After an exceptionally wet autumn, winter and now spring, it seems almost daft to be writing about reseeding. But, believe it or not, the season for reseeding is fast approaching and even though ground is sodden now, in just a few weeks’ time, farmers will be sowing in the fields.

In fact, because of the wet spring there may be more reseeding carried out earlier in the year than usual this year. This is because farmers will be dealing with surplus grass because there was so little grazing done on most farms so far this year.

Teagasc researcher Tomas Tubritt highlights some new developments in the world of grass seeds and the new pasture profit index (PPI) for 2024 is also published, showing some new and exciting grass seed varieties.

Tomas has great advice for farmers wondering what grass seeds to sow. The advice, as always, is to shop around and reject seed mixtures which have too many low-value or filler varieties included. Use the PPI rankings to determine how good a variety is for each of the desired traits.

Meanwhile, clover continues to dominate the world of grassland management and Teagasc researcher Michael Egan goes through the step-by-step guide to getting clover established. The key point remains, sow clover early in the season and target clover on to fields with good soil fertility.

Declan Collins outlines some practical advice for farmers on reseeding, from looking at methods to picking grass seed varieties and everything in between.

I take a look at a new clover-safe post-emergence spray on the market called ProClova XL, which is a herbicide with a new active ingredient developed by Corteva.

I take a look at some of the reseeding options for the growing cohort of organic farmers who must do the job without using herbicides.