Germinal’s highly-rated Aber HSG varieties are ideal for autumn reseeding

A very wet spring prevented many farmers from reseeding early as planned, causing unavoidable forage gaps. Now is the time to plan how to restore your forage reserves. Germinal expert Pat Delaney explains how autumn reseeding with Germinal’s Aber High Sugar Grasses (HSG) can rebuild forage reserves. 

What are high sugar grasses? 

When grass is consumed, it enters the rumen and is rapidly broken down. However, the rumen struggles to utilise the protein efficiently if it lacks available energy. Consequently, this results in nitrogen being released in the rumen and then excreted as ammonia emissions.

Aber High Sugar Grasses have been bred to help livestock utilise more protein from grass, the increased water soluble carbohydrate (WSC or sugar) content creates a better balance of energy and protein in the rumen. This enables the rumen microbes to work with increased efficiency.

Aber HSG varieties have been shown to have on average 17% higher sugar than conventional grasses. As the rumen microbes can break down the forage more efficiently due to the increased energy available, more grass protein is converted to meat and milk and less is excreted in urine or faeces.

Climate smart grass that produces

With Irish farmers under pressure to reduce emissions, Aber HSG varieties can be used at scale to reduce ammonia and nitrous oxide excretion. Additionally, these climate smart grasses are highly productive, driving up to 6% more milk per cow in a grazing season while up to 20% liveweight gains can be achieved in beef and lamb systems.

By reseeding your grassland with mixtures containing high sugar grasses and clover, Irish farmers can increase production and reduce the dependency on fertiliser N. Pair these benefits with reduced ammonia emissions and you have a climate smart forage powerhouse that’s backed up by proven monetary performance on the 2025 Pasture Profit Index (PPI).

	Ploidy	Heading date	PPI	Germinal mixture
AberClyde	Tetraploid	25th May	€226	Top 5 Silage
AberGain	Tetraploid	4th June	€214	Top 5 Extend
AberMagic	Diploid	28th May	€195	Top 5 Silage
AberChoice	Diploid	11th June	€175	Top 5 Extend
AberBann	Diploid	10th June	€169	Top 5 Grazing

Where to find grass seed mixtures with Aber HSG

Several of our Aber HSG varieties are delivering proven economic performance on the PPI. You can find these varieties in the following mixtures from our Top 5 range. 

Top 5 Extend 

Varieties: AberGain; Ballintoy; AberChoice; Ballyvoy; white clover blend

With Top 5 Extend, you can produce a sward suited to intensive dairy, beef and sheep farming systems. This helps drive dry matter intake and increase animal performance. Primarily used for intensive grazing, Top 5 Extend is also suitable for cut-and-graze and zero-grazing.

Top 5 Grazing

Varieties: AberBann; Ballyvoy; Ballintoy; Gracehill; white clover blend

This grazing grass seed mixture has been formulated to produce a high-quality sward suited to rotational grazing and set stocking. Top 5 Grazing can be sown in spring and cut towards the end of May if used for silage.

The high palatability of the mixture drives dry matter intake and elevates animal performance in dairy, beef and sheep systems.

Top 5 Silage

Varieties: AberClyde; AberMagic; Galgorm, Alice white clover

Three Aber HSG varieties have been combined to create the best silage grass seed mixture for Irish farmers. Sown now, Top 5 Silage will provide an opportunity for autumn grazing and then light grazing in spring to help tiller the sward before taking a first cut in May.

Ask for Germinal’s Aber High Sugar Grasses

You can ask your local seed retailer for Aber High Sugar Grasses. Alternatively, contact your nearest Germinal expert if you want to know more.

David Little, Agricultural Product Manager, Northern Ireland
T: 07718 658716
E: [email protected]

Diarmuid Murphy, Area Sales Manager, Southeast/Midlands/West
T: 085 747 3865
E: [email protected]

Claire Bailey Archibald, Area Sales Manager, Northeast
T: 087 470 6908
E: [email protected]

Pat Delaney, Area Sales Manager, South/Southwest
T: 085 841 6477
E: [email protected]