Glyphosate’s crucial role in growing grass

The weather over the last few months has led to probably the best possible lambing and calving period I can remember.. This has been great here at home, particularly when a lot of my time is now taken up with NFU Scotland, and the vast majority of the lambing and feeding has been carried out by our middle daughter Katrina, who has now become an integral part of the business.

Now that this annual ovine psychology lesson nears completion, attention on upland and hill units switches to trying to establish and grow young grass and fodder crops.

At home one of our biggest issues when trying to establish any crop is the endless task of having to lift stones after every pass of the field – and that’s provided the plough is still in one piece when the field is finished! The amount of dykes surrounding fields is a pretty good indication of how stoney a farm is, and we have plenty of them.

This prompted me four years ago to invest in a direct driller which has been by far the best investment we have made. It’s an Aitchison grass farmer driller developed in New Zealand in the early 1970s.

To get the best use of this machine requires the use of glyphosate. What we now do is test the ph of a field of old grass, lime as required, and spray the field with glyphosate.

The following day we apply the required amount of fertiliser and immediately go in and drill either kale or rape, depending on the time of year.

As the field dies back the new crop gets the chance to establish with very minimal weed challenge. The following year, after the crop is eaten off by lambs, the field is sprayed off again and direct drilled with new grass.

This has the advantage of the new grass being drilled into the most fertile part of the soil with the added benefits of the sheep manure.

In a dry year this method has the advantage of moisture retention and also in a wet year allows you to sow in conditions that would not allow if worked up ground became wet.

Crops are now established with much less back ache and expense. It’s maybe not for every situation but it’s made a big difference to us.

There is also a very valid carbon benefit. Because we are no longer ploughing or cultivating, our carbon release has been reduced dramatically.

This whole process would not be possible without the use of glyphosate and I would urge anyone who uses it to contact their MEP to highlight its importance.

The recent campaign by the union to press for continued authorisation of glyphosate and extend its license for 15 years has been welcomed by others in Europe.

We have highlighted the fact that all the scientific evidence that’s out there proves that responsible use of glyphosate is perfectly safe.