Farmers livestock thrives on Barenbrugs Red Clover

A Durham-based farmer has reported excellent results after feeding his livestock on XL Organic Protein ley from specialist agricultural grass seed breeder Barenbrug.

Mark Gray established 80 acres of Barenbrug's red clover leys in October 2005 at his farm, Broom House near Witton Gilbert on the outskirts of Durham, which is uniquely located at 750 feet above sea level, as part of his conversion to organic farming.

Now in his third year of harvest, Mark continues to reap the rewards of the high-yield and high-quality crop, which will be used to finish his herd of 120 Aberdeen Angus cattle. The aftermath grazing will be used to finish lambs bred from his 1,200 ewes.

"Before going organic, I finished the cattle on wholecrop beans and barley and the lambs on grass followed by ad-lib concentrate from hoppers," Mark explains. "But now both are grown and finished on the red clover, which is just as quick and more cost-effective. I'm pleased with the results – the lambs finished very well."

David Long, agricultural product manager for Barenbrug, comments: "Analyses of silage produced from Mark's XL Protein clover leys shows that it has a protein content of 18.8% and energy of 11.2 ME [metabolizable energy], which is rocket-fuel for livestock! Last year, his lambs finished well from grazing the aftermaths, without the need for creep feeding. What's more, red clover leys are cheap to grow because they produce their own nitrogen, which feeds the companion grasses, so all that is needed is potash and some phosphate – and, coming from slurry, phosphate is something that livestock farmers have got in plentiful supply. Mark's experience just goes to show how fast clover-type leys produce, how well they produce and how useful they can be."