FORAGE crops such as fodder beet, forage rape, stubble turnips and kale are set to make a comeback in Yorkshire and the North-East as farmers look for lower-cost alternatives to purchased feed, ahead of imminent CAP reform.

Russell Sawer, seed manager of Stokesley-based agricultural merchants Armstrong Richardson, made the prediction at a forage crop open day held in conjunction with British Seed Houses and Terra at Swainby.

"New Zealand farmers did this over ten years ago when subsidies were abolished. They survived by moving in a big way into forage crops to cut winter feed costs," he said.

Describing forage crops as a cheap and easy-to-manage feed source which had gone out of fashion in recent years, he said they would be of particular benefit on mixed farms as useful break crops in a rotation of grass leys and cereals.

"Forage crops also require relatively modest inputs of agrochemicals and fertiliser, and production costs based on dry matter yields are comparable with grass, maize and whole crop silage," he said.

One half of the 12-acre demonstration site at Howard Kitching's Black Horse Farm had been grazed for a month by 400 store lambs to give a view into the base of the crops as well as an indication of which of the 24 varieties the animals preferred.

"All the forage crops grown here were eaten down to the ground but, when given a choice, there was a clear preference for fodder beet and a special mixture of stubble turnip and forage rape," Mr Sawer said.

Visitors to the site were given a summary of the relative merits of each of the crop types on show.

Fodder beet: sweet tasting root, palatable tops, relatively high establishment cost but high yield per hectare, some varieties more suitable for lifting than grazing, sow in May.

Stubble turnip/forage rape mix: known locally as the Agglethorpe mixture, competitive against weeds, 1kg an acre seed rate better than 2kg, sow end of July.

Turnips: for sheep grazing before end of year, to fit between stubble turnips and kale, sow early May.

Kale: slower growing but more winter-hardy than the root crops, for sheep and cows, boosts milk yield, provides flexible grazing from August through to February. Sow late May or early June, seed must be dressed against flea beetle. Maris Kestrel still one of the best varieties as palatable leaves grow full length of stem.

Tyfon: Chinese cabbage/ stubble turnip cross, small root, can re-grow two or three times after grazing.

Stubble turnips: catch crop for sheep during the summer and autumn.

Forage rape: widely used for pheasant cover but some varieties a "cheap and cheerful" catch crop for sheep, less bulk than other crops, must be used within 12-16 weeks of sowing or goes to stem, sow straight after winter barley or early winter wheat