Millennium

The new grass for a new age

Irish Farming has seen great change in recent years. The introduction of quotas in the main agricultural products has limited the expansion possibilities of many farmers. This in turn has led to a renewed interest in more efficient production methods in order to increase income from a capped production volume.

In livestock production the most efficient production comes from maximising the use of grass in the diet. Grass breeders have in turn responded to the demand by providing grass varieties which have enhanced quality, better distribution of production and higher yields.

The Teagasc Oakpark grass breeding programme has been to the forefront in developing the type of grass variety that is required by farmers today. Millennium is the best example of the new varieties coming from the Teagasc programme. Millennium is a late heading tetraploid perennial Ryegrass.

Millennium has been tested by the Department of Agriculture in their trials over 5 years and is on the recommended list of herbage varieties 2003. It combines high yield with good persistency, and good Spring and Autumn production. However this does not tell the full story - how is Millennium as a variety for animal production?

In 1999 a trial was established by Teagasc Moorepark dairy research scientists to assess the ability of grass varieties for milk production. This trial with 70 to 80 cows over a two year period has shown that Millennium was excellent in terms of efficient milk production over the trial period. The following findings from the Moorepark trial show just what an outstanding grass Millennium is for the dairy farmer.

Millennium gave:

• The highest number of cow grazing days
• The highest milk yield
• Higher protein and fat content in the milk
• The highest digestibility of all the varieties tested which gave excellent dry matter intake
• The highest leaf content and lowest stem content in the trial. More leaf means better quality and better animal performance.

Therefore we can see from this excellent performance that Millennium must be an essential variety in any grass seed mixture for the efficient grassland farmer of today.

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