| Grassland
Major tanker aids in
Plan grazing to make the
promoting grass growth most from grass
To ensure compliance with environmental regulations and
get the most from his slurry, Powys farmer Gary Orrells
purchased a Major 2300 Alpine tanker with a 6.4m trailing
shoe system from local dealer Teme Valley Tractors Ltd.
he Major tanker is
part of our
approach to
providing nutrition
to the grass while
being more in
touch with the environment,” he
says. In just a few months of use,
the 2,300-gallon tanker and trailing
shoe system has confirmed to Mr
Orrells the benefits of this method
of placing slurry. “The accuracy of
spread is excellent,” he says, “the
grass receives the nutrient right
where it needs it and does not
coat the leaves, preventing grass
growth. We can do the 2nd and
3rd cut of silage with no problems
of grass contamination.”
T
The tanker and trailing shoe
system are good for suppressing
odours from fields, allowing a
wider application window to get
slurry down when the grass needs
it. “We really like the dropped axle
on the Alpine tanker,” says Mr
Orrells, “as it allows us to access
areas of our farm that we wouldn’t
dream of bringing any other slurry
tanker.”
Mr Orrells believes his
investment in the Major tanker and
trailing shoe is a long term sound
investment for his farm’s
sustainable future. For more
information visit www.major-
equipment.com
26 | Farming Monthly | May 2017
Beef producers could learn a lot from their dairy
counterparts by making better use of grass, and
substantially improve profitability as a result. Grazed grass
costs just £57/t of dry matter, according to AHDB figures,
compared with up to £140/t for a 16% protein cattle ration
– and visitors to the Grassland & Muck Event can find out
how to make the most of this low cost feed.
peakers in the
popular forum
programme
include Matt
House – who has
switched the beef
herd to rotational grazing at
Bowden Farms, Templecombe,
Somerset. “Dairy farmers have
been utilising grass to the
maximum for years, but the beef
industry has been slower to take
this up,” he says. “There are low
returns in the beef sector, so we
need to do something different to
cut our costs.”
Mr House is taking part in
AHDB Beef & Lamb’s ‘beef from
grass’ project, which has involved
soil sampling and setting up a
nutrient management plan on the
farm. He has switched to year-
round rotational grazing, moving
S
the cows every 24-48 hours. He
monitors grass growth on a weekly
basis, using the data to generate a
growth and demand profile.
“This allows us to make the best
use of the grass, whether for
grazing or conservation,” he says.
“Moving to a year-round grazing
system has been a steep learning
curve but has saved on feed, fuel
and labour and is the best thing I
could have done.”
Of course, it’s not just beef
producers who can make more of
their grass: There is plenty of room
for dairy farmers to boost
efficiencies too. Kingshay data
highlights that the top 25% of dairy
producers achieve 2,530 litres per
cow more from forage than the
bottom quartile.
Either way, the same grass
management principles apply,
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