Bar Tech Summer 2021

1. Boost and maintain soil pH

Appropriate pH allows for better soil health. Healthy soils have a more diverse ecosystem of flora and fauna and are more efficient at cycling nutrients and have the potential to sequester more carbon. Healthy soils promote healthier plants and higher yields which in turn promotes healthier livestock and improved production.

2. Keep on top of soil structure

• Avoiding compacted soils improves water infiltration and reduces the risk of flooding, run off and erosion. It also allows better soil microorganism functionality and in turn better nutrient efficiency meaning less waste.
• Soils with good structure allow for more grazing or working days from the field meaning a longer growing season. Grass yield can be improved which again, in turn, allows for more meat or milk per hectare to be produced.

3. Sow white clover

• Utilising white clover has both direct and indirect benefits in relation to nitrogen (N) fertiliser. Directly, because it can fix up to 150kg N /ha / annum, it can allow for less artificial N applications to be used, reducing the risk of environmental impact from volatilisation, run off or leaching. Indirectly, as fertiliser manufacture has high carbon footprint, reducing the volume you use has a positive impact on the carbon footprint of your business.
• Including white clover in a sward compared to grass alone will improve sward digestibility, intakes and forage protein which is good for livestock production. White clover is also an excellent source of food for bees and is inexpensive to add to a grass mix. The seeds are small so a little can go a long way.

4. Consider other forages

• Having a broad range of crops and varieties on the farm boosts the levels of biodiversity within the whole farm ecosystem both above and below the soil for both plant and animal life. A broad range of root structures improves soil structure and organic matter, aid water infiltration in periods of high rainfall and gives better resilience in times of drought.
• Other legumes such as red clover or lucerne will provide a home-grown source of protein for livestock diets reducing demand on often imported protein sources such as soya. Legumes also fix atmospheric nitrogen for the current crop (and companion crop if applicable) and will provide residual nitrogen for the subsequent crop following incorporation.
• Forage herbs provide a range of dietary benefits including higher trace element, higher proteins and anthelmintic properties, all of which can lead to improved welfare, reduced vert/med costs and improved productivity.

5. Keep your grass young

The global demand for food is continuing to increase but so is the demand for setting areas aside for public good. Keeping grass young and productive makes the operation much more efficient. A productive, efficient system automatically has less waste and low waste is a sign of lower environmental impact. If we can produce more food from the same area. We will satisfy the demand for food whilst allowing other areas to be used for public good.

With harvest well underway across the UK our network of farmer partners, covering over 3,000ha, have also been busy harvesting grass for seed alongside their cereal harvests. 

Across the agriculture varieties, the network have harvested most of our Italian & Hybrid species and have made a start on the Intermediate Diploid varieties. The localised rains are causing issues in harvesting but the weather next week looks more settled so we expect to make better progress. The lack of sunshine during the key growing season has meant yields are average but we expect to see a strong final yield for harvest 2021.