A very wet March and April prevented many farmers from reseeding in spring as planned, creating unavoidable forage gaps. Now is the time to plan how to restore your forage reserves. Grassland expert Dr Mary McEvoy explains how autumn reseeding with Germinal's Aber High Sugar Grasses (HSG) can bridge your forage gap.
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, enabling 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 efficeiently due to the increased energy availbe, more grass protein is converted to meat and milk and less is excreted in urine or faeces.
A climate smart grass
With Irish farmers under pressure to reduce emissions, Aber HSG varieties can be used at scale to reduce ammonia and nitrous oxide excretion. These climate smart grasses are also highly productive, driving 6% more milk per cow in a grazing season while 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 2023 Pasture Profit Index (PPI).
| Ploidy | Heading date | PPI | Germinal mixture | |
| AberClyde | Tetraploid | 25-May | €253 | Top 5 Silage |
| AberGain | Tetraploid | 4-Jun | €241 | Top 5 Extend |
| AberMagic | Diploid | 28-May | €215 | Top 5 Silage |
| AberBann | Diploid | 10-Jun | €190 | Top 5 Grazing |
| AberChoice | Diploid | 11-Jun | €190 | Top 5 Extend |
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
Aber HSG varieties: AberChoice; AberGain
With Top 5 Extend, you can produce a sward suited to intensive dairy, beef and sheep farming systems. The highly sward 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.
AberChoice (diploid) and AberGain (tetraploid) have been included as perennial ryegrass varieties that can drive grass production through summer and autumn. With AberGain one of the highest ranked varieties for quality on the PPI, you can be confident that this intensive mixture will produce an excellent quality, highly palatable sward.
Top 5 Grazing
Aber HSG varieties: AberBann
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 palability of the mixture drives dry matter intake and elevates animal performance in dairy, beef and sheep systems.
AberBann has a PPI of €190, ranking top of the Intermediate and Late Perennial Ryegrass Varieties for summer growth (€81) and second for autumn growth (€75; only surpassed by AberMagic with €78).
Top 5 Silage
Aber HSG varieties: AberClyde; AberMagic; AberWolf
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.
AberClyde tops the Intermediate and Late Perennial Ryegrass Varieties for 2023 with a PPI score of €253 per ha/year, highlighting the impressive contribution this variety can make to your silage swards. Also featured in the mixture are AberMagic and AberWolf, with a PPI of €215 and €209 per ha/year, respectively.
Combining the three varieties, Top 5 Silage can deliver exceptional spring and autumn yields, alongside outstanding yield and quality in a two-cut silage system.
Ask for Germinal climate smart grass and forage
You can ask your local seed merchant for Germinal's climate smart varieties and mixtures. Or feel free to speak with one of our grass and forage experts to discuss your requirements ahead of reseeding in autumn.
Niall Laffan, Area Sales Manager, South/Southwest
T: 085 841 6477
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]