Dairy Event 2010: Managing home-grown crops

Do the maths and plenty of research before committing to growing your own protein.

Fluctuating prices and cheap imports can still make it cheaper to buy in, plus several of the higher protein crops are site and climate specific. More than anything, be honest about your own competence.

You can risk your whole winter forage if you forget to spray at the critical time, warns Nickerson’s Simon Broddel. He says producers should first decide whether protein is needed in concentrate or forage form, then commit just a small acreage. Try red clover in a ryegrass ley, for a reliable 18% protein forage, or adding peas to enhance a wholecrop. The lucerne and triticale mixes are for the die-hard enthusiasts.

Crops such as lupins, lucerne and soya have struggled in the UK climate, adds Oliver Seeds’ Rod Bonshor. Even the more traditional crops such as peas can be tricky to establish when subjected to a long cold spring, when they prefer a warm, moist seed-bed. “There is a clear east/west divide. The east has the light soils and drier climate to suit growing protein crops, but livestock are based in the west,” he explains.

That is why there is no substitute for a bit of investigation, speaking to neighbours and seedhouses to find out what’s suitable for your farm, says consultant Tom Tolputt of the Farm Consultancy Group. “There is a lot of innovation out there. For instance, grazing tends to kill lucerne which is why it is usually ensiled or made into hay. But there is a new variety that can be grazed offering 22-24% protein.”

Another important point is that as most protein crops are legumes, their low sugar content makes them harder to ensile. They either need an additive, or the correct ratio of companion crop such as grass or a cereal. Finally, don’t forget that forage rape or brassicas are high in protein, says Mr Bonshor. “The leaf can be 18% protein. Forage crops are fast growing in a dry year and can be grazed within eight weeks of sowing. We tend to find in grazing trials that livestock go for the leaf first, then the bulb.”