Barenbrug Cropvale Grass Research Site Open Day 2013

Nearly 100 farmers, agricultural stockists and representatives from industry bodies attended a special open day & technical conference held in Cropvale, near Evesham.

It was organised by specialist seed producer Barenbrug to give the invited guests the chance to see firsthand what trials it is running at Cropvale farm and then hear four top industry speakers talk about the importance of quality grass production.

They visited a number of plots which emphasised the variety of fodder crops being tested at Cropvale. This included AFBI breeder, David Johnson discussing the trials for the national and recommended lists, breeding new varieties and the importance of the Cropvale site.

Barenbrug's Research & Development Manager, David Long explained the trials designed to get extra protein from new crops and forage mixes.

James Ingles from Barenbrug looked at trials with Italian rygrasses, hybrids and endophytes, while there was also a chance to see the perennial ryegrass trials.

Speakers at the technical conference were; Dr Debbie McConnell from Dairy Co who talked about 'The Importance of Proven Varieties;' Piet Arts from Barenbrug Holland spoke on 'The Objectives of Modern Grass Breeding;' Dr Sinclair Mayne from the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute talked about 'Increasing Livestock Output from Grass' and Ian Whiteford a prominent farmer from Fife spoke about his personal experiences of 'Utilising Grass On Farm for Maximum Productivity.'

Said James Ingles who also chaired the technical conference; "We were delighted so many people were able to come to the event and for the positive feedback we received. As a company we invest heavily in research & development and nowhere is that more evident than at Cropvale. So it is nice to be able to show people from the industry firsthand the trials we are carrying out.

"As a company we are celebrating 30 years of helping the British livestock farmer to become more profitable and we are committed to continue to do so which is why Cropvale is so important to us.

"We were also delighted to attract four high quality speakers at the technical conference who emphasised the great opportunities there are for farmers to significantly increase outputs and how a well managed grass based system can increase production, as feeding animals concentrates is becoming less economic and probably unsustainable in the long term."