Gruner kale - consistently high yielding
Gruner giant kale is a reliable performer, producing consistently high yields over the years for John and Diane Smiths' large-scale winter grazing operation.
The Smiths this year wintered 4600 dairy cows and 480 yearlings, as well as 4000 ewes on brassicas at their property near Balfour. Gruner has been grown extensively by the Smiths since they started wintering cows five years ago, with 175ha planted this year, along with 229ha of swedes.
"Gruner seems to be reliable and high yielding and the cows do well on it," says John. "It consistently yields 14 to 16 tonne/ha. It seems to work in our environment." Sown in late October/early November, Gruner is grazed from late May to mid-August. The crop is broadcast and sown at a rate of 4.8kg/ha to keep stem sizes down and more palatable.
"We feed out 10kg of Gruner kale and 4kg baleage cow/day and they put weight on with that. Our (dairy farmer) clients are happy with the results."
