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Agricultural Trials |
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Barenbrug UK has a comprehensive and extensive UK trials programme with three sites replicating the differing conditions and climates experienced by UK livestock producers. The latest site is Cropvale, between Pershore and Evesham with its longer growing season, and greater disease and drought stress in summer. Cropvale is being used to screen new material from Barenbrug Holland and Barenbrug France, together from our operation in New Zealand - Agriseeds. In addition we are testing mixtures and species, like tall fescue, westerwolds and vetches, which are outside the UK National List system. Our Scottish site is part of the SAC National and Recommended List trials at Blackburn NW of Aberdeen. Here we are screening trials of varieties and species, particularly suited to the Scottish market. Material from Barenbrug Holland, Boreal Finland, DvP Belgium as well as AFBI is on trial. To succeed at Aberdeen, varieties must have very good spring growth, as the longer winter means that grass starts growing later in the spring and stops earlier in the Autumn. The site has a short growing season and harder winters than our third site at Loughgall. We are also using the site to develop, new improved mixtures for Scottish conditions, by doing yield and seasonal growth trials on different varietal permutations in the same mixtures. The oldest of our trials sites is at Loughgall where alongside our collaboration with AFBI we have a programme that has been central to bringing over 20 varieties to market that are playing a significant role in providing farmers with varieties that are top for exceptional spring growth, palatability, disease resistance and digestibility. The main advantage of Loughgall is the very long growing season with no limiting factors i.e. plenty of moisture, very little frost and varieties can express their full growth and yield potential. Loughgall also produces breeders’ seed and screens material from Barenbrug and other breeders. All three sites are helping speed up the process of entering material onto the National Lists. They also allow us to trial minor species that could have an increasingly important role in tackling the effects of climate change and the need for even better disease resistance. For further information on the three sites go to... Autumn 2011 reportAgricultural product manager David Long explains how the varied rainfall that we have had in the UK this year, has not only affected yields but the actual make-up of the sward. He advises farmers who are short of fodder to look at alternatives. Rainfall really has split country in twoThe UK is split into two areas, those who have had enough rainfall, and in some cases too much, and those that haven't. The north and west have had adequate rainfall this year and stocks of forage are plentiful, whereas the south and east are short of moisture and consequently short of forage. Looking at the rainfall for the areas around the three Barenbrug trial sites over the main growing season, from beginning of March to the end of August, there are some dramatic differences. Not surprisingly the wettest area is that surrounding the Aberdeen site, where the total rainfall was 769mm, 108 percent of the five-year mean. Loughgall had 434mm, 84 percent of the five-year mean, but still sufficient to maintain good grass growth. Conversely Cropvale had 225mm, a mere 60 percent of the five-year mean and low enough to put plants under severe drought stress. These differences underline again the importance of testing all potential varieties in a wide spread of locations. The weather, and particularly rainfall, can affect swards, not just total yields but the proportion of different grasses within the sward. I have had several comments about the strength and dominance of Timothy in swards, particularly in the south west of Scotland, an area which has had the wettest growing season in 10 years. Timothy is a species that thrives in these conditions, whereas in very wet conditions ryegrasses may struggle. David Long For further information on the three sites go to... |
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