If the numbers stacked up to invest right now in one simple thing to produce 10% more milk or meat in 2025/26, would you do it?

Or would you let the opportunity pass you by?

That’s the challenge to farmers from one expert this autumn as the cumulative effect of two years of low pasture renewal takes hold.

It’s not always obvious when you’re looking at your paddocks every day. But many farms are growing less feed and more weeds than they should be.

With no intervention, the decline will continue next season.

“It’s a bit like a child you don’t see very often ‘suddenly’ growing up between visits, only this is the other way round,” says Graham Kerr, pasture specialist for Barenbrug.  

“Pastures that used to be in great shape are now going backwards, and taking farm productivity with them.

“Because it’s happened gradually, often farmers don’t realise how much yield and quality they’ve lost.”

Having travelled the country in recent months, he’s seen a lot of paddocks that are perfect contenders for undersowing this autumn, particularly where it’s got dry.

“This is an ideal option to restore pasture productivity as it’s fast, straightforward and relatively low cost. And direct drilling new seed into thin, open paddocks has minimal disruption on farm operations.”

You can get your contractor to do it the same time as seed is sown after any summer crops. And if you use quality seed, and the right cultivar, undersown paddocks will improve farm production for the next three to five years.

“There’s a huge opportunity here for many farmers this autumn,” Graham says.

Depending on the situation you can add 10% to total farm productivity in terms of pasture dry matter, with the extra benefit of increasing pasture ME by 0.5-0.8 for better utilisation and animal performance, he says.

“This autumn is the chance to turn things around, and set the farm up for improved growth in 2025/26 and beyond.”

Several factors have contributed to low levels of pasture renewal in the past two years, including high interest rates, low lamb prices and volatile dairy returns.

The fact remains, however - without thriving pasture, costs rise and profits fall.

“Grown, grazed, re-grown, and grazed again, pasture is the magic gift that keeps giving. If we look after it, it will look after us,” Graham says.

However he stresses that undersowing has to be done right to succeed.

“You need open pasture with bare ground for the new seedlings to germinate; if paddocks are too thick with weeds or low value grass species, it won’t work.”

In these situations, other options are spray-drilling, cultivating paddocks for renewal, or sowing forage crops.

“The beauty of undersowing however is speed and simplicity, plus its relatively low cost and minimal disruption to the rest of the farm system. So check your pastures now, and if they fit the bill for undersowing, get ready to make the most of it.

“It will give farm performance a real shot in the arm.”