Award winning performances

'If dairy farmers want to stay in business, they need to grow more grass and utilize it better,' according to this year's British Grassland Farmer of the Year, Colin Boggs.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Apr 2016, 09:04 BST
Updated 4th Apr 2016, 09:06 BST
British Grassland Farmer of the Year, Colin Boggs, checking out his grazing paddocks with Michael Copeland from McLarnon Feeds. Colin turned his cows out on 13th March to paddocks reseeded with McLarnons Maxi-Sward mixture.British Grassland Farmer of the Year, Colin Boggs, checking out his grazing paddocks with Michael Copeland from McLarnon Feeds. Colin turned his cows out on 13th March to paddocks reseeded with McLarnons Maxi-Sward mixture.
British Grassland Farmer of the Year, Colin Boggs, checking out his grazing paddocks with Michael Copeland from McLarnon Feeds. Colin turned his cows out on 13th March to paddocks reseeded with McLarnons Maxi-Sward mixture.

Colin runs his 120 cow herd at Clover Hill Farm near Banbridge, Co. Down. The herd has a rolling average of 6,530 litres at 4.35% butterfat and 3.50% protein, from just 666kg concentrates per cow.

This equates to an impressive 5,161 litres produced from forage. With this outstanding performance, it’s not surprising that last September, Colin was awarded the title of 2015 British Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year, adding to the Ulster title he received earlier in the year.

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“When milk was at 30 ppl, some extra feeding covered up a lot of shortcomings in grassland management on dairy farms”, says Colin. “But at 17 ppl, this is no longer affordable.

“The secret is to grow as much grass as you can, get cows out as early as possible, and keep on top of the grazing from day one. That way you always have a leafy sward that puts milk in the tank.” This year, Colin turned his cows out on 13th March.

Colin runs a tight spring-calving system, with 75% cows calving down in February and early March. Over the past few years, he has undertaken extensive reseeding of his grazing paddocks to help increase grass production and improve quality. The benefits of this policy are now very evident, especially in terms of spring growth. Colin is also a keen advocate of pre-mowing his paddocks from the second grazing cycle to help encourage greater intakes.

With dairy incomes under severe pressure, there is a temptation to put off reseeding until next year. However Dr Ronald Annett, Ruminant Technical Manager at McLarnon Feeds, advises that this approach could be short sighted. “Price volatility will be a major challenge over the next 10 years, and our farm systems must adapt to survive. Research at Teagasc Moorepark shows an investment in reseeding will be recouped within two years, due to increased grass production and a better fertilizer response from the new varieties. All sectors - dairy, beef and sheep – need to focus this year on improving grass growth and utilization to drive down costs.”

For more information on McLarnon’s Grass Seed Mixtures, please contact McLarnon Feeds at 028 7965 0321.

Related topics:BanbridgeUlster