rough grazing to dairy grass

pathway33

Is it possible to improve rough grazing (plenty of rushes) to good grazing for dairy cows through reseeding?

leg wax

pathway33 wrote: »

Is it possible to improve rough grazing (plenty of rushes) to good grazing for dairy cows through reseeding?

if you have to ask this question ,you should not be in dairying for the long term:rolleyes:

pathway33

leg wax wrote: »

if you have to ask this question ,you should not be in dairying for the long term:rolleyes:

mmmm i'll rephrase my question. How good can you make a really bad field?

reilig

pathway33 wrote: »

mmmm i'll rephrase my question. How good can you make a really bad field?

Reseeding you can definitely improve the land. You will definitely get rid of the rushes, have earlier grass with much more clover. If you reseed meadows, you will definitely have better quality silage.

If it is bad land, I would definitely think about a min. till method of reseeding rather than ploughing. I sprayed and powerharowed bad land and reseeded and it worked a treat.

pathway33

reilig wrote: »

If it is bad land, I would definitely think about a min. till method of reseeding rather than ploughing. I sprayed and powerharowed bad land and reseeded and it worked a treat.

So if i was buying 20 acres, I might be as well to pay €4000 - €5000 an acre for bad land and improve it myself rather than pay €10,000 an acre for good land

reilig

pathway33 wrote: »

So if i was buying 20 acres, I might be as well to pay €4000 - €5000 an acre for bad land and improve it myself rather than pay €10,000 an acre for good land

I did not say that.

If you're buying land, buy the best that you can afford. While reseeding and drainage can improve bad land, there is no magic way of turning it into "good" land.

Bad land will usually have a shallow depth of soil and poor drainage. This is why it grows rushes - they need a damp soil to grow. Reseeding does 2 things, it puts in new seed. Also, it tills the soil which allows air through it, drys it out and most often stops the rushes from growing. But this man made and these soils compact again and become saturated. Good land soaks water, has less compaction, dries out easier and grows less rushes and better grass in the long term.

Keeperlit

pathway33 wrote: »

So if i was buying 20 acres, I might be as well to pay €4000 - €5000 an acre for bad land and improve it myself rather than pay €10,000 an acre for good land

If you can afford to go that wee bit extra for the good ground there is no question but its the land you should go for....also the poor ground by your description could be lacking in minerals and despite all your best efforts your animals will never thrive as well as on free draining mineral rich soils.

pathway33

Many thanks for the replies. Well I need 16 acres (so that I can build agricultural sheds which are exempt from planning) and I can spend €100,000 so if I can get the best land I can for €6,000 per acre I can be working on improving it after that.

Edit: I have yet to establish if the 16 acres can be rented (this may satisfy the planning authority with regard to minimum acreage for exempt buildings) because that would mean I could say buy 10 acres of good land. In fact I wouldn't mind renting the whole lot but my concern is that if its only a yearly rental I will be stuck for somewhere to put the cattle over the winter and I will have to sell them and buy new stock in March when I rent new different land.

Many thanks

Bitten & Hisses

a 16-acre dairy farm won't be commercially viable

pathway33

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

a 16-acre dairy farm won't be commercially viable

won't be in dairying until 2015 due to milk quota. Will be milking cows and feeding the milk to calves until 2015. Each cow should feed 8 calves over 9 months. can be renting more acreage as I get nearer to 2015 and have saved a bit more from main job.

adne

pathway33 wrote: »

So if i was buying 20 acres, I might be as well to pay €4000 - €5000 an acre for bad land and improve it myself rather than pay €10,000 an acre for good land

The Only way you will have good land long term is to buy good land :P

reilig

I had a similar situation in 2003. Renting was sufficient for me to satisfy the planning. It may bhave changed by now though.

pathway33 wrote: »

Many thanks for the replies. Well I need 16 acres (so that I can build agricultural sheds which are exempt from planning) and I can spend €100,000 so if I can get the best land I can for €6,000 per acre I can be working on improving it after that.

Edit: I have yet to establish if the 16 acres can be rented (this may satisfy the planning authority with regard to minimum acreage for exempt buildings) because that would mean I could say buy 10 acres of good land. In fact I wouldn't mind renting the whole lot but my concern is that if its only a yearly rental I will be stuck for somewhere to put the cattle over the winter and I will have to sell them and buy new stock in March when I rent new different land.

Many thanks