FARMERS can grow more grass, increase stock numbers, reduce their input costs and improve nett profits, by taking control of their grass management.

It might sound too good to be true, but that was the take home message from Quality Meat Scotland's Better Grazing Better Business Conference in Perth, last week, where a packed audience was told how they could increase the amount of grass grown by as much as 20-30% with periods of short intensive grazing and adequate days of rest.

And, while rotational grazing could increase the amount of grass by 50% compared to set stocking, Michael Blanche, knowledge transfer specialist at QMS and farmer said paddock grazing would see grass growth improvements of 112% which as a result would allow for higher stocking rates.

"You'll produce twice the amount of grass with half the costs with paddock grazing and there's potential to reduce the amount of nitrogen too," he said, pointing that farmers have no control on grass growth with set stocking systems.

"We're not telling you how to grow grass but there is huge potential to increase production from grass by controlling the quality and quantity of grass and, it doesn't cost anything," added Mr Blanche.

Andre van Barneveld who runs Graise Consultancy in Ireland, also encouraged producers to believe more in the grass.

He discussed how to optimise grass production, quality and digestibility through grazing at the correct growth stage and for the correct length of time, which varies throughout the year and according to weather conditions. And, he advocated using supplements to correct a pasture deficit and not to directly feed the animal.

"The key to profitability is to maximise meat production from grass and then consider a concentrate or supplement – not the other way round."

However, to ensure maximum grass growth, he said pH levels have to be at their optimum as grass will only take up 50% of nitrogen at pH levels of 5.8 and below.

"Measuring grass is more important than anything else on the farm. You don't want livestock to go into a field with grass that is too old, too long or grass that is too short. Keeping grass leafy and vegetative produces the best quality feed value which during the spring can be 12MJ/kg of DM and that's better than any concentrate feed.

"The shorter the grass, the higher the production of the animal, provided the grass is not too short, and the quicker animals are in and out of a field, the better. In the ideal world, animals would be in and out of a field in 24hours and then moved on to the next, however, much depends on the time of year," said Andre.

Closer to home, Jim Logan, highlighted how the system works at Pirntaton, Galashiels, which over the past six years has been transformed from high input, high output pedigree beef and sheep unit, to a low input, high output commercial system based on grass.

Jim, who over the space of the last five-six years, has increased the number of paddocks on this 632ha upland unit from 37 in 2011, to 130, which with electric fencing can be increased to 160, has also introduced a massive new water system to ensure each paddock has available water. While this came at a huge cost, it was nevertheless paid for from the money he saved on reduced concentrates.

"The objective was to develop a business model and farming system which was profitable and sustainable without reliance on subsidies or the sale of high value pedigree stock.”

He did this by committing wholeheartedly to reducing cost of production while increasing output per hectare by making the best use of resources already available on farm i.e. grass.

"My big motivation was the cost of feed – compare grazed grass at 2.5 to 4p per kg against compound feed at anything from 23.5 to 41p/kg."

By adopting rotational grazing across the farm he increased grass production by up to 30% and improved the utilisation of grass from 50% to 80%. This allowed him to maintain suckler cow numbers at just over 100 and increase his ewe numbers by 600 to 2000.

Output from the farm is now on target to be 460kg of liveweight per hectare compared to 293kg in 2015 and, with a further 300 ewes going to the tup this year, the forecast for 2018 is 520kg.

"It is important to remember that there are no extra costs for the extra output," Jim added.

Over the three-year Grazing Group project Jim has taken advice from New Zealand vet and beef and sheep consultant, Trevor Cook, who was also speaking at the meeting.

But while Mr Cook urged farmers to consider the system he said their overall production might fall.

"Some of your production levels in this country are so much higher than those in New Zealand. If you want to make more from pasture, you might not get lambing percentages of 180% plus but you will make money.

"What you do on a day to day basis influences your profits far more than genetics. Profit is all about feed and how it's fed. Profit is about making as much as possible from as little feed as possible. A 200% lamb crop is highly unlikely to be the most profitable due to the high input costs – you are much more likely to produce a profit from sheep with a 160% lamb crop concentrating more on grass.

"You've also got to make better use of your animals and concentrate more on their size. I can't see how an 850kg cow can be efficient in any shape or form as it damages the soil and the pasture. The sheer cost of keeping an 850kg animal alive compared to a 650kg animal is 2t of dry matter per year," concluded Mr Cook.