Friday January 10, 2014

Day 36..

We are still waiting for our Friday timetable to be resolved following the departure of our teacher for the grassland, crop and soil topics that we study on a Friday, so today we started with our remaining mechanical theory lesson after a swap on Wednesday!

In our lamma field trip groups we spent the lesson doing some initial research on our classroom assignment. Mandy and myself (Harry was absent today) looked through the exhibitor list for the show and made a list of those we wish to visit on the day. In addition, we gathered bits of information to help with our introduction on our subject - GPS/automated steering systems.

We were then introduced to Gill, who will now be teaching us our grassland management module, and she got straight underway by recapping the various types of pasture; permanent, rough grazing and rotational. 70% of UK land is farmed so it is essential that as a farmer you maintain good grassland management. Grassland is predominantly used for grazing livestock and for conservation purposes, and ultimately it is the climate - warmth and amount of moisture, determining the enterprise choice, for example with a good amount of rainfall typical to the west, grass grows well and much of the land is used to graze sheep.

Meanwhile, conservation of grassland is significant, as animals would not survive as well if they were to graze all year round. Grass stops growing when the temperature drops below 5 degrees, therefore in the winter months the nutritional value decreases and supplementary feeding is required to maintain the health of the animal. Therefore conserving grass, in the form of silage and hay for example, will mean that adequate intake is being provided.

Part of managing grass growth is to ensure the soil contains all the nutrients it needs, and should you need to re-seed, then asses what you are trying to achieve - ensuring that you use the right mixture of grass seeds. For example, sheep nibble at the grass and therefore require shorter growing grass, while cows eat grass with their tongue, and so they require longer growing grass to maximise intake.

The productive capacity of grassland is limited by the following factors: climate, soil, sward damage, species mix and topography - the detailed mapping of the surface features of land!