ADAM HENSON

THE COUNTRY’S FAVOURITE FARMER GIVES US HIS MONTHLY GUIDE TO AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON A FARM

Get to know the grasslands that feed the nation’s flocks and herds.

Many of us think of grass as the green stuff that makes a garden lawn. But although it’s easily overlooked, it’s impossible to exaggerate the importance of grass varieties to British farming.

In fact, one agricultural magazine recently called it our “natural and national crop”. Grass might not be in abundance in the fields at this time of year but the benefits of the summer sunshine are being enjoyed right now by horses and farm livestock eating combinations of stored grasses throughout the winter.

About 60% of agricultural land is devoted to grass and it’s vital to the production of milk, beef and lamb. Grass makes up more than half the diet of dairy cows either as grazing, fodder or in the form of silage (grass that’s preserved and ‘pickled’ as winter fodder); grass constitutes about 80% of everything that beef cattle consume and up to 90% for sheep.

A huge range of grasses grow in the UK, sown and wild, including ones with evocative names such as Yorkshire fog, creeping bent, true fox sedge and crested dog’s-tail. Sadly, since the Second World War, the UK has lost 95% of its wildflower meadows and natural lowland grassland. In agricultural production, we’re looking at around 20 specific species that are important. A thriving grass seed and grass management industry advises farmers on what to grow, where to grow it and in what combinations in order to get the best results for both the livestock and the land.

Grass management covers the mix of grasses as well as clover and herb cultivation; so taken as a whole it’s a crop that can be good for the soil, the environment, maintaining biodiversity and some new varieties are even being developed to help water absorption to prevent flooding.

There are some very practical reasons why farmers grow grass; a good crop means lower animal-feed costs and, for both dairy and livestock farmers, it can mean better produce.

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