PastureBase Ireland

Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Hanrahan L., Geoghegan A., O’Donovan M., Griffith V., Wallace M. and Shalloo L.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
PastureBase Ireland (PBI) is a web-based grassland management tool incorporating a dual function of grassland decision support and a central database to collate grassland data. This database facilitates the collection and storage of a vast quantity of grassland data from grassland farmers in Ireland, providing infinite opportunities to increase the understanding around all aspects of grassland production and ultimately utilisation. The database spans across enterprises (dairy, beef and sheep), with grassland data recorded by all enterprise groups. Key questions that PBI can address include the quantification of seasonal and annual grass dry matter (DM) production, establishing the factors that affect production across different enterprises, including for example grassland management, region, and soil type. This database is designed to be functional at the paddock level. PBI has the potential to refocus grassland research in Ireland, while contributing to significant increases in productivity and profitability on grassbased farms. The objective of this paper is to briefly describe PBI and to demonstrate some of the outputs of the model.

Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Byrne N. , Berry D.P., Geoghegan A., Shalloo L., Gilliland T.J. and O’Donovan M.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
Increasing grass growth and utilisation on Irish dairy farms is shown to have a positive effect on farm profitability. This study was designed to establish the productivity of individual grass varieties under commercial conditions on-farms and compare this to their relative performance in recommended-list plot studies. The objective was to determine to what extent the plot tests are representative of on-farm performances. PastureBase Ireland (PBI) was established in Ireland as the national grassland database. 44 commercial dairy farms across different regions and soil types were selected to estimate grass yield using the PBI decision support tool. On these farms a number of grass varieties were sown as monocultures, each farm sowed the variety Tyrella (diploid ‘D’) (as a control), and a range of other varieties were also sown: AberGain (tetraploid ‘T’), Kintyre (T), AberChoice (D), Twymax (T), Drumbo (D), and Astonenergy (T). The range between the highest and lowest yielding varieties in the first full growing season was 1.6 Mg dry matter (DM) ha‑1, but the level of variability of the on-farm recordings meant that no significant differences were recorded. When the relationship between varieties under simulated grazing plots and on-farm evaluations was examined it was found that every additional Mg of DM ha‑1 in plot evaluations actually represented 0.64 Mg DM ha‑1 on-farm.