We now have the bulk of the winter feed secured. Our contractor had everything mown, picked up and consolidated in the silage pit by Friday evening.
We wilted for a full day in glorious weather, so it should be preserved well. We then covered it with tyres and it won’t be disturbed for about six months unless something extraordinary happens. I reckon there’s a yield of somewhere between 10 and 12 tonnes per acre, so we will probably close up the same amount of ground for a second cut.
But first we have to get the slurry out – that’s going to mean a lot of diesel used in agitation and spreading.
I would, given present good ground conditions, like to use an umbilical system but based on past experience, I reckon that would need a lot of extra water to get the material diluted enough to flow easily through the long pipes. I had been planning to do some reseeding after 1 June, it but with such dry conditions we are going to postpone it until the late August/early September period.
Out in the fields, only the wheat has to get a final head spray. It is all eared out so in a few days we should get that done.
Then it really is into harvest preparation. The gluten-free oats and the seed wheat have to be checked for wild oats and odd volunteers – this inevitably involves some hand rogueing within the crops while the headlands have to be trimmed back to get rid of brome. This is one of the most tedious jobs of the year.
The use of Roundup on these sensitive crops is absolutely forbidden, even around the headlands, and minimal levels of contamination from other crops can result in rejection.
Looking at the forward prices this year, every cent of bonus is going to be needed so we will do our best to meet the specifications.
The audit had to be done online and try as I did, I could not get the process to work
Meanwhile, back in the house, the paperwork is mounting up. Apart from our herd test and organising the disposal of our reactors, we received a letter from Bord Bia about our forthcoming Quality Assurance inspection.
Selling everything to the factory, it is absolutely critical that we qualify for the QA bonus. We have been in the scheme since the start so I am fairly confident that most conditions are in place. Over the bank holiday weekend, I went through the papers and saw I had to complete a comprehensive sustainability audit so the farm carbon footprint could be worked out.
The audit had to be done online and try as I did, I could not get the process to work. My fault or theirs? I am not sure but I am going to have to get help.
