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Mark Button and Jem Marshall of Mole Valley Farmers examine a sward established with the company's "Silage Buster" mixture

THE Button family are amongst the very best dairy farmers in the South West and appreciate the value of grass as a means of keeping costs under control and maximising productivity, as South West Farmer found out on a recent visit to their farm in Cornwall.

Regular reseeding has been an important part of grassland management at Polshea Farm, St Tudy in Cornwall ever since the Button family started producing milk there in the 1970s, a time when many others were leaving the dairying industry.

The 500-acre home farm, which they purchased in 1907 and is situated on the edge of Bodmin Moor, is now a large, well-respected enterprise which extends to 1,200 acres, including 220 acres of wheat and 80 acres of barley. The 700 dairy cows are fed year-round at the rate of 0.35kg/litre and produce an annual average of 8,500 litres. High yielders are brought in at night and fed a TMR, the daily winter ration including 11kg of concentrates, 5kg of whole crop, 18kg of grass, plus 10kg maize.

Even during the financially difficult times that have faced the industry in recent years, the Buttons have continued to reseed on a regular basis, averaging 80 acres each year, with significant benefits in terms of both the quantity and quality of grass produced. Their aim is to establish new leys during September following wheat, with grass seed being broadcast on to land which has had slurry applied, been conventionally ploughed and cultivated, then Cambridge rolled.

Agrochemicals are rarely used after sowing, the aim being to clean up potential problem weeds in the preceding cereal crop and then allow sheep to graze the new sward tightly throughout the winter.

Mark Button, former chairman of North Cornwall Grassland, said: "Recent increases in feed ingredient prices have made grass even more important to all livestock producers. We have always reseeded regularly because varieties continue to improve. We now use Mole Valley Farmers' Silage Buster, which includes Italian ryegrasses and hybrids that start growing very early in the season, make maximum use of the available sunlight, regrow quickly after cutting and are very efficient at utilising nitrogen.

"Slurry is applied during January and we get four cuts using just 140 units of nitrogen, split 60, 40, 40 following the first three cuts. That is less than half the 300 units we would have applied to grassland just a few years ago, which highlights the major improvements that have been made in grass varieties over the last few years. The reduction represents a major financial saving and is particularly relevant with nitrogen now costing around £270 per tonne.

"Magnesium lock-up can be a problem on our soils and we have found that grass yields benefit from the use of sulphur, which helps to improve nitrogen utilisation and increases the protein content."

"Livestock farmers in the South West have a significant opportunity to reduce production costs by growing more, better-quality forage," says Jem Marshall of Mole Valley Farmers, one of the UK's largest suppliers of grass seed. Treasurer of the North Cornwall Grassland Society, he comments: "Grassland management standards have not improved greatly in recent years. One of the main problems is the lack of advice available to grassland farmers, so many simply don't appreciate that the ability of even the best-managed swards to produce good quality grass declines after seven years. When sown species form less than 50 per cent of the sward the crop's feeding value is dramatically reduced, which means that improving grassland should be one of the top priorities for those looking to improving productivity.

"Grass seed prices have increased by £5-£6/acre this year, reflecting the general increases in commodity prices, but still represent only a small proportion of the overall cost of reseeding (£100-£200 per acre).

"The latest NIAB-tested varieties represent exceptionally good value and because reseeding increases yields by up to 25 per cent per year over five years in average conditions, more in a dry season, the establishment costs can be recouped in the first year.

"I advise farmers to reseed 10%-15% of their grass acreage annually with new higher yielding, more palatable and more digestible varieties, which have a high sugar content, can increase average daily intakes by 2kg per cow and boost yield by around 300 litres per lactation.

"The recent increases in milk prices provide an excellent incentive to increase production from grass and regular reseeding should be regarded as an investment in the future, because you can't make good silage from old grass. The economic benefits of improving grassland management can be further enhanced by adopting a more technical approach to fertiliser management.

Our team of 30 forage specialists provide advice on all aspects of nutrient selection and soil nutrition."

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