Grassland

Keeping grassland in good condition over many years requires farmers to pay special attention and have a certain instinct for managing the plant population. The aim is to consciously promote high-quality forage grasses, legumes and desired herbs.

Ryegrasses, such as Italian ryegrass, are frequently used in forage production. However, inadequate crop management can cause problems with these grasses, and herbicide resistances are suspected to be developing. The results of the following trial demonstrate that this is unfounded and they highlight which rules should be observed in practice.

In view of the fact that drought and heat waves may occur more frequently in the future than in the past, drought-resistant grasses such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) are becoming the subject of greater discussion and awareness. But can high milk yields also be achieved with the use of tall fescue silage? A feeding trial at the Agricultural Research and Training Centre (ARTC) Haus Riswick of the NW Chamber of Agriculture provides the results.

Ryegrasses such as perennial ryegrass in permanent grassland or italian ryegrass in ley farming are high-yielding and high-quality, indispensable forage grasses. Due to their high seed potential, short-lived ryegrasses can also be harmful to subsequent crops in crop rotation if not managed appropriately. Here you can find out first-hand from a long-standing grass propagator from the German Eifel region what is most important when dealing with ryegrass in crop rotation, especially with italian ryegrass.

Quality seed – what does that actually mean? Basically, the customer relies on the fact that the variety he buys is actually in the packaging and fulfils the described qualities. But who controls this on the European seed market? Since 2008, the 'Breeders Trust' organisation in the EU has ensured that the trade in protected seeds takes place within the legal framework.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the world‘s most important perennial forage crops. Its high mass and protein yields make it an optimal domestic protein supplier. Particularly in times when dry periods occur at increasingly shorter intervals, alfalfa can be advantageous due to its deep roots and can provide high-quality forage.

Grass silage is an essential part of the basic feed. The cation-anion balance (CAB), which is important for feed ration of dairy cows, is particularly variable. The following article shows the effect of potassium fertilisation.

Perennial ryegrass is the most valuable forage grass for intensively used meadows and pastures in terms of forage and crop production. Thanks to plant breeding, yields and qualities have been steadily improving, thus continuously increasing the basic fodder yield. This is how perennial ryegrass developed into the leading grass for grassland.

How do I choose the perfect cutting time for my forage grass and what influences it? Luuk Maas, product manager for forage quality at DSV, describes how grassland management can be optimised and what influence spike and panicle emergence has on forage quality.

What is behind the work in grass breeding? What routes and tests does the grass seed have to go through before it reaches the farmer and can be sown?

The general public and lawmakers increasingly require arable and forage farmers to include biodiversity and environmental protection measures in their farming practices which are additionally affected by climate challenges. The viability of forage farming hinges on profitable production schemes which in the past few years emphasised on species-poor stands, especially in grasslands. However, biodiversity offers a great chance to meet the above demands – provided the individual species are combined intelligently.

Is it possible to produce high-quality forage despite high input prices? Introducing legumes into grassland can do the trick. Hubert Kivelitz from the German Chamber of Agriculture North Rhine-Westphalia discusses the basics and the most effective ways of overseeding.

In 2021, INNOVATION met Manuel Winter in the Austrian Marchfeld region where he is involved in a research project that explores a special grazing strategy called „mob grazing” for his master‘s degree thesis.

Climate change brings the spotlight on humus content and its central role for our soils. Not only is humus one of the earth's primary CO2 stores, it is also instrumental for the ability of soils to store plant-available water for plants to survive in extended drought periods. Grass species and clover-like plants are humus increasing species. This has been shown by long-term experiments by the Kiel University in northern Germany.

Grass silage and maize silage are the main feed crops in dairy farming. Maize silage supplies most of the energy and adds protein and structure to the basic ration whereas grass silage supplies not only a significant amount of the required protein but also energy and most of the structure. Any product is only as good as its ingredients. This also applies to maize or grass that go into animal feeds.

“Clover grass is the single most important crop in organic farming.” This is the overriding dictum in organic farming and equally relevant for livestock and arable farmers. After all, clover or alfalfa grass (in the following generically referred to as clover grass) fulfils multiple functions in organic farming. Yet, increasingly conventional farmers, too, are taking clover grass into account.

Grass species have diverse characteristics that complement each other in mixes. The University of Göttingen has investigated which grass species are particularly drought-tolerant and how mixes containing herbs and legumes perform.

Permanent grass stands that are characterised by a low shoot density and many gaps encourage the growth of agronomically undesirable species. These undesirable plants are traditionally prevented by such established techniques as harrowing and reseeding high-performing grass species. However, the long-term performance of highly productive permanent grassland is contingent on the type and intensity of the grassland management, because the intensity of grazing or cutting has a major influence on the growth processes of the grass plants.

Ruminants are primary consumers which have evolved to become specialised herbivores. In natural nutrient cycles they feed mainly on forage crops while these are in the vegetative growth phase. During this phase the nutrients present in the plant are in a undamen tally different form compared with their form in ripe seeds and in a mature stage.

Farming permanent grassland is often far more complex than farming arable crops, because it is a permanent crop made up of a diverse range of plant communities. Unfortunately, the subject of grassland seems to have been neglected in the education of farmers, which leaves them ill-equipped to reliably distinguish the key species of grass, herbs and legumes in grassland farming. Yet is important to have a good understanding of the different species, their characteristics and their function as an indicator in order to “read” the crop and detect management errors to avoid them in the future. Every species in permanent grassland is either supported or suppressed by specific factors such as the timing and height of the various cuts.

The Costello’s pasture-based dairy farm in Brandenburg, Germany specialises in forage production. A few years ago, the Irish Costello brothers took over a bankrupt dairy farm in Kloster Lehnin to the west of Potsdam in the German state of Brandenburg. They switched dairy operations to the pasture-based system they knew from home, which works comparatively well with the dry, sandy soils on their farm. They graze their cows outdoors all year round. Innovation spoke to Paul Costello about this special farming system.

Measures to combat heat stress in the cows’ housing system are essential if cows are to feel as comfortable as possible when housed indoors on summer days, not least because of last summer‘s heatwave. Heat stress in cows has an enormous impact on their health, performance and on the calves of heat-stressed mothers.

Dairy cows turn grass into milk and our desire to exploit this ability has helped shape the German cultural landscape we call “grassland”. This relationship between grass and cattle is clearly desirable by the general public and has come to symbolise a natural, eco-friendly and animal-friendly farming system. Only one hundred years ago, around 90% of our milk was produced from the energy and nutrients contained in grass but nowadays this ratio is only about 10%.

Unlike maize, grass does not necessarily ferment well. To achieve good fermentation qualities in grass crops, it is necessary that the ensiled material offers a balanced composition of nutrients.

Doctors cannot treat their patients properly without first making a reliable diagnosis. Similarly, farmers should be able to diagnose problems themselves or consult a specialist if they are to fully exploit the potential of grassland and produce premium-quality forage. You can tell from the most common grass species growing on your pastures and meadows whether the sward is likely to deliver top quality forage, or whether overseeding, other management measures or even reseeding should be prescribed. Usually only sown species are desirable on arable fields, but on grassland the situation is more nuanced. 

In 2018 large parts of northern Germany were gripped by drought. Normally highly productive grassland and leys stopped growing completely for months on end while deep-rooted meadow herbs such as ribwort plantain and legumes such as red clover, alfalfa and bird’s-foot trefoil continued to grow seemingly unaffected. Agrometerologists are warning of the long-term negative consequences of climate change on forage production. Extreme weather conditions associated with prolonged periods without rainfall are set to become more likely in future, reducing the yield reliability of existing forage production systems. International experts advise growing a broader range of species and above all, including drought-tolerant grasses and deep-rooted legumes or even meadow herbs to reduce the risk of yield losses in the face of impending droughts.

Increasing growth of native, protein-rich plants in permanent grassland through improved land use and overseeding is one means of closing the current protein deficit. However, livestock farmers cannot easily increase protein yields by growing legumes because they use the cattle slurry to fertilise the land and the application rate of farm-produced nitrogen is restricted to 170 kg/ha. High nitrogen rates are known to inhibit the establishment of legumes in the long term. A joint study is being conducted by the LAZBW Aulendorf together with the University of Hohenheim to investigate, among other things, whether and how long legumes overseeded in permanent grassland can persist despite nitrogen fertilisation and what yield increase the components of grass-legume mixes may still achieve when the nitrogen input is 170 kg N/ha. This project is funded by the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Following the poor harvests in 2018, many farmers will be unable to eke out feed supplies until the next maize harvest in 2019. Various solutions are available to remedy this situation. By growing ultra-early maize varieties, it is possible to harvest earlier in the season and so avoid feed gaps. The main benefit of these ultra-early varieties is that they can be used flexibly in crop rotations. The whole-crop silage (WCS) mix Legu-Oats-WCS Plus also offers some interesting possibilities.

2018 was without doubt an extreme year and yet there is no denying climate change. A relatively drought-tolerant forage crop is alfalfa which is also known to be an excellent supplier of protein. So could alfalfa be the solution as a forage crop that performs well in a hotter climate?

Just as we know that cows without metabolic disorders consume more feed than cows with metabolic disorders, the reverse is equally true: A high feed intake reduces the risk of metabolic problems. So feed intake is critical in dairy cows, and this is where we should focus our attention. There is a close correlation between feed intake and the physical (structure, digestibility) and physiological (production of volatile fatty acids) filling of the digestive tract.

High-performance forage legumes are especially important in organic cropping systems where clover is a vital source of nutrients and soil fertility – in fact, it is regarded as the main driver of crop rotation.

Researchers in Asendorf near Bremen have spent the past few years working hard on the development of seed technology. Their aim was to better exploit the potential of high-quality seed. Now in 2017, DSV Deutsche Saatveredelung AG offers a new range of additives under the new DynaSeed brand – a formulation that provides a dynamic boost to plant development processes and thus ensures greater environmental stability. For farmers, this means greater reliability and in the case of alfalfa, higher yields.

Sustainability and productivity in grassland management.

All dairy farmers want higher milk yields from their forage. But this entails increased levels of grassland fertilisation. Fertiliser planning has to take account of factors such as field location, soil type, water supply and management intensity. Individual German federal states issue official fertiliser recommendations which take into consideration different local conditions.

If unwanted grasses and weeds have increased to cover 40 to 50% of a patch of grassland, reseeding is recommended. Many farm managers are wrongly put off by the relatively high investment of between 350 and 500 Euros per hectare, depending on the method. But these investments quickly turn to profit through considerably higher yields and qualities, which in turn lead to higher milk yields.