Forage Brassica, Radish & Mustard Seed

Winfred Forage Brassica is a good option. Sow it between February and May, about 12 weeks before you need feed; it can be grazed from 10 to 12 weeks and regrows well, so it can be grazed several times from autumn into spring. It has good drought and frost tolerance, suits sands through to heavy soils, and needs 500 mm or more of rainfall. Sow 3 to 4 kg/ha on its own, 1 to 2 cm deep into a fine, firm, moist seedbed.

It depends on the class of stock. As a guide for Winfred Forage Brassica, keep brassica to no more than 33% of the diet for dairy cows and 70% for beef cattle, while lambs can eat up to 100%. Make up the rest with another feed source. Brassicas are highly digestible but low in fibre, so access to hay or a run-off paddock helps balance the diet. Introduce stock gradually, keep clean water available, and monitor animal health closely.

Both are brassica disorders linked to crop stage. Red urine (red water, or kale anaemia) comes from a compound called SMCO that builds up in mature and flowering brassicas, especially on high-sulphur soils. Swollen, reddened skin on the face is photosensitisation (rape scald), more likely when immature crops are grazed. Take affected stock off the crop, give them shade, water and hay, and call your vet. To prevent both, graze only once the crop is mature, avoid flowering crops and keep roughage in the diet.

Yes, it's a known risk. Brassicas contain goitrogens that interfere with how animals use iodine, and ewes grazing brassica crops for long periods during pregnancy can produce lambs with goitre, which are often weak or stillborn. Dosing ewes with iodine in the fourth and fifth months of pregnancy prevents it; iodine can be given on its own or combined with a drench. Talk to your vet about products and doses if ewes will be on brassica while pregnant.

Yes, both raise the risk of nitrate poisoning. Brassicas can carry high nitrate, particularly at first grazing, after recent nitrogen fertiliser, in overcast weather or where molybdenum is deficient. Forage above 1.5% nitrate (as potassium nitrate, dry matter basis) is considered potentially dangerous. Hold off grazing for a while after applying nitrogen, put stock in full rather than hungry, and give them hay to dilute intake. Signs include laboured breathing, weakness and staggering; remove stock and call your vet straight away.

Buster Tillage Radish is built for this. Its large taproot breaks into compacted layers, aerates the soil and draws subsoil nutrients up to the surface. It suits sands with 400 mm or more of rainfall and soil pH (CaCl2) of 5.0 or above. Sow 5 to 8 kg/ha, 0.75 to 2.5 cm deep. January or February sowings, given moisture, grow the biggest roots. Once plants are firmly anchored, first grazing comes at 5 to 6 weeks, with 2 to 3 grazings before maturity at 10 to 12 weeks.

Terminate at early flowering, before seed sets, when glucosinolate levels are highest. Black Mustard reaches maturity in about 12 to 14 weeks; grow it at 6 to 10 kg/ha on sands through to heavy soils with 400 mm or more of rainfall. Chop it finely, ideally with a flail mulcher, work it in straight away, and seal the surface by rolling or irrigating so the gases stay in moist soil. Wait a few weeks before planting the next crop so the released compounds don't harm it.

Karaka Leafy Turnip suits that situation. It's an annual hybrid leafy turnip grown for quick, high-quality, palatable feed, and on fertile soils with good management it gives high yields over multiple grazings. It suits loams through to heavy soils with 500 mm or more of rainfall, sown at 4 to 5 kg/ha. To keep it regrowing, graze leafy turnips down to about 7 to 10 cm rather than to the ground, and strip graze so stock don't trample the crop.

Yes. Winfred Forage Brassica is a good companion species. Sown with ryegrass it provides quick feed after sowing, and it can also be sown with herbs, clovers and millet, including Shirohie Millet, Tonic Plantain and chicory. In a mix, sow Winfred at 1 to 2 kg/ha rather than the 3 to 4 kg/ha used on its own, 1 to 2 cm deep into a fine, firm, moist seedbed. Winfred is also one of the species in our Cover Crop Plus Summer and Winter mixes.

Check the crop regularly and act early. Aphids, diamondback moth, cabbage white butterfly and redlegged earth mite are the main brassica pests. Winfred Forage Brassica has medium aphid tolerance, but it is still susceptible to green peach aphid and false cabbage aphid. Strong, well-fertilised plants cope far better than stressed ones. Monitor from emergence, and talk to your agronomist about spray thresholds and registered insecticides, keeping withholding periods in mind before grazing.