Over the past year or so, there has been a massive increase in the uptake of multi-species swards planting on farms.

The swards have the potential to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use while also improving soil health and animal performance. However, much has still to be learned about these swards and research is in the relatively early stages here in Ireland.

In order to see a large roll out of these swards at farm level more information and guidance will be needed. Here at the Irish Farmers Journal, we’ve teamed up with UCD to find out how farmers are getting on with these swards on their farms. What motivated you to plant? Did the sward establish well? Did you plant as part of a scheme or a project or did you decide to go it alone? Are you happy with the sward’s performance?

This short survey may help to gauge where farmers need advice with these crops, where they are doing well and where they are falling down.

If you have planted a multispecies sward, follow this link to take the short survey.