Topping Today

This afternoon was spent on my new company car (toy) and caravan (Sam Powel), Topping Project X (Meesha’s New Paddock).

Regular topping of your paddocks helps to improve the grass sward by encouraging young growth as well as stimulating new root development. It also prevents many of the undesirable plants such as docks, nettles and thistles from going to seed, thus reducing the number of these plants in the future.

Far from reducing the amount of grass you have available, regular topping of your paddocks actually helps to increase the amount. Areas which may have been densely covered with dock or nettle patches for years can be converted to grassland, following a regular regime of topping.

To maximise the quantity of grass you have available, it is recommend topping your fields every 8 weeks. By doing so you will actually encourage more grass to grow. This means you have a greater volume of grass going into the winter season, which can ultimately help to reduce your feed bills.