How grass in the arable rotation can improve beef production

Incorporating grass in the arable rotation is part of Jeremy Iles’s plan to reduce concentrate feeding to beef animals while mitigating risk and safeguarding soil health.

It is an all-encompassing approach that aims to put the business in good stead to embrace new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme requirements, drive profitability and meet consumer needs.

At Leafield Farm, Cirencester, grass provides a useful break in the crop rotation, helping to control blackgrass and improve soil organic matter.

With oilseed rape proving unreliable in light of the neonicotinoid ban, growing grass also spreads risk.

It also fits well with Mr Iles’s role as a breeder for the Stabiliser Cattle Company – with the Stabiliser selected to make the most of forage.

See also: Forage analysis and how to interpret results on-farm

He explains: “We’re heavily selecting for feed efficiency in the bulls we are using or the embryos we buy. It has become very apparent they like the silage. They’ll eat a lot of silage, which is clearly cheaper than grain.”

Animals are selected using the Stabiliser breed’s weaning index and profit index to favour those that use forage effectively and wean well off grass alone.

Cattle are cell-grazed on pasture to maximise their genetic potential and aid soil health.

This has resulted in increased grass growth and greater stock-carrying potential. (See “Performance on different grazing management systems”.)

Jeremy Iles © Aly Balsom

Grass leys

Mr Iles first introduced grass into the arable rotation as part of environmental stewardship. Initially, this involved sowing 8ha (20 acres) of an AB15 legume mix.

Having recognised the potential for grazing, he put in an additional 10ha (25 acres) of Italian ryegrass and white clover after wheat.

Grass is established in one pass using a combination drill. The two-year leys are followed by wheat, then barley, oilseed rape or maize, and back to wheat.

The strategy has evolved, with a further 11ha (27 acres) of the same mix being sown on a neighbour’s flood-prone ground that has a high blackgrass challenge.

Mr Iles believes grass has an important role to play in reducing run-off on wetter ground because soil infiltration rates tend to be two to three times greater in grassland than in wheat.

He also views grass as a crucial component in regenerative farming practices.

“It’s a good entry into no-till,” he says. “We’re conditioning the soil; it’s a good way to sort the soil structure – it’s a good healer.

“We’re transitioning to a more biological way of farming from a chemical way of farming.”

Mr Iles is also planning to put in herbal leys for fattening cattle. In the short term, a further 30-40ha (74-98 acres) of the Italian ryegrass mix will be sown this year to finish steers.

Grazing strategy

Until now, males that did not meet the grade for breeding were kept entire and finished on forage and grain. By castrating this year’s bulls, Mr Iles aims to finish as many as possible on grass alone.

Continuing to select animals that convert forage effectively and adopting cell-grazing should mean this becomes a long-term strategy.

Steers will join the heifers grazing forage rye and vetch leys from mid-February to April. This spring, these leys have also been used to graze cows and calves because grass growth on the Italian ryegrass leys has been slow.

The forage rye and vetch mixes are planted after wheat and before maize to boost soil health. Half of the crop is baled and fed to the suckler cows, which do not receive any concentrate.

Mr Iles believes using home-grown forage and integrating beef and arable will help create a more sustainable farming system.

He adds: “My hope for the ELM scheme and stewardship is that it will encourage arable farmers to put ground into grass,” he says. “The Cotswolds needs beef because of the thin soils and, to me, it’s spreading risk.”