By Lois Macdonald, BGS.

Don't treat your horse like a human. Its well-adapted digestive system was designed for grazing fibrous grasses and plants. Investing time into researching what you put in your horse's mouth will never be wasted. 

Applying fertiliser and controlling weeds in grass after first cut is vital to optimise total silage yields this year, says independent grassland specialist Charlie Morgan.

 "With lower first cut grass yields expected due to the late, cold spring, and silage stocks low or non-existent on most farms, farmers will be looking to big second cuts to make up any shortfall," says Charlie.

Got a forage question? Ask some grassland society members

BGS's Scotgrass stand on May 11^th will offer visitors the chance to quiz to four members of the South West Scotland Grassland Society, who are willing to share their own practical experiences on a range of forage topics -from organic red clover to finishing beef on maize.

South West Scotland Grassland Society timetable for Scotgrass

Forefront and Pharaoh, Dow AgroScience's highly effective herbicides for weed control in grassland, return to the market under strict use conditions to minimise the risk of affected manure leaving farms.

Based on aminopyralid, these products were voluntarily withdrawn from the market during 2008 and approval for use suspended by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) after instances of manure with traces of the weedkiller affected allotments and gardens in some parts of Britain.