Description
- Grass measurement for sheep grazing
- Grass-measuring using the grass-hopper and uploading onto pasturebase
- Better management of grass, increase utilisation levels, grow more grass
- Working to increase amount of lamb produced from grass
- Increasing amount of grass grown and utilised through measuring and managing
- Economic results
- Focusing on higher production and/or lower costs
Reason for the innovation
Maximise amount of lamb produced from grass
- Grazing management system
- Manage grass and increase utilisation levels
- Grass-hopper, Pasturebase
Farm description
Environment
- Soil type: Clay-loam
- Climate type: temperate oceanic climate
- Altitude: Variation across the farm (250m)
- Slope: Variation across farm (25%)
- Agricultural area (ha UAA): 90 grazing
- Arable land area (ha): 9
- Permanent grassland area (ha): 90
- Average stocking rate (agriculture area) (LU/ha UAA): 2.8
- Average growth performance per head (kg LWG/day): 250 grams
Grassland management
- Grazing: Yes
- Grazing management type: Rotational
Structure
- Farm type: Specialist sheep
- Annual work units (AWU): 1.5
- Main animal type: Sheep
- Number of animals (heads): 1200 ewes
- Breed type 1: Texel*Belclare
- Breed type 2: Texel and charolais terminal rams
- Agricultural Area : 90 ha UAA
- Length of grazing period: 310 days
- Fertilization rate (kg N/ha): 130
Why it is working
- Increasing amount of grass grown and utilised through measuring and managing grass
- Working to increase amount of lamb produced from grass
- Maximise output per hectare
- Quality grass all year round
- Reducing cost of production
