Andrew Brewer is one of three GrassCheckGB farmers who have been nominated for the British Farming Awards Grassland Manager of the Year Award. We caught up with him to find out more about his grassland management practices.

Farm Facts

County: Cornwall 

Animal type & Numbers: 500 autumn block jersey cross cows, 600 followers and beef from dairy herd

Land area: 400ha

How do you manage your grass?

We rotationally graze all stock including bull beef on ryegrass and clover swards with youngstock predominately grazing mixed species with clovers red and white plantain and chicory along with deep rooting Cocksfoot to help increase soil carbon levels to help drainage and drought resistance. We use < 100kg/ha artificial Nitrogen which is all protected urea with sulphur. 

We maximise slurry and dirty water use using 100% dribble bar application to the grazing platform. The youngstock/ support block receives surplus digestate from a local digester to fully cover the nutrient demands 

How has GrassCheckGB helped you with your grassland management decisions?

GrasscheckGB has helped us understand growth links with soil temperature and moisture levels and the plants need for available nutrients as well as the importance of moisture in targeting the desired growth.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to improve their grassland management?

Find someone doing a top grazing job locally & learn what they do when they do. This will take you a long way. 

Regular pasture measurement is essential when learning and running very high stocking rates.

As the old men said “look after your livestock they will look after you”. This should include the stock under your feet as well as above ground!

Take a look at the data on Andrew’s farm: grasscheckgb.co.uk