2021 Pasture Profit Index

The 2021 Pasture Profit Index (PPI) has just been released by Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The index provides an invaluable guide for reseeding by indicating the economic value of grass varieties to farm profitability.

AberClyde is once again the highest ranked variety with a total PPI value of €225/ha/year. An intermediate tetraploid, it is an exceptional variety maintaining high quality across the full season and delivers strong spring and autumn growth figures.

Gracehill, a new variety developed specifically for Irish farmers, is the leading late tetraploid, at €222/ha/year. It has very strong seasonal yield and excellent performance under silage.

Another late tetraploid, AberGain, continues to prove itself on Irish farms. It ranks highest across all varieties for quality (€52) and second for total PPI value among the late tetraploids. Quality is measured across the months of April, May, June, and July and is a hugely important trait with the potential to deliver big differences at farm level.

AberMagic is the number one ranked intermediate diploid with a 2021 PPI value of €199. It has a heading date of 28th May and produces the highest-quality silage for systems targeting a first cut towards the end of May.

For the eighth year in succession, AberChoice is the highest-ranking late diploid at €182, with excellent performance across all traits. It is the highest quality diploid on this year’s list and has excellent palatability. Second in the late diploid ranking is Ballyvoy at €167, with its high-quality value and great spring and autumn growth.

Germinal’s grass seed range includes the most profitable varieties with the highest quality, yield, and silage performance in both the 2021 PPI and the Recommended List. The varieties show outstanding performance across the most important traits for Irish grass-based production systems.

Understanding the Recommended List and PPI

For a variety to be published on the DAFM Recommended List and the PPI, it undergoes trials for a minimum of four years. Each variety is evaluated over a minimum of two sowing years and two harvest years per sowing year. There are five trial sites across the country (Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, and Cork), with each variety sown at every site. Only varieties demonstrating better than average performance are published on the list.

The PPI is compiled using a model to determine the economic value of each key trait for grass production. These are spring, summer, and autumn dry matter (DM) yield, quality, silage DM production (based on 1st and 2nd cut yields), and persistency.

Download the 2021 PPI and Recommended List