United Kingdom-Farm Seminars.

UNITED KINGDOM-SEMINAR SEASON.

SAeminars covering topics to improve profits from grazing, silage and manure management, plus advice for those in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, have been organised by the British Grassland Society and DairyCo for Grassland UK on May 7.

The event is being held at the Royal Bath & West of England Showground at Shepton Mallet.

The sessions will all take place in the seminar marquee, where visitors can also find the British Grassland Society and DairyCo stands, starting at 10.30am. The first seminar will be on Profiting from Grass Whatever the Yield, by DairyCo extension officer Adam Clay.

He will explain how both low-input and high-yielding herds can produce a good proportion of milk from grazing. "The key is maximising palatability and the feed quality throughout the season," said Mr Clay, who will outline the management techniques required to achieve this.

At 11am, Martin Yeates, Kingshay technical manager and David Pettitt, Kingshay farm consultant, will give practical interpretations of NVZ rules. "It’s important to fully understand the new rules to help farm within them and minimise the chance of a cross-compliance failure," said Dr Yeates. They will cover the livestock manure nitrogen farm limit – what it is and what it means.

For many, the issue with NVZs is the need for extra slurry storage, which will be addressed by DairyCo extension officer Chris Coxon at 11.30am. "The cost of storing slurry can range from £75 a cow to £585 a cow," said Mr Coxon.

There were many storage options to consider, as well as regulations on planning and locating stores, and meeting the requirements of the Environment Agency. He will also advise on calculating storage requirements and what farmers might be able to exclude from those calculations.

Better use of slurry will be just one of many ways of "Beating Fertiliser Price Rises" that will be covered by Chris Duller of Aberystwyth University’s Grassland Development Centre, at midday. He warned that using less fertiliser without addressing efficiency to improve nutrient use would simply result in growing less grass. "Cutting down on nutrients may not be a bad idea, but just spreading a little less everywhere is not the best option," said Mr Duller.

The next presentation at 1pm will be by Paddy Gordon of the Shepton Vet Group in Shepton Mallet on "Achieving Good Health and Fertility at Grass". He said: "Making the most of grazing is about avoiding potential pitfalls too. It is essential to plan to avoid problems, including feeding to avoid staggers and a displaced abomasum, thinking about heat detection to minimise PD negatives, and considering fluke and other parasite burdens."

At 1.30pm, DairyCo extension officer Adam Clay will speak on "Field to Clamp: Keeping the Quality in Forage". He will explain how to retain as much of the feed value produced in the clamp, through appropriate chop length, time of cutting, wilting, minimising clamp losses and clamp management when feeding out.

Ending the day’s sessions will be David Munday, of Creedy Associates, who also runs 140 autumn-calving dairy cows and 60 followers in Devon.

"Five years ago we viewed slurry as something to get rid of, then we realised it was actually worth a lot of money," said Mr Munday.

He will explain how he uses slurries and farm manure as part of his fertiliser strategy, including understanding its value and controlling how much is applied, both on grassland and maize.

He said: "By focusing on the fertiliser values of the manures we apply, no potash and minimal amounts of phosphate have been purchased in the last five years, with no reduction in crop yields.