Can improved grass varieties help get better graze-outs?

Global grass breeder DLF is trialling its latest grass varieties on farms, with the cow’s ability to graze-out the sward being the number one trait on its list.

Speaking at DLF’s grass partner programme open day, DLF general manager Paul Flanagan made the point that “a variety that delivers 15t is not much use on a farm if the cows won’t eat it”. Following on from this he said “if the variety grazes out well you want it to produce as much as possible” so yield would be the next trait they would look at. Once the utilisable yield is determined the next area of focus is quality and getting the highest quality possible, all steps which help to identify the ideal grazing variety.

So what do we know about DLF

DLF Ireland is a joint venture between the Arvum Group and Danish-based Cooperative DLF, which is the global leader in grass variety breeding and seed production. DLF came to Ireland in March 2015 and set up a packing and warehouse facility in Belview Port, Waterford. Since that, DLF has taken on a farm south of Waterford City which is dedicated to research and trials. DLF says it has dedicated breeding programmes for varieties for Ireland.

DLF grass partner programme

All data collected from the trials in Waterford is collected mechanically by cutting plots with a Haldrup Harvester so to back up the data in a grazing situation they have set up a grass partner programme. This involves DLF partnering up with four farmers around the country to see the varieties in a grazing situation. The programme is aimed at improving grassland utilisation with specific concentration on ryegrass varietal performance.

DLF held a focus event on one of the grass partner Michael and Bernie O’Sullivan’s farm in Castleisland, Co Kerry, with Grasstec and Teagasc last week. The event covered a number of topics from soil fertility and grassland management to grass varieties.

This year Michael is grazing a new DLF variety called Nashota which is not yet on the Irish recommended list or PPI

Michael joined the DLF programme in 2018, but has been using DLF seeds on his farm since 2016. Since joining the programme, he has begun to sow individual varieties of perennial ryegrass and is gathering the performance data for each variety and feeding it back to the partner programme.

This year Michael is grazing a new DLF variety called Nashota which is not yet on the Irish recommended list or PPI. On paper from the Waterford trials and early department results, Nashota has the potential to be a top leading variety in Ireland. However, it will be on Michael’s farm in Kerry where the grazing potential will be determined.

New varieties

At the event we got to examine a newly reseeded paddock of the Nashota variety that had just been grazed twice this year. Like any newly reseeded pasture, the quality looked excellent. There were a few notable differences to the grass on the day.

It is early days in trialling the variety under a grazing situation and really we won’t know how well it will perform until after it has made it onto the recommended lists and has a PPI

Nashota is a tetraploid variety which tends to be more palatable with a more erect growth habit and generally more desirable in a grazing situation.

However, the diploid varieties give us a better ground cover and higher sward density which are also desirable in a grazing situation.

Looking at the field of Nashota, you would say it is a diploid variety because of the dense sward and smaller leaf.

It is early days in trialling the variety under a grazing situation and really we won’t know how well it will perform until after it has made it onto the recommended lists and has a PPI.

Ongoing work

DLF has screened over 6,000 varieties to date for application in Ireland. Nashota comes from the first round of trials in Ireland.

DLF has been selecting the parent lines in Ireland and crossing specifically for the Irish market. This autumn it will be sowing varieties bred specifically for Ireland in Waterford trials.

DLF varieties on PPI and under Teagasc trials

There are already a number of DLF varieties on the Pasture Profit Index and being used all around the country.

The likes of Glenroyal, Aspect, Kerry and Nifty are very common in a lot of grass seed mixtures.

Under the Teagasc grazing trials that collected two years of data, DLF varieties seem to be performing well. One part of the trial looked at the varieties under the residual grazed height and annual dry matter yield, which can be seen in Figure 1.

The top left hand cover of the graph is where you want a variety to be growing high tonnes per year and getting very good graze-outs which will lead to more grass of higher quality.

Paul said that five out of the seven varieties in the top right boxes in the graph are DLF varieties backing up the emphasis they put on graze-outs and yield when it comes to varieties.

The O’Sullivan farm

Michael and Bernie O’Sullivan are milking 110 cows off 35ha in Castleisland, Co Kerry. There has been a lot of work done to the farm over the last few years with a lot of land having been reclaimed and reseeded. Michael is focused on utilising and growing as much grass as possible on the farm and has put great work into getting the soil fertility on the farm where it is today. Most of the farm is now at a pH of more than 6.2 and index 3 and 4 for P and K.

Michael joined the DLF programme in 2018 because he wanted to grow more grass on the farm

Another notable factor on the day was the grazing infrastructure and the good roadway access to paddocks on the farm. This allows Michael to utilise more grass especially in the shoulders of the year.

Michael joined the DLF programme in 2018 because he wanted to grow more grass on the farm. At the moment, there is a number of monocultures sown on the farm, which are being monitored weekly to see how they perform.