Livestock farmers gain new grass and clover choices for resilient forage

Livestock farmers have been given new options to improve home-grown forage performance after 11 grass and clover varieties were added to the latest Recommended Grass and Clover Lists.

The additions are aimed at supporting dairy, beef and sheep producers looking to improve forage quality, resilience and productivity at a time of high input costs and volatile markets.

The updated lists include new Italian, hybrid and perennial ryegrasses, as well as a new diploid red clover.

A further three lucerne varieties have also been added to the descriptive list.

The Recommended Grass and Clover Lists, known as the RGCL, provide independent trial data to help farmers compare varieties for key traits including yield, quality, persistence and disease resistance.

They are used by livestock farmers when selecting grass, clover and forage varieties for grazing and silage systems.

To be included, varieties must show a clear improvement in important performance traits.

Only a small proportion of varieties meet the required standard each year, underlining the strength of the latest additions.

The RGCL is described as the only fully independent source of UK trial data for farmers in England and Wales.

Cheshire dairy farmer John Hocknell said he used the recommended varieties each year when choosing seed mixtures for his farm.

“I refer to the Recommended Lists every year when making choices for my seed mixtures and work with my merchant to select the best varieties for my dairy system,” he said.

He said independent trial data helped him compare varieties on traits that mattered to his business.

“I particularly value the fact that the data comes from robust independent trials that compare varieties from all breeders in traits that are vital to my business,” he said.

Mr Hocknell said he focused particularly on forage output and feed value.

“I especially look for yield and digestibility to maximise performance from forage, both grazed and ensiled,” he said.

Plant breeders are continuing to make steady improvements in forage performance, particularly in resilience.

Recent gains include better winter hardiness, improved ground cover and stronger disease resistance in ryegrass and clover varieties.

Protein content in red clover has also increased, supporting higher-quality forage for livestock systems.

For farmers, these improvements can help support grazing performance, silage quality and the production of more feed from home-grown forage.

Varieties that do not appear on the Recommended List may be older options that have been outperformed, or may lack the robust trial data needed for fair comparison.

Trials are overseen by the British Society of Plant Breeders, with final selections made by the Niab Herbage Recommended List Crop Committee.

The committee includes representatives from farming, seed merchants and the wider industry.

Heather McCalman, AHDB’s lead grassland, forage and crop nutrition specialist, said continued development of forage varieties was increasingly important.

“In the light of rising input costs and volatile markets the continual development of forage varieties in yield, quality and resilience traits has never been more important to dairy, beef and sheep farmers,” she said.

She said the updated lists offered options for a wide range of livestock systems.

“There are varieties to suit all systems of cattle and sheep, and all have been scrutinised independently to meet exacting and increasing standards of performance,” she said.

AHDB said full details of all varieties would be available to download from its website.

Farmers can also request a free hard copy of the RGCL 2026/27 handbook.

AHDB said the latest handbook would help producers identify varieties best suited to their grazing, silage and livestock performance goals.