The growing popularity of winter cover crops, changes to EFA requirements and the opportunity for arable farmers to boost their income should make overwintering sheep a worthwhile option on many farms this year.
Beth Alexander, Monitor Farm Scotland programme manager says: “There is a real opportunity for arable and sheep producers to benefit from working together over winter. There are many sheep farmers looking for winter grazing for sheep, and in many cases, arable farms with winter cover crops have great potential for grazing.”
In East Lothian, Niall Jeffrey’s arable acreage has proved to be a good overwintering opportunity for sheep breeder and lamb finisher Doug Pate from Marvingston. The pair are about to enter their second winter of grazing after Doug ran 400 store lambs across about 100 acres of Niall’s cover crop of spring oats last winter. The lambs arrived in mid-November, leaving the farm in mid-January.
Niall says: “I think there’s a real benefit of having the sheep eating the cover crop. It’s not tangible, but recycling nutrients through a ruminant adds a biological factor. Grazing seems to help when I plough down the crop too – I didn’t need to apply glyphosate.”
This summer, he has ‘drilled’ feed oats at 120kg/ha using a fertiliser spreader set to 18m, followed by a pass with 5m discs to 5cm depth. “I had no time to roll the crop, but it’s through the ground now and looking good.
“I want to grow the cover crop as cheaply as possible, but to make a good job of it so there is plenty to graze. I chose oats as a cover crop as they’re not in my rotation, they grow extremely quickly and I think they supress weeds. The money from the sheep also helps to offset costs.”
Niall adds: “I’ve had questions about whether grazing cover crops pushed up N levels in the following malting barley crops, but if anything, our N levels were lower. I think the oats soak up some N, and nutrient cycling is also quite slow.”
For grazier Doug, the oat cover crop is good for store lambs. He has a preference for grazing stubble turnips or forage rape as they are higher in ME and protein, but brassica crops aren’t an option on farms with oilseed rape in the rotation due to clubroot concerns.
Choosing cover crops which sheep can and will eat is important. “Some plants such as phacelia, radish and vetch aren’t palatable for sheep.”
Doug prefers grazing land in blocks so sheep don’t have to be transported while they are on farm, and as he runs multiples of 200 lambs (a trailer load), he looks for enough grazing to keep them for at least a month, preferably more. The cost of haulage is an important factor for his business.
Farms with permanent fencing are ideal and likely to benefit from higher payment rates. Electric fencing is an option, with Doug using an ATV and Rappa winder system which allows two people to fence 20 acres in an hour and a half.
Niall’s fields have permanent fencing and most have water; an IBC with water was provided in the field which didn’t have a water supply. His land is in 75-acre blocks, which made grazing the sheep straightforward, however a further 30 acres of cover crop which was not in the block was not grazed due to the logistics of having to move sheep to it. In general, payment for grazing starts at 50p per head per week, depending on the type of crop and whether the land is fenced.
He adds that thinking about the class of stock is important if there are other stock on the farm; breeding ewes which need to be taken home for scanning, dosing, etc can trigger a standstill when they return to the farm. Store or finishing lambs are more straightforward.
Doug is entirely responsible for the sheep, although Niall will contact him if he notices any problems. Both believe that making the system and relationship work is down to common sense, while the payment aspect also helps. Doug adds: “It makes for a better relationship.”
Scottish Government changes to EFA requirements – which now allow stubble turnips to be grown and being able to graze cover crops before 1 January – could transform the co-operation opportunities for arable farmers and graziers. “It’s a definite step in the right direction and completely opens this up,” says Niall.
Doug adds: “If you’re growing cover crops for greening, grazing is money for old rope. I think the key is to talk to potential graziers to make sure you are planting what their sheep will eat, and to establish cover crops as early as possible so they grow well.”