Financial future at the feet of farmers

The new Grassland Management DVD, which has been produced by Quality Meat Scotland in collaboration with the other UK levy bodies, highlights all aspects of grassland management – from reseeding to the use of clover, and covers techniques such as outwintering and deferred grazing.

The videos will also be available on-demand for the first time on the QMS website at www.qmscotland.co.uk

Andy McGowan, Head of Industry Development at QMS said: “Effective use of grassland and forage is one of the key tools in a farmer’s arsenal as we head towards more sustainable and cost effective farming systems in Scotland.

“This DVD gives livestock farmers straightforward guidance for ensuring they get the best out of their grassland and maximise the benefit of the current high cattle prices.

“An important element to improving profitability could be right under farmers’ feet, and now is the time to really work on bringing as much efficiency into your systems as possible.”

The DVD features experts from throughout the UK on grassland and builds on work that has already been done in the dairy sector. It features interviews with beef, dairy and sheep farmers who are successfully using these techniques to improve profitability.

It covers:

• Benefits of grass base
• Best use of Clover
• Deferred grazing
• Extending grazing
• Lessons from other sectors
• Outwintering
• Performance off grass
• Reseeding
• Silage and Haymaking
• Soil structure and nutrition

Andy said: “The DVD is a great accompaniment to other work we’ve been doing this year including the recent publication of outwintering information and for the first time brings together some of the UK’s finest grassland specialists, and the grass roots farmers putting their work into action.”

The DVD is jointly funded by Quality Meat Scotland, the EBLEX Sheep and Beef Better Returns Programme, Hybu Cig Cymru, Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland.

To obtain a copy, contact Quality Meat Scotland on info@qmscotland.co.uk or call 0131 472 4046. Copies will be available to levy payers at the Royal Highland Show and Pitlochie Beef Fayre, and it’s available on demand at www.qmscotland.co.uk.