United Kingdom
February 8, 2022
Martin Titley – Director of Forage Crops
With purchased feed becoming more expensive, many livestock producers are returning to a reliable crop that can produce a consistent feed – fodder beet!
It’s a great crop to grow, but you need the right soil, the right machinery, and a good arable knowledge – as the inputs and growing costs (approx. £1,500 per ha) are relatively high and are necessary to achieve the crops’ full potential.
Seed is pelleted and needs to be precision drilled, and considering that many of the older single row harvesters are now becoming obsolete, it’s no surprise that many livestock producers are relying more on arable farmers to grow the crop as a cash crop.
The crop is usually sown from late March to late April, and harvested in October/ November; very similar to sugar beet.
A well grown crop can yield up to 100 tonnes per hectare, with a typical ME of 13 MJ/kg dry matter – unrivalled in terms of any other fodder crop.
With purchased feed becoming more expensive, many livestock producers are returning to a reliable crop that can produce a consistent feed – fodder beet!
High dry matter varieties have also been successfully used for Biogas production, where gas yields have been impressive.
There are also some fantastic varieties available, such as the high dry matter varieties Brick and Tadorne, as well as consistent performers more suitable for livestock production, such as Robbos and Blaze.
Download a copy of the latest trial results www.lgseeds.co.uk/fodderbeet
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