“These results, that have been produced annually for the past 10 years, are increasingly important as our livestock producers look to maximise feed quality from home grown forages,” says Limagrain’s forage crop manager Martin Titley. “They can see the advantages in using the latest varieties that, for the same growing costs, offer agronomic benefits and improved feed quality.”
The trial results also include results specific to the crop and identify advantages of certain varieties over others. “For example, it’s important to highlight the percent of the root that is in the ground and the dirt tare in fodder beet varieties. And in the case of stubble turnips, growers need to know the relative disease resistance of each variety. The leaf to stem ratio is important in kale varieties too.”
He encourages livestock producers to take advantage of the information that is available free of charge from Limagrain or directly off the web site. “Fodder beet costs £1460 a hectare to grow but there is 14% difference in dry matter yield between the worst performing variety and the new variety Tarine,” adds Mr Titley. The digestibility values in kale varieties vary by 5.5% and the best performing swede variety Gowrie has a dry matter yield 18% above the control variety. So it is worth referring to the data and making wise choices based on UK trial data”
Limagrain’s latest Forage Crops Trial Results Guide for 2016 includes data for nine different forage crop species, to suit different land types, nutritional requirements and management systems. The booklet is available from Emily Short on 01472 370117 or emily.short@limagrain.co.uk or by downloading a copy from www.lgseeds.co.uk/tarine
