Environmental and Stewardship Mixtures

Environmental and Stewardship schemes are becoming a much more important part of agriculture. The schemes are designed to encourage landowners and farmers to positively manage habitats, improve water quality, enhance the landscape and protect heritage by integrating good farming practice with care and protection of the environment. Included in the schemes are the management and recreation of species rich grassland and sowing of mixtures for feeding wild birds.

Barenbrug is able to give help and guidance to allow you to sow the best mixture of grasses, with herbs and wildflowers, to meet the requirements of both the grower and environmentalist.

Species for Stewardship Options

Recreating Grassland on cultivated land

Agrostis capillaries       Common bent

Naturally occurring on poorer soils in hills and mountains. A tufted perennial, 10-70 cm high, spreading by short rhizomes and sometimes by stolons, forming a loose or dense turf. Widely used in amenity mixtures.

Cynosurus cristatus      Crested Dogstail

A low grass, leafy at the base, and thus suitable for grazing by sheep, it is low yielding and the proportion of wiry, unpalatable stem to leaf is high. It withstands drought and cold. A compactly tufted perennial 5-75 cm high

Dactylis glomerata        Cocksfoot

Formally an important agricultural grass in the UK, included in mixtures for its yield and drought resistance, but rarely used now as foliage rapidly becomes woody, unpalatable and low feed value. New varieties are much better quality. A densely tufted perennial, 15-140 cm high.

Festuca ovina                Sheeps fescue

A very hardy, drought-resistant, species that withstands close cutting and heavy grazing, but is not competitive with major agricultural species. A densely tufted perennial, 5-69 cm high, without rhizomes.

Festuca pratensis          Meadow fescue

Formally a major agricultural species in the UK, lost out to perennial ryegrass, which performs better in high nitrogen regimes. A valuable grazing and hay grass for rich moist soils. New varieties are much higher yielding, equivalent to perennial ryegrass. A loosely tufted perennial, 30-120 cm high, forming large tussocks when growing alone.

Festuca rubra                Red fescue

Widespread throughout the UK, mainly on poorer soils, often included in agricultural mixtures for hill. Perennial, 22-100cm high, with relatively long to very slender, scaly creeping rhizomes, forming dense or loosely tufted patches.

Phleum bertolonii          Smaller Catstail

A close relative of Timothy, occasionally used in amenity mixtures, because of its creeping habit. Winter hardy and able to withstand very wet soils. A loosely to compactly tufted perennial 10-50 cm high, sometimes with leafy stolons.

Phleum pratense            Timothy

Widely used as part of agricultural leys throughout northern Britain, because of its palatability, winter hardiness and ability to produce in wet conditions and under low fertility. Not as productive as perennial ryegrass, grows 40-150 cm high.

Poa pratensis                 Smooth stalk meadow grass

Widely spread across the UK, mainly on free draining soils and sports fields, very limited agricultural value. A very variable perennial 10-90 cm high, with creeping slender rhizomes, forming loose to compact tufts or turf.

Poa trivialis                    Rough stalk meadow grass

Very common in old meadows and pastures of the lowlands, especially on rich moist soils. A loosely tufted perennial, 20-100 cm high, with creeping leafy stolons.

Suggested Mixtures

Productive Mixture

30%       Meadow fescue

30%       Timothy

20%       Strong creeping red fescue

10%       Cocksfoot

10%       Smooth stalk meadow grass

100%

This mixture will form a Timothy, meadow fescue ley, which will be as productive as a 2 to 3 year old conventional perennial ryegrass sward. It will produce under conditions of low fertility, producing either grazing, silage, hay or good ground cover for birds.

Non Productive Mixture

30%       Red fescue

30%       Smooth stalk meadow grass

20%       Timothy

10%       Common bent

10%       Sheeps fescue

100%    

This mixture is designed to give the minimum amount of production, to limit the requirement for topping, but still give enough ground cover for holding birds.

Recreation of species-rich grassland

Two of the following species must be added to one of the above mixtures to make up 1% of the total mixture

Alopecurus pratensis            Meadow foxtail

Common in water meadows or old grassland on rich moist soils, a loosely or compactly tufted perennial, 30-120 cm high.

Anthoxanthum odoratum      Sweet vernal grass

Widely distributed throughout the UK in a great variety of habitats, a tufted perennial, 10-100cm high.

Briza media                           Quaking grass

Widely distributed throughout the UK in a great variety of habitats, perennial, forming loose tufts, 15 -75 cm high, with short rhizomes bearing leafy, vegetative shoots.

Bromus Commutatus             Meadow brome

Widespread in the UK, but mainly on moist lowland soils, annual or biennial, 40-120 cm high

Koeleria macrantha               Crested hair grass

A common species of dry grasslands, especially on calcareous soils, a compactly tufted perennial, 10-60 cm high, sometimes with slender rhizomes.

Tristum flavescens                 Yellow oat grass

Common in England, drought resistant and tolerates a wide range of soils, a loosely tufted perennial, 20-80 cm high

Trifolium pratense                  Red clover

Used in short term agricultural mixtures to improve protein content of the crop. Short lived perennial up to 100 cm high.

Species rich mixture

30%       Red fescue

30%       Smooth stalk meadow grass

18%       Timothy

10%       Common bent

10%       Sheeps fescue

0.5%      Meadow foxtail

0.5%      Yellow oat grass

100%    

The suggested sowing rate on all these mixtures is 20 kg/ha (8 kg/acre)

Pollen and nectar mixture

Mixture constituents are 80% grasses of four species from:

Agrostis capillaries                    Common bent

Cynosurus cristatus                  Crested dogstail

Festuca ovina                            Sheeps fescue

Festuca pratensis                      Meadow fescue

Festuca rubra                            Red fescue

Phleum bertolonii                       Smaller catstail

Poa pratensis                            Smooth stalk meadow grass

20% legumes of four species from;

Trifolium pratense                      Red clover

Trifolium hybridum                      Alsike clover

Lotus corniculatus                      Birds foot trefoil

Onobrychis viciifolia                    Sainfoin

Vivia sativa                                 Common vetch

Medicago lupulina                       Black medick

Suggested Mixture

20%       Sheeps fescue

20%       Meadow fescue

20%       Red fescue

20%       Smooth stalk meadow grass

10%       Common vetch

6%         Red clover

2%         Alsike clover

2%         Birds foot trefoil

100%    

Wildlife seed mixture

The specified mixture is:

80%       Mixed cereals

10%       Kale

10%       Quinoa

100%

Suggested sowing rate is 35-50 kg/ha

Set aside

The main aims of set aside mixtures are to suppress weeds, avoid erosion, improve soil structure and utilise soil nitrates. Mixtures of ryegrass with or without white clovers and timothy are available.