The maize harvest is well under way at present and many farmers are trying to beat the showers and get crops in in the best condition while doing as little damage to land as possible.

General manager for grass seeds and forage crops at Goldcrop Dave Barry said that, at the minute, most plastic-covered maize crops are ready to be harvested.

He spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal at a visit to the company’s maize and beet trials.

He noted that at harvest time, there should not be any juice coming from the grain and that the grain should be a hard cheddar-type texture.

The plant should be relatively green so that there is still nutrition and energy available in the silage pit.

'Perfect scenario'

“The perfect scenario is a ripe cob and also very healthy green material without too much sap in it, so that it’s not too wet,” Dave commented.

He added that, in a normal year, crops usually benefit in dry matter yield from being in place until about 10 October.

However, this year, crops were ready early and the drought played a part in this. Dave noted that the leaf and the stem matured quickly and the cob was behind.

However, he commented that: “At the moment, a lot of the plastic-covered crops are ready to cut.”

Maize plastic

The new biodegradable plastic is adding significantly to the overall bill of maize silage, at about an extra €100/ac, but the investment is still paying off in the return of energy to the animal, Dave commented.

He added that plastic gives people insurance and two to three years ago, 90% of maize was grown under plastic. However, 20% to 25% of maize was uncovered this year and it was an ideal year for uncovered maize.

Maize can add large amounts of dry matter and energy to animals’ diets and Dave expects the area of the crop to increase next year. Maize area increased by almost 1,300ha in 2022, up to 15,646ha.