Report Seeding mixtures, Feed science and forage production
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Course
Animal Sciences
Institution
Animal Sciences
Well written and detailled group report. Describes different ley strategies and seeding mixtures for different requirements. Including description of characteristics of each chosen species. Exercise is part of the course feed science and forage production in the Master program Animal science.
1. Dairy farm in south-western Sweden (Halland). High-yielding cows (herd average
11 000 kg ECM cow-1). No maize in the feeding ration. Conventional production
with high inputs of nitrogen to the ley crop. The ley is conserved as silage and is
grazed in late summer.
We chose a total of 20-22 kgs of seed mixture.
For the mixture we decided on the following composition:
Reasons for the chosen species are mainly based on the climatic constraints and quality
targets according to the milk yield of the herd.
The dairy farm is located in south western Sweden, with a lot of precipitation and compared
to the rest of Sweden a quite long vegetation period. Therefore, we made sure to choose
species that can tolerate water-logged soils and stand the Swedish winter.
Furthermore, the lay provides feed for high-yielding cows, with a herd average of 11 000 kg
ECM/cow and they don´t feed maize for additional energy. So we need a high yielding lay
with a very good quality and energy. The feeding strategy consists of silage and a grazing
period in late summer. Due to the beneficial location and need for high yields, the lay is cut in
the first two years three times plus a grazing period. In the third year, when the lay is
probably already exhausted due to the intense use, there will be only two cuts and a grazing
period in late summer. The determining factor here will mainly be the perennial ryegrass,
which will decrease too much after three intensive years of harvesting.
Species that can fulfil these yield and energy requirements are for example perennial ryegrass
with one of the highest yields and quality compared to other lay species.
These conditions led us to the decision on a seed mixture with white clover, meadow fescue
and perennial ryegrass.
White clover because we have a grazing period and it is very good for grazing because it has
many growing points and can be cut at a very low point. It is also able to close gaps in the
lay.
, Additionally, it can deal with the high amount of precipitation we expect. The root system is
shallow and the species is well suited to areas with high rainfall, which suits the site. White
clover has slow establishment, but an early first harvest favours growth, which we do as we
aim for good nutritional value in the feed.
There are differences in leaf size between the current white clover varieties in Sweden;
varieties with "small", "medium" and "large" leaves. The small-leaved white clover is well
suited for continuous grazing and is traditionally used in pastures throughout Sweden. The
varieties with medium and large leaves are so tall that they are also suitable for silage
paddocks with an early first harvest, especially in long-term lay in southern Sweden.
We decided on the variety Bombus, which is large-leaved and well suited for mowing, but
also for grazing. It is one of the most high-yielding varieties, but is superior to all varieties at
later harvests, indicating a particularly strong regrowth capacity. Bombus has a high dry
matter content but low crude protein content, but hopefully the protein content from the grass
and the addition of nitrogen will compensate.
Meadow fescue is very well adapted to the Swedish climate as it has a good overwintering
capacity and is a good companion to white clover. It establishes fast and has a very good
regrowth, which allows many cuts and grazing periods, like we need for the high yields.
Thanks to its relatively good regrowth capacity and low sensitivity to trampling, meadow
fescue is a valuable component in both pasture and hayfields where the regrowth is grazed. In
terms of hardiness and total yield, the species is slightly inferior to timothy. However,
meadow fescue is more suitable than timothy in three-crop systems, e.g. in mixtures with
alfalfa or white clover. The straw strength of meadow fescue is relatively weak.
We decided for meadow fescue on the indicator variety in Götaland (where the farm of our
case is located), Tored (LM). It is a meadow fescue variety on the Swedish variety list and
has been extensively tested in official trials since 2009. Tored has a high total yield in both
the first and second crop year in Götaland and regrowth has been very high. Alternatively, we
could have chosen Baltas, which is also high-yielding but is earlier than Tored and is less
compatible with the late Ryegrass variety Inducius we chose.
For the perennial ryegrass we chose Indicus, a diploid early variety.
The benefits of this perennial ryegrass in general are definitely the very high production
capacity, yields and quality (best energy value), even though it brings some risks due to the
less good winter survival and cold tolerance. However, we minimise this risk by choosing a
diploid variety. It is a good companion to white clover, which you can find in our mixture as
well. As it is also fast growing, English ryegrass should be harvested and/or grazed at least 3-
4 times per season, as we intend to. In addition, it overwinters better with young shoots than
with older ones.
We decided on an early ryegrass since we want a long period of harvest.
We decided on a diploid variety because it is best suitable for grazing due to denser tillering
(more shoots per area) and a production of a denser and more wear and trample-resistant
sward. It seems that the diploid varieties have an advantage in areas where the climate brings
relatively low temperatures at hardening off in autumn and then has a relatively mild and
rainy winter.
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