed. On grassland farms, growing more grass will revolve around drainage, improving soil fertility and reseeding.

We have a report from the Moorepark open day with a round-up of all the latest research into clover, what’s happening with multi-species swards and we detail the demonstration on reseeding.

Stephen Connolly reports from a reseeding demonstration in Kerry. Aidan Brennan reports from another reseeding demonstration in Cork, and also visits a farm of which a large portion has been successfully reseeded. With good grass growth in many areas, farmers should take the advantage to get unproductive grasslands reseeded.