Graham’s Seeds

After a wet spring now behind us, our attention turns to what to do with damaged paddocks in autumn.

The most important starting point is to get out in your paddocks and assess the cover.

If there are not enough of the right species in the paddock, the next question is why?

Was the paddock heavily pugged?

Underwater for a long period of time? Or has the grass thinned out and been replaced by weeds?

This last question can be a really important one to think about as some weeds (e.g. dock, water pepper) may be indicative of a drainage problem which may need to be addressed before the paddock is sown back to a perennial pasture.

Relatively weed-free paddocks with limited pugging can be bulked up with over-sowing with a seed drill rather than requiring full cultivation.

Again, planning ahead with what you want out of that paddock over the next few years will help choose the correct variety for this autumn.

Will the paddock be cropped in the next 1-2 years?

If so, over-sowing with an Italian ryegrass may be the best option to provide more short-term feed than a perennial which may be required to last a few more seasons.

If cultivation is necessary, it is always a good idea to double-crop the paddock (an autumn sown winter forage followed by a spring sown summer crop) to reduce the seed bank of weeds, especially if the paddock has not been turned over for many years.

The cultivation process will lead to more weeds germinating from seed, so removing this seed bank with successive short-term crops will lead to a cleaner perennial paddock in future- would you rather fertilise a paddock of 90% perennial ryegrass, clover and herbs or a paddock of 50% desirable species filled with weeds?

Cleaner paddocks offer more efficient returns and more energy for cattle.

Choosing the right varieties to sow this autumn to fill a winter feed gap depends on your class of stock (lactating cows, fattening steers, bulls), soil type and fertility levels so the more information you can gain before sowing the better the crop will be for your circumstances.

Some clovers, brassicas, grasses and cereals will be better suited to lighter, sandy country and others to heavy, wet conditions and with fertiliser prices soaring, choosing the correct species for you is even more important to allow you to capitalise on the high returns we’re currently seeing in the beef industry

Brett Tonkin, Agronomist, Graham’s Seeds