Forage crops to finish lambs

With increasing cost to production, Cornwal Uchaf has been looking to reduce the dependency on purchased concentrate to finish 350 lambs.

The project proposes to compare the current finishing system of housing the lambs from October onwards on straw bedding with hay and ad lib concentrate feed with a forage crop made up of a mix of 71.5% tetraploid Italian ryegrass, 7% Vollenda stubble Turnips and 21.5% Interval hybrid rape. The Italian ryegrass will improve the thickness of the crop whilst helping to keep the animals clean and will also provide grazing through to the following spring. The inclusion of both Vollenda and Interval will make this mix more palatable and will add protein and energy to the diet.

Through driving further improvement in efficiency in this part of the system, the project will also contribute to the Sustainable Land Management outcomes including: 

• reduce the farms’ greenhouse gas emissions
• support improvement in maximising carbon storage and sequestration whilst reducing the whole-farm carbon footprint
• reduce diffuse pollution and contributing to clean water
• mitigate against flood & drought risk
• contribute to high flock health and welfare