Although there has been snow and freezing temperatures of late, it is time to get fertiliser spread on silage ground.

Where nitrogen is applied over the next week, grass should be ready for harvesting by the first week of June, assuming 100 units of nitrogen is spread for first cut silage.

First cut swards should be dressed with 100 units of nitrogen/acre. Grass will use around two units of nitrogen/day on average, meaning it takes 50 days for fertiliser to be used up.

Grass can be cut a few days earlier, but it will need a 24-hour wilting period to ensure a stable fermentation in the pit.

Fertiliser

On silage ground with phosphate (P) and potash (K) levels at index two or better, slurry and straight nitrogen fertiliser will suffice for first cut.

Slurry produced from intensively finished cattle has higher P and K levels than slurry from dry cows. It will also be higher in nitrogen, so bear this in mind when putting out slurry.

For slurry from intensively finished bulls, spreading 2,000 to 2,500 gallons/acre will provide enough P and K depending on soil P and K at index two and three.

Nitrogen from the slurry can be topped up with 75 units of bagged nitrogen, which could potentially be three bags/acre of CAN.

Low index

For soils at index one or zero for P and K, slurry will struggle to provide the P and K required for first cut silage, so three bags of a compound NPK fertiliser should also be applied.

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