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.
We use a topper that sits on the front of the tractor, which means that grass and weeds are not flattened before being cut.
As you can see from the picture above the tractor we use is not a conventional tractor, but has been especially designed for cutting grass on steep ground and for accessing hard to reach areas, such as fields with small gates or difficult turn-in areas.
To maximise the quantity of grass you have available, we would 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.
