With livestock producers potentially facing a forage shortfall this winter many could still boost grass yield and quality by reseeding or overseeding pasture following their first cut of silage, says Jim Juby of grassland specialists Horizon Seeds.

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“Many grass fields were badly damaged at the end of last year and with the slow grass growth this spring poor ley recovery has the potential to cause a forage shortfall as the year progresses.

“Water is usually the limiting factor with a mid season reseed or overseed, but there’s a lot of moisture throughout the soil profile at the moment and this is likely to last into the early Summer.”

First cut timing should be similar to normal since heading date of grasses is determined by day length not temperature so plan on cutting at your normal date, he says.

“Leaving grasses to bulk up after heading will dramatically reduce the quality of silage and it’s better to take a smaller yield of high quality grass than make a bulky poor quality silage.

“Ploughing tired or damaged leys straight after taking a cut of silage and sowing a high quality ley such as Clampfiller or Persistant Cut blended with a significant proportion of high vigour Westerwold grasses would work well in most areas this year.

“Grass will grow quickly and whilst you might miss a traditional second cut, you should be able to take two good, high quality cuts subsequently once the new ley is established.”

Adding 1.25kg/ha (0.5kg/acre) of forage rape to the reseed mix would also help bridge the forage gap and help the reseed establish quickly, he says.

“The forage rape will grow first and provide warmth and protection for the grass seedlings below it and you can take a light grazing once it has established and grown to about 4” in height.

Overseeding new grasses into an existing sward can also rejuvenate a ley, Jim Juby adds.

“Use all tetraploid grasses which have larger seeds and more energy to allow the new seeds a chance of competing with the existing grasses and don’t apply slurry or fertiliser until the new seeds are established.

“If managed properly not only will the reseed or overseed ensure you have an extra stock of high quality forage for the coming winter, you will also benefit from better quality grass and silage over the next few years.

“If properly managed, an overseeding ley can be expected to increase yields by over 50% in the following twelve months.”