Dick Lucas shows the pre-grazing state of the cocksfoot pasture on July 1 which lead to the decision to initiate a winter graze to ensure survival of the young annual clover seedlings at the base of the pasture. This video shows the plot the ram hoggets have just entered for a clean up graze. At this point, where grazing has just started, the extent of competition on the establishing annual clover seedlings below the cocksfoot canopy is high. If the plots had not been grazed, to open the cocksfoot canopy and allow light to reach the young seedlings, many of the annual clover plants would have died. (Note: video is captioned due to wind noise. Approx. 2 mins.) State of the pasture after grazing is discussed in the previous post.
Mid-winter grazing of the cocksfoot dominant annual clover pastures
