HF Seeds England - dlf-trifolium

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Grass and Fodder Crops I N T R O D U C T I O N Although HF Seeds can trace its roots back for over a century, the actual HF brand was first introduced to Scottish farmers in the 1960’s. Originally launched as ‘Hi-Farming’ and abbreviated over the years, HF has earned its rightful place as one of the UK’s leading seed brands and is synonymous with the highest seed quality, the very best varieties and unrivalled performance in terms of productive and palatable grass swards. in DLF Trifolium having significantly more grass and clover varieties on UK Recommended Lists than any of its competitors. This strong position and technical approach transfers directly to HF Seeds and throughout its long history the HF brand has always been at the forefront of developments in grass seed technology. Whether it is the introduction of a new and improved variety, the development of a new mixture to meet a specific need or simply widening the availability of organic grass seed, HF’s reputation for turning innovation into sound agricultural practice is second to none. The HF total quality philosophy goes much further than just varieties and mixture trials however, and extends as far as the farm gate and the end user. All HF products are backed by a country-wide network of in-house seed specialists and experienced distributors who are capable of offering technical help and advice on all aspects of mixture selection and establishment. The HF brand has become an integral part of Scotland’s farming community and is recognised the length and breadth of the country with recycled bags finding a new use at Brora Primary School in Sutherland. Now part of DLF Trifolium, one of the world’s largest grass seed companies, HF Seeds has access to greater technical and commercial resources than ever before. Based in Denmark, where the coastal climate is particularly well suited to producing grass seed, DLF Trifolium has over 100 years experience in plant breeding and seed production and currently has Europe’s largest research and development programme to breed new and improved grass and clover varieties. This commitment to producing new genetic material to meet the challenges of modern agriculture has resulted Modern trialling techniques and hi-tech machinery ensure that both yield and forage quality are maintained in HF mixtures. Contents 3 Mixture Design 4 Seed Quality 5-7 The Clover Story 8 Advanced Grasses TM 9 Triple Crown 10-11 HF Varieties 12 Mixture Selector 13 Producing Forage in 2013 14-20 The Mixtures 21-23 Overseeding 24-25 High Clover Mixtures 26-27 Organics 28 Forage Herbs 29-31 Root and Fodder Crops 2
Grass and Fodder Crops M I X T U R E D E S I G N Good grass mixture design begins with the assessment of individual variety characteristics and then uses this information to combine the mixture components in different proportions to produce the best possible mixture for the intended purpose of the final sward. The characteristics required in a sward and the emphasis placed upon them, depend entirely on the use to which the sward will be put. For example the early bite required for an early lambing flock will be a positive disadvantage for dairy turnout in late April and the open sward the organic farmer needs for clover survival will not suit intensive grazing on wet, heavy land. Many of the different sward characteristics included in HF design are listed below n n n n n n n n n n n n Total annual and seasonal yield Maturity and heading date Sward purpose and management regime The need for early spring growth Overall sugar yield Forage quality and digestibility Animal intake factors including sward structure and palatability Clover content Disease resistance Sward density Persistency Winter hardiness Maximising grass yields has always been and continues to be, a mainstay of HF mixture design and with modern varieties on 2013 UK Recommended Lists showing up to 15% yield increases over controls, huge yield and financial benefits can be obtained by including the very best varieties in grass seed mixtures. Independent assessment of HF swards have shown that 5 – 10% yield increases are perfectly achievable by using the best varieties and simple arithmetic at 2013 prices can convert this into a clear and substantial gain of around £10 per acre per year for each 1% of additional yield. Thus the yield benefits shown by modern HF varieties like Seagoe and Kintyre Perennial Ryegrasses, translate into financial gains of £50 to £100 per acre each year or up to £500 over the life of a five year ley. Although yield is of crucial importance the achievement of top quality and palatable forage also makes a huge difference to animal performance. Consequently HF mixture design must also take into account the many factors which ultimately affect forage quality ranging from D-value and growth habit right through to sugar content and disease resistance. The benefit of high D-value forage is clearly recognised by most farmers and independent trials have shown that on average, each additional unit of D-value produces an extra 1.5% more milk, 5% extra LWG in beef cattle and up to 10% extra LWG in sheep. In financial terms these benefits translate into each additional unit of D-value being worth £15 per acre per year in terms of the additional meat or milk produced. HF’s emphasis on quality and the use of the highest D-value varieties ensures excellent digestibility of the forage in the final sward and improved animal performance as a result. Many other factors must be included in the assessment of overall forage quality and results of pioneering trial work on rumen health and performance have shown that the huge emphasis placed on sugar content in recent years and in particular on Water Soluble Carbohydrate (WSC), may not provide the full picture. Clearly, a high sugar content is important as it influences forage palatability and consequently animal intake. It also allows rapid fermentation in the silage pit thereby enhancing the quality and feeding value of the conserved crop. The latest trial work, however, has shown that it is the form in which the sugar occurs in the forage that is important and that slowly digestible carbohydrates are much more valuable to rumen health and function than quickly digested Water Soluble Carbohydrates. Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) is the slowly digestible part of carbohydrates in plants and there is clear evidence that a high NDF content in forage stimulates the rumen function, stabilises pH and has a beneficial effect on the digestion process. Armed with this new nutritional information on feed performance and the beneficial effect that NDF and cell wall digestibility has on rumen health, coupled with detailed knowledge about the yields and the other important agronomic characters of individual grass varieties, HF Seeds has been able to introduce the TRIPLE CROWN quality index system. Three years of extensive trials have further consolidated the value of this unique and advanced assessment system which provides a robust, credible and effective measure of all round variety performance. The TRIPLE CROWN quality assessment technique is explained in more detail on page 9 but it indicates top variety scores in all the important characters which influence animal performance. ‘Other than breeding Simmental heifers, we finish all the calves from our own 140 suckler cows and we also buy in additional stores. High quality silage and grazing is very important to us as the bulls fatten at just over a year and the heifers only a few months later. Quality silage is started in the last days of May, which is early for the north of Scotland, followed by a good 2nd cut in July. In 2012 we were lucky with the weather and the silage is superb. We have been improving some nearby land and have found that HF mixtures consistently perform well for us giving us 2 big cuts of silage and plenty of aftermath grazing to wean over 400 lambs on to.’ Robert Manson, Brodieshill Farm, Alves, Forres, Morayshire (Seed supplied by Scotgrain Agriculture Ltd) 3
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HF Seeds England - dlf-trifolium

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