Build a drought plan with 5 grassland actions

From burnt-off fields to opening silage pits early, drought is an increasing annual risk for farms. Grassland expert Harley Brown-Keech follows up on his drought tolerant forage recommendations with five practical actions when drought hits.

1. Lengthen your grazing rotation

Grass plants respond to drought by shedding tillers and going dormant to conserve energy for when moisture returns. But this resilience can falter if drought conditions last too long, presenting two risks to your swards:

• Grass plants’ ability to recover is damaged.
• As tillers are lost, the sward opens and unwanted weeds can establish, decreasing production and quality.

Protect your grassland by lengthening the grazing rotation to match slower growth and give plants more time to recover between grazings. Extend to around 25-30 days and keep grazing as withered grass slows regrowth when it next rains.

Buffer feeding will also reduce pressure on your grazing platform but depends on strong spring growth to produce deep silage reserves.

2. Cut nitrogen applications

Drought increases your stock’s risk of nitrite poisoning as grass plants continue absorbing nitrogen from soil but without growing and producing leaf material. This causes nitrites to build up in stalks and stems and can be fatal when grazed.

Watch your stock closely for warning signs and seek immediate veterinary help if you see any animals staggering or with laboured breathing.

Delay nitrogen applications for 7-10 days after rain returns. There should be enough nutrients from previous applications or nitrogen mineralised from the soil profile during the drought.

3. Reseed to increase forage yield and quality

Stick to your reseeding programme, even after drought. This means reseeding 10-15% of your least productive grassland each year. Taking an old field from 70% perennial ryegrass to 95% can lift milk and meat production, increasing dry matter (DM) yield by around 37% and metabolisable energy (ME) by 6%,

Reseeding also gives you the option to introduce drought tolerant forage crops that have deeper roots and are more resilient than conventional varieties. Wait for days of rain to soften hard ground first and then target fields that have been worst affected. This is where forage yield and quality will have fallen the most.

Our Climate Smart Adapt range is designed to deliver more resilient grazing and silage swards.

4. Protect soil from further damage

After drought, give your reseed the best chance of success by supporting soil health. Aim to minimise further moisture loss and reseed by min-till or direct drilling, as these methods are less disturbing to soil structure than ploughing.

Act early to control weeds as they will compete with grass plants, draining the little moisture and nutrients left in your soil.

For expert advice on managing soil health for quality forage production, view our guide.

5. Rebuild winter forage supplies with brassicas

When grass growth stalls, silage supplies are an obvious feed source but using them leaves you with a winter forage gap to cover. As grass naturally slows in autumn, brassicas will fill that grazing gap.

Appin grazing turnips and Stego forage rape can go from sowing to grazing in just 8 weeks, while it’s 10 weeks for hybrid brassicas Swift and Redstart. And while Stego is a fast option, it offers no regrowth potential. Redstart offers regrowth if grazed to 50% leaf and is quicker out of the ground than Swift.

Brassica variety	Estimated DM yield (t DM/ha)	Metabolisable energy (MJ/kg DM)
Appin	3-5	10-11
Redstart	6-8	10-11
Stego	4-6	10-11
Swift	6-8	10-11

With the right conditions, these varieties can be sown into early September and will produce homegrown forage to reduce the need to buy winter feed.

For full brassica advice from sowing to grazing, read the expert guide in our Knowledge Hub.

Summary: 5 actions for your drought plan

1. Lengthen grazing rotation

2. Cut nitrogen

3. Reseed

4. Protect soil

5. Boost forage with brassicas

This proactive approach helps reduce the impact of drought and supports long-term sustainable grassland management.

Interested in a drought plan?

Work with your regional Germinal expert and get drought ready for the future.