In Conversation With... - Peaks and Troughs of Grass and Water

Welcome to the second episode of In Conversation With… hosted this month by Senior Sheep and Beef Consultant Kirsten Williams. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Poppy Frater (Senior Consultant, SAC Consulting) and Kerr Adams (Research Scientist, The James Hutton Institute). They discuss grass and water management and look at how to build resilience into a system. Also, the wet winter, late spring and how to manage grass growth and maximise productivity. To round off the discussion, our panel look ahead to the summer months, trends and how to plan for possible drought problems.  Episode Timestamps  00.00 Introduction  01.29 Making best use of pasture 02.35 Three leaf rule 04.19 Grass target heights – hitting the sweet spot 05.45 Value of rest 10.30 Effect of a changing climate on water availability  11:55 Climatic water balance projections 15.23 Water footprint 18.52 Strategies to increase water holding capacity  21.59 Sheep are the solution! 22.15 Building resilience into the system 25.45 Learning from others 28.18 Software to help manage supply and demand. Scenario planning. 32.42 Forage crops 33.16 Cashflow 34.35 Change one little thing 38.50 Key message for managing grass supplies 39.34 Key message for managing water supplies  41.17 Kirsten's take home message  FAS Resources www.fas.scot/publication/resilient-technology-options-for-water-management-on-farm/  www.fas.scot/article/water-scarcity-and-rising-temperatures/  www.fas.scot/publication/feast-or-famine-water-on-your-farm-water-scarcity-video/  Other Resources  www.hutton.ac.uk  www.crew.ac.uk/  www.sruc.ac.uk/business-services/sac-consulting/agricultural-production/grassland-management/grazeup/ www.farmingandwaterscotland.org  www.rsabi.org.uk For more information, visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: [email protected]