Choose traditional grass species for sheep

Profitable sheep farming depends on having good, nutritious grass growth throughout the year - with plenty in spring post-lambing, in summer for growing lambs and in autumn for flushing ewes.

However, recent moves towards the latest high-yielding perennial ryegrasses may not be appropriate for flock owners, according to Rod Bonshor, general manager for Oliver Seeds.

“Perennial ryegrass is a fantastic plant, but the high growth peak through April and May can be tricky to manage, and in dry summers it can stop growing all together,” he says. “Under excessive rainfall and flooding it can be killed.”

Lambs grazing Landmark Extreme with festulolium, cocksfoot and timothy

Wider grass family

One way to avoid these extremes is to look at the wider grass family, and select species that grow at different times of the year and can perform on adverse sites.

Timothy and Meadow Fescue both start growing early in the year, and keep going well into the autumn. They are good on heavy soils and will stand short periods of immersion, while also coping well in dry spells. They are more winter hardy than ryegrasses.

Cocksfoot is another traditional species seeing a bit of resurgence. Deep roots give it good anchorage and drought tolerance and it also survives hard winters. It exhibits excellent early spring and summer growth.

Festulolium

The newest species proving particularly useful in stress-prone sheep fields is Festulolium – a range of crosses between different types of fescue and ryegrasses. Originally conceived to cope with Mediterranean conditions, they have proven to be very effective in the UK.

This article first appeared in GRASS & FORAGE FARMER Spring 2016