XtraBlatt Issue 01-2023

THE FUTURE OF FORAGE GROWING
Time to rethink
Climate change presents new challenges for hay and silage producers.
Yet grassland expert Heinz-Günter Gerighausen believes that
these can be overcome – provided farmers prepare their grassland
for “drought stress” and manage it with the same level of care they
give to their arable crops. An appeal for a rethink.
When it comes to
professional grassland
management, the necessary
components are all
there – we just have to
use them correctly and
consistently.
Grassland expert
Heinz-Günter Gerighausen
A
lthough winter 2022/2023 brought
significant rainfall to large parts of
Germany, the deficits of previous
years in the deeper soil layers are still
far from replenished. Some regions such as the
Allgäu highlands in southern Germany recorded
yet another pronounced winter drought. Looking
back over several years, it is clear that on average
upland areas that typically expect to receive up
to 1,200mm of rainfall a year are already having
to cope with about half of the formerly available
water resources. Yet in these very areas, permanent
grassland is one of the dominant farming
operations and livelihoods. So, in the long term,
will permanent grassland continue to provide a
reliable basis for the production of high-quality
forage – the bedrock of high-performance dairy
farming? Or – and this is a provocative question
– will we be left only with extensive grazing of
suckler cows, sheep and goats? Indeed, is the EU’s
recent extensification programme perhaps the
best solution?
Grassland care pays off
Heinz-Günter Gerighausen believes that the
sometimes high losses in forage production due
to drought already constitute a drastic form of
extensification. As consultant to the North Rhine
Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture and lecturer
at their agricultural training and research institute
Haus Riswick, he has devoted decades to optimising
grassland management and forage production.
The 70-year-old is also a leading authority in
the agricultural machinery industry, where his
immense experience is highly sought-after when
it comes to testing forage harvesting equipment.
However, when asked about the fundamental
changes required in grassland management, he
stresses: “There really is no magic formula that
is applicable to every region. What really matters
– now more than ever – is to develop specific strategies
for specific situations. I would like to provide
some suggestions and new ways of thinking. But
ultimately, every farmer has to develop their own
particular solutions for overcoming the challenges
– and be willing to try new approaches.”
His first suggestion for changing grassland
management is fundamental. In Heinz-Günter
Gerighausen’s view, we need to approach grassland
with a different mindset and stop treating it like
a poor relation, as land which is there anyway
and no use for anything else, whose yields we
somehow have to use. “Why do farmers pull out all
the stops when it comes to managing their arable
land, but neglect even the most basic aspects of
grassland care whose effects have been proven
through decades of testing?” he asks in his direct,
pragmatic style, before adding: “Well-managed
grassland can be just as productive as arable land
and the effort you put in pays for itself several
times over in the form of yields plus quality.”
Regular inspections
to assess the crop
and weed population
is the basis of
professional grassland
management.
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XtraBlatt 1|2023
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