Interaction with the

Federation of Welsh Grassland Societies

CONTACT DETAILS :
FWGS Secretariat at IBERS GDC - Patricia Pitt, Tel No. 01970 823000
FWGS Secretary, Mr Charlie Morgan - Tel No. 07786 397673

LINKS TO:

PRESS RELEASES:

November 2009 - Results of Milk Competition 2009
June 2009 - Results of Grassland Management Competition
March 2009 - Results of Clamp & Big Bale Silage Competitions
March 2008 - Silage Competition Results
February 2008 - Grassland Competition Winner
March 2007 - 2007 Results of Silage Competitions
July 2007 - Results of Grassland Management Competition

NOTICES:

FWGS Executive Committee meeting
11 February 2010, IBERS Gogerddan, AU
Starting at 10:30am

FWGS AGM & Conference 2009 - Thursday 22nd October
Venue: William Davies Hall, IBERS AU, Gogerddan
Starting at 0945hrs (Registration)
Enquiries: Patricia Pitt, GDC IBERS AU - Tel: 01970 823058

2008 AGM and Conference - 23 October in Builth Wells at the Royal Welsh Showground, held jointly with the Welsh Organic Producers Conference
Enquiries: Patricia Pitt, 01970 823000

12 June 2008 – Farm walk at Bodysgaw Isa for BGS, FUW & Grassland Soc. members. Start time 11am. Click here for sight of poster. RSVP by 6th June to FUW County office, 01824 707198.

February 2008 - Milking Grass for Profit
18 October 2007 - FWGS Annual Conference & AGM at IGER Aberystwyth. Please contact FWGS Secretary Charlie Morgan or Marie Fox (Tel No's see above) for further details.

8th-12th July 2007, BGS Summer Mtg 'How Green is my Valley', to be held at the University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd with a programme of farm visits across the region featuring beef, sheep and dairy farms who have successfully integrated agri-environment schemes into their production systems and in some cases also added value to their products. There will be a FC/IGER/GDC exhibit at this meeting for farmers to come and talk to one of the GDC Extension Team. For more information:-
Contact: BGS, Tel No. 0118 9318189 or via website: www.britishgrassland.com

January 2007- All Wales Silage Competition - Group Winners are:-
Anglesey - O & H B Parry, Yr Orsedd, Powys - D Morgan, Gwern-y-Gor, Mid Cards - D. Davies Gwarffynnon, Narberth - P. Lewis, Poyerston, Wye Valley - B. Jones, Dolderwen.

23 October 2006 - Mid Cards Grassland Society Open Meeting. Speaker - Dr Sinclair Mayne, Grassland Res Station, Hillsborough. click here for further details

19 October 2006 - 'FWGS Annual Conference, AGM, and FWGS/BGS Winter Roadshow'. To be held at IGER Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth. Contact your local grassland society secretary or the FWGS Secretariat at IGER GDC, Patricia Pitt on (Tel No. 01970 823058) for further information.

REPORTS 2007:

FOR LATEST RESULTS.... please click 'Grass for Silage 2007'

REPORTS 2006:

Grass Quality for Ensiling 2006
IGER/GDC are sampling a range of grass swards intended for silage cutting, across Wales, beginning in the first week of May and continuing through the season. The results of these will be posted weekly here (click on dates below) as well as on our 'Latest News' page:-

12 June 2006 / 5 June 2006 / 29 May 2006 / 22 May 2006 / 19 May 2006 / 12 May 2006

Producing a high quality, well fermented, stable silage will only be possible if the grass at cutting time is of suitable quality.

Targets
– high sugars (above 3%@20%DM) to provide an energy source to drive fermentation
– low nitrate N% (below 0.02) to prevent the production of ammonia nitrogen that will increase buffering capacity and restrict fermentation
– D value – the digestibility of grass is directly related to its energy level – target above 67D for growing/fattening animals and dairy cows.

This weekly update will allow you to gauge how swards are progressing across Wales - to help you make the best quality silage. The majority of samples initially are from lowland dairy farms – as the weeks progress the samples will increasingly come from beef/sheep farms and from higher altitudes

*** Click here for Autumn 2005 Grass Quality Results ***

Please click here for our 2005 monthly reports:
6 May
16 May
23 May
6 June
13 June
20 June