Farming: Let them eat grass, livestock farmers told

Farmers are wasting the potential of grass by poor management, members of the North of Scotland Grassland Society were told at their annual meeting at Thainstone Centre, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Independent grassland consultant Charlie Morgan said only 50 per cent of grass grown in the UK reached animals as a feed compared with 67 per cent in New Zealand and a potential of 70-75 per cent if it was properly managed.

Mr Morgan said: "Farmers need to up their game by optimising the potential of grass, which is by far the cheapest feed available, especially now that cereal prices have gone through the roof.

"It is more important than ever to exploit the full potential of grass. You cannot afford not to, given the high price of cereals."

Every 1p per kg increase in the cost of dry matter adds 48 to the cost of keeping a suckler cow, 80 for a dairy cow, 48 for a 20-month-old steer and 6 for a ewe and lambs, he said.

"These figures highlight the savings that can be made by maximising the performance of animals at grass or on forage to keep feed costs down."

One of the key factors was the better management of soils to ensure the correct nutrients were available to achieve good grass growth.

"It is vital that soil chemistry is maintained at the target level for optimum grass growth," he said. "Only about 10 per cent of farmers carry out regular soil testing. How do you know what your soil needs, and what savings could be made, if you don't test the soil to see what you have? You have to start by testing the soil to know where you are."

Lime was the most important investment a farmer could make in order to keep pH levels high, he said. It was also important to keep the soil structure open and free-draining.

"There is about 10 tonnes per hectare of nutrients available in the soil but it's no good if the plants can't reach it because of compaction or water-logging," he pointed out.