07.07.06
Grassland Challenge Demonstration Day – Wednesday 26th July 2006

Practical ways of reducing the costs of grass and forage production along with options for environmental stewardship schemes will be the main focus of an Open Day at Duchy College on Wednesday 26th July 2006.

The main topics for the day will be wildlife/environmental scheme seed mixtures, a white clover/PRG demonstration, soil protection, reduced cost weed control in maize crops and speaking out for the industry with LEAF. The red clover sward, now in its 3rd harvest year, will be available for inspection and there will be information on the protein crops previously grown.

With the introduction of the Environmental Scheme (ELS, HLS, OELS) there are several options available for sowing wildlife seed mixtures, ranging from those for wild birds to beetle banks. Nine such mixtures have been sown at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland, Callington, on set-aside land, some with more success than others, with a view to showing farmers, advisers and others some of the many choices available. The RSPB will also be present on the day to offer their advice on wild birds.

White clover is classified into three different leaf size groups: small, medium and large. Small is generally suitable for intensive sheep grazing systems, whilst large leaved clovers make a greater contribution towards under lenient grazing or conservation, but are less persistent when grazed hard. The larger leaved varieties are less likely to suffer competition from grass when nitrogen fertiliser is applied. Medium leaved clovers fall between the other two groups in terms of their persistence and yield. Demonstration plots of the three different leaf size groups and a mixture of the three have been sown with perennial ryegrass in order to assist farmers with selecting the right clover variety for their particular system. Four annual nitrogen application rates are being used: 0 kg N/ha (0 units/acre), 50 kg N/ha (40 units/acre), 250 kg N/ha (200 units/acre) and 400 kg N/ha (320 units/acre).

There will also be a demonstration of the IGER work on the best practices for applying slurries and farmyard manures in order to maximise the usage of the nutrients contained therein. Carrying out best practice can save fertiliser costs of up to £40 ha (£16 acre) for first cut silage alone.

Representatives from the various seed, fertiliser, agrochemical and feed firms sponsoring the demonstration will be available for impartial technical advice, as will the Grassland Challenge team.

Tours (duration 2 hours) will take place in the morning and the afternoon, with a light lunch at 1 pm. The site will be signposted from the A388 Callington - Launceston Road. In order to help with catering numbers please contact the Grassland Challenge office on 01579 372295.

For further information please contact Paul Ward, project manager at Grassland Challenge on 01579 372315.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Grassland Challenge project through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).

Editor's notes:

Grassland Challenge is a partnership project led by Duchy College on behalf of the Cornish Grassland Societies in association with the Institute of Grassland & Environmental Research (IGER), aiming to improve the competitiveness of grassland and forage producers in Cornwall through technology transfer and dissemination of best practice. This project is part financed by Objective One European Agricultural Guidance & Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and Defra and is supported by Cornwall Farmers Limited and their suppliers.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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