SUCCESSFUL GRASSLAND EVENT ATTRACTS 150

Posted 30 April 2002

OBTAINING PROFITABLE milk from grazed grass proved to be an attractive topic at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire, last week, as more than 150 delegates attended a Grassland Open Demonstration Day.

The practice into profit event, supported by Barclays Bank, MDC, MLC, British Seed Houses Ltd and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), offered free advice from the cream of the crop in grassland research and consultancy.

IGER's Llinos Jones and Mike Abberton discussed new developments in grasses and clovers with visiting farmers, while ADAS' Gillian Young explained Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ's) and their implications in the UK.

Tom Phillips, an Australian Consultant, shared his opinions on Spring Grazing Management, while Harper Adams' Rhys Davies and John Owen, from Gelli Aur, Carmarthen, discussed Sward Establishment and Infrastructure and Accessibility respectively.

Together, the five topics combined to form an informative farm walk, which gave visitors the opportunity to make the most of the weather, look around the college farm and see the grassland advice being put into practice for Harper Adams' commercial dairy unit.

The event also included lunch and a Farmers' Forum question and answer session on Farm Budgeting that allowed visitors to quiz dairy farmer Roly Taverner and Harper Adams farm manager Scott Kirby on their day to day methods.

Organisers said they were very pleased with the 'fantastic response' to the event.

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Further information from the event is included in the accompanying pack. Alternatively, please contact Jim Huntington on +44 (0) 1952 815 211