Silage

Farmers who have had to graze silage fields twice are now very worried about this year’s crop. Normally, silage fields are closed and fertilised by 14 April. It was only in the past week that many farmers got all their silage ground closed and fertilised. In many cases, there is less ground closed than normal as animals need the area for grazing.

The weather up to now has been abnormal and we need it to continue to be abnormal for the next two months – but abnormally good. Otherwise silage yields will be back. What are the contingencies? A big second cut is a good option. This will require a high stocking rate on the grazing block for the summer. Extra fertiliser will facilitate this.

The first cut also needs to be cut in early June to allow for a mid-to late-July second cut. Further options are discussed on pages 34 and 35. An alternative to growing all of your own feed is to buy some of it in. Contract-rearing agreements for young stock are now commonplace. The next step is to bring out contract crop-growing agreements. These can be with tillage or grassland farmers for a specific tonnage or acreage of feed at an agreed price and at an agreed time. Contract-rearers get paid monthly.

I don’t see why contract crop growers can’t get the same. This will ensure that the crop is well managed to produce the required quality, cashflow for the grower and give them certainty of an end sale. It is the farmer who needs the silage who needs to be proactive on this front. Like with contract-rearing, it is all about trust between the two parties. A written contract is essential, but should only be referred to as a last resort. Any agreement needs to be win/win.

Meal

Most farmers have fed more meal than normal this year due to the weather, which was the right thing to do. Looking at the forecast, the weather for the next week is set to be very good with high temperatures and little or no rainfall. As explained on pages 34 and 35, feeding extra meal to grow more silage or produce more milk is a false economy.

When grass growth increases and the weather settles, the meal feeding levels should come down. Feeding one or two kilos to cover for minerals and vitamins is fine, but any more is questionable. Once the cow is covered for minerals and vitamins, feeding any more is as bad as not feeding enough. The key thing over the next few months is to have the best quality grass in front of cows so production will be good and secondly, to make as much silage as possible.

Spring

Now is probably a good time to take stock after a very busy and tough spring for everyone. What were the weak links in the farm? A lack of labour is blamed for many things, but can more or better facilities reduce the need for labour? What did you do that worked well and what did you do that you will never do again? Unless these things are written down they will never be recorded and mistakes will be repeated. Of course, the weather was the main factor this spring, but perhaps we should be planning for more adverse events like storms and low grass growth.