The Department of Agriculture has released the list of recommended grass varieties for 2015. For the first time, the list incorporates the Teagasc Pasture Profit Index (PPI), which ranks each variety on profitability relative to base values – similar to how the EBI works in cattle breeding. Each variety tested is assigned its PPI based on growth during spring, summer and autumn, and also on quality and persistency, along with silage yields.
The top-performing variety is the tetraploid Abergain, with a PPI value of €208/ha/year. In total, there are 10 varieties with a PPI of more than €150/ha/year.
According to Teagasc researcher Michael O’Donovan, who has led the development of the PPI, the incorporation of the index into the recommended list is important.
“Grassland farmers now have a real figure to work off when choosing varieties and they can see exactly where that figure is coming from, whether it’s from spring growth or silage yields, etc,” O’Donovan said.
He also encouraged farmers to keep an eye on the heading dates as there is considerable variation between varieties.
“Some very early heading varieties go into their reproductive stage quite early, which makes it harder to graze out properly and quality suffers.”
The introduction of the PPI into the recommended lists is seen as an important step in grassland research.
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