Grassland Seminar 2008
Tuesday 30th September
Craxton Wood Hotel, Cheshire
Presentations from the day's proceedings:
Challenges & Opportunities facing the Dairy Industry
Matt Sheehan, Dairy Farmers of Britain
The day started with a clear appraisal of some of the challenges facing the industry - poor consumer perception and the declining dairy farmer base. Matt followed this up with an outline of the opportunities that may be implemented to move the UK industry forward - primarily that collaboration provides access to capital, knowledge and management skill.
Challenges & Opportunities Facing the Dairy Industry 
(2982kb)
Implications of the Nitrates Directive
John Morgan, Creedy Associates
With the proposed regulations laid before parliament it is time to consider the implications of the Nitrates Directive. John made no apology for the number of slides, the devil is in the detail, and he demonstrated that aside from the storage capacity requirements and farm limits there ought to be opportunities to use the regulations to improve grassland management.
Implications of the Nitrates Directive (1354kb)
The Value of Grass
Huw Powell, IBERS
Huw outlined a range of good and sensible grassland management practises, particularly with regard to the value of reseeding, adding clover, or considering new herbage varieties according to utilisation. As well as outlining the practical benefits to the livestock business he also set out the economic improvements that may be gained.
Temporarily unavailable
Milk from Grass
David Munday, Creedy Associates & Dairy farmer
In the first of the practical descriptions of real farm businesses David showed how his cows produced nearly 5000 litres of milk from forage, with a system based on grazed grass and maize silage. An advocate of sound nutrient planning he also demonstrated how muck was no longer a waste product that was a hassle to dispose of but a useful source of nutrients, providing valuable P & K.
Milk From Grass (1180kb)
Optimising Grassland Nutrition - use it or lose it?
Elaine Jewkes, Grassland Specialist, GrowHow UK
It really is as simple as A B C, or in nutrient terms - pH, N P K & S. Elaine's paper highlighted why it is important to balance the supply of nutrients for optimum grass growth, quality and environmental benefit.
Optimising Grassland Nutrition - use ot lose it? (1899kb)
Optimising Production, Dairy
Clive Gurney, Abbey Court Farm, Herefordshire
Clive outlined the business and lifestyle principles that guide activities on Abbey Court Farm. Clive is also a member of the Grassright Group, an initiative in which information and advice will be made available to farmers to help ensure the full profit potential of their grass is realised.
Optimising production, Dairy (2223kb)
Optimising Production, Beef
Mike Powley, Elm House Farm, N Yorkshire
Mike provided a thoughtful insight into his business and a passionate description of how careful breeding has moved all his beef output into premium grades (beef that tastes good).
Elm House Red beef is available via a box delivery scheme. Most of his customers are local but national deliveries may be arranged. For more details email Mike at mp@farming.co.uk.
Optimising production, Beef (8030kb)
GrowHow Products & Services for the Grassland Sector
Mark Garrett, Business Manager, GrowHow UK
To round the day off Mark described the products and services available from GrowHow. Or rather that should be: services, resources and products available from GrowHow, with a reminder of the benefits that this can provide for farmers.
GrowHow Products & Services for the grassland sector (349kb)
GrowHow would like to acknowledge and thank the external speakers for their valuable contribution to the seminar. Links to their organisations may be opened by clicking on the company names.
