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United Kingdom - Cows and grass thriving at Cucumber Farm, which joined Barenbrug's Grass into Gold scheme this summer


United Kingdom
October 26, 2016

Jim Thomson
Singleton, West Sussex (Dairy)

Initial grass growth on West Sussex farm looking good

This dairy farm north of Chichester, in West Sussex, is hoping to turn Grass into Gold this summer after joining our revolutionary Grass into Gold scheme, which explores the impact that proactive grassland management can have on yields and profitability. 

The team at Cucumber Farm, on the outskirts of the village of Singleton, are working closely with our forage team of grass experts. Together, the Cucumber Farm team have renovated four-hectares of pasture to assess the difference that reseeding fields can make to grass quality, grazing and forage yields, and crucially, milk production.  

Located in the Lavant Valley, just north of Chichester, Cucumber Farm has a 150-strong herd of British Fresions and a few Jersey dairy cows, each of which produce around 6000 litres of milk each year. Keen to increase the size of the farm’s herd using the same area of grassland (around 50 hectares), Jim Thomson, Herd Manager, decided to sign up to Barenbrug’s Grass into Gold scheme after hearing about it from Lucy West at Duffields Animal Feeds.

Wanting to learn how to get more from grass, Jim’s ultimate ambition is to enable the farm to make full use of extended grazing and keep its livestock outdoors for as long as possible. Currently the team at Cucumber Farm has a pre-grazing residual target of around 2800kg DM/ha. This allows the farm to maintain the highest quality grass possible. By ensuring the pasture is harvested at the ‘three-leaf’ stage they can keep dead material at the base of the sward to a minimum. This approach also prevents seed head production, again helping to maintain a high vegetative standard of grass before the herd is put out and subsequently moved around under a rotational system. 

Cucumber Farm
Jim Thomson and Latham Gibbins

Following advice from Latham Gibbins, Barenbrug grass experts in the South of England, Jim has – so far – renovated one four-hectare pasture as a test field. One of the biggest concerns on the field was weed control; docks in particular. To ensure a weed-free field, specific cultivation techniques and the use of an aggressive new grass is required. Jim and Latham picked a mixed grass variety was that has specific heading dates – a decision that will make it easier for the Cucumber Farm team to manipulate the spring flush for better timing of higher quality vegetative feed over a longer period.

Jim said: “The new grass has been growing extremely well, is dense and weed-free. The growth rates in the new ley have been far superior to that of the old sward. Although it has been too wet to get out and graze through the winter I am confident that the spring production from the new ley will have a dramatic effect on the early spring lactation period.”

Commenting, Latham Gibbins from Barenbrug UK, said: “New pasture is capable of producing 30% more dry matter than old pastures so renovating the field we chose was a no brainer. Initial growth looks really good and we’ll be working with Jim and the team at Cucumber Farm over the coming months to judge any changes to pasture performance. Specifically we’ll be looking at persistency and weed control as well as how the animals are faring out on the field.”



More news from: Barenbrug UK Ltd.


Website: http://www.barenbrug.co.uk

Published: October 26, 2016

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