Mr. David Hagan:

On grass measurement, we have found that after two seasons of grazing in Dowth the multispecies sward will outyield the rye grass control by approximately 2 tonnes to 2.5 tonnes. A multispecies sward is a composite of different species, including rye grasses, clovers and herbs. The grass and herbs will grow in the spring. We still use fertiliser on the multispecies swards; 170 kg on the swards instead of 170 kg on the rye grass. By using nitrogen at the start of the season when the legumes are not growing as strongly, we encourage grass and herbs to grow. They fill the period when the legumes are not yet growing as strongly. The second aspect is that when we are closing our swards in the winter, we close them at a higher cover so there is more growth in the spring. It is a slightly different management technique than that associated with perennial rye grass. It is managed a little differently to overcome the differences in the sward. That is one base. We are measuring this on a monthly basis.

On the composition of the sward, Jane Shackleton, our PhD student who is working on this, does botanical surveys every month. In the two and a half years that the multispecies sward has been growing, we are seeing a slight change in its composition, but its functionality in terms of growth rate and the performance of the animals is getting better. We are not one bit worried about the changing of the composition of the sward.

On the issue of persistency, if we look at present management techniques for perennial rye grass, we see a five- to seven-year timeframe for reseeding it. We see that multispecies swards would at least match that. We are trying out different management techniques in Dowth, as we discussed with the Chairman when he was there, to prolong the persistency of that sward. We are halfway through that and, at present, we do not see any reason the persistency will not be at least as good as perennial rye grass, if not better.