Second cut silage has been harvested in excellent conditions.
There was a good crop of grass on the fields, but the high temperatures and strong sun that we’ve been experiencing over the past few days have wilted the grass so much that I ended up with around 6 bales per acre.
Not that I’m complaining as there is no feed value in water as we all know and the less bales the smaller the contractor’s bill.
I now need to decide how many acres I’m going to put back in for third cut.
I’m planning to take two fields out for reseeding, which could potentially leave me tight for grass on the grazing block, depending on grass growth and weather conditions. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another day.
Clover
I’m planning on sowing one field of red clover, as one of my red clove swards has reached the end of its life, mainly due to a severe dock infestation and one field of multi species.
The field that’s intended for the multi species should be being burned off at this minute.
There is a bit of work needed to get it ready for ploughing as the field runs alongside a forest, and there are quite a few branches over hanging the field, meaning a tractor or at least a tractor with a cab can’t get tight into the fence to plough the whole field.
So that means I need to head out with the tractor and loader, a person who can lift me up and down or a ladder so I can get up into the bucket whilst it’s perched precariously in the air against a tree and a chain saw.
Or I need to get a contractor with the correct equipment to come and snip off the branches for me.
Farm safety
For the sake of my physical health, I think I’ll be opting for the contractor, a much safer option all round!
Whilst on holiday a few weeks ago I read the Jeremy Clarkson book: Diddly Squat, A Year on the Farm.
In one of the chapters, he quite hilariously describes how in the wintertime he heads out into his forestry to get firewood.
Armed with the chainsaw and all the safety equipment. With the safety helmet on he can’t see what he’s doing, and due to the fact that he has no idea what he’s doing he inevitably ends up with his chainsaw stuck in the tree.
Chainsaw
His direct quote: “At a rough guess I’d say 20% of the trees in my wood have a chainsaw stuck in them!”
Anybody who has every used a chainsaw knows that feeling, and when you’re on your own and 20ft in the air, it’s an even bigger problem.
The plan is to burn the field off, get the branches trimmed back.
Then leaving as close to two weeks as possible, get it ploughed, limed, made ready and sowed. Fingers crossed the weather hold up.
Read more
In pictures: reseeding and joint work in the fields of Fermoy, Co Cork
Dairy Management: growth rates beginning to falter on dry farms
Fatigue: more than just being tired
Prioritising safety on farms around Ireland
Second cut silage has been harvested in excellent conditions.
There was a good crop of grass on the fields, but the high temperatures and strong sun that we’ve been experiencing over the past few days have wilted the grass so much that I ended up with around 6 bales per acre.
Not that I’m complaining as there is no feed value in water as we all know and the less bales the smaller the contractor’s bill.
I now need to decide how many acres I’m going to put back in for third cut.
I’m planning to take two fields out for reseeding, which could potentially leave me tight for grass on the grazing block, depending on grass growth and weather conditions. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another day.
Clover
I’m planning on sowing one field of red clover, as one of my red clove swards has reached the end of its life, mainly due to a severe dock infestation and one field of multi species.
The field that’s intended for the multi species should be being burned off at this minute.
There is a bit of work needed to get it ready for ploughing as the field runs alongside a forest, and there are quite a few branches over hanging the field, meaning a tractor or at least a tractor with a cab can’t get tight into the fence to plough the whole field.
So that means I need to head out with the tractor and loader, a person who can lift me up and down or a ladder so I can get up into the bucket whilst it’s perched precariously in the air against a tree and a chain saw.
Or I need to get a contractor with the correct equipment to come and snip off the branches for me.
Farm safety
For the sake of my physical health, I think I’ll be opting for the contractor, a much safer option all round!
Whilst on holiday a few weeks ago I read the Jeremy Clarkson book: Diddly Squat, A Year on the Farm.
In one of the chapters, he quite hilariously describes how in the wintertime he heads out into his forestry to get firewood.
Armed with the chainsaw and all the safety equipment. With the safety helmet on he can’t see what he’s doing, and due to the fact that he has no idea what he’s doing he inevitably ends up with his chainsaw stuck in the tree.
Chainsaw
His direct quote: “At a rough guess I’d say 20% of the trees in my wood have a chainsaw stuck in them!”
Anybody who has every used a chainsaw knows that feeling, and when you’re on your own and 20ft in the air, it’s an even bigger problem.
The plan is to burn the field off, get the branches trimmed back.
Then leaving as close to two weeks as possible, get it ploughed, limed, made ready and sowed. Fingers crossed the weather hold up.
Read more
In pictures: reseeding and joint work in the fields of Fermoy, Co Cork
Dairy Management: growth rates beginning to falter on dry farms
Fatigue: more than just being tired
Prioritising safety on farms around Ireland
SHARING OPTIONS