The Farmers Mart Oct-Nov 2018 - Issue 59 | Page 47

GETTING READY FOR WINTER 47
• OCT/NOV 2018
Autumn drilling offers opportunities
to bridge forage gaps
Autumn 2018 offers many dairy farmers more opportunity than
usual for late-season establishment of perennial or hybrid
ryegrass, with leys drilled in the coming weeks offering the
potential to accelerate the rebuilding of depleted forage stocks.
THIS was the message from
forage experts Germinal at UK
Dairy Day, where the company
highlighted an early maize harvest
and prolonged warm soil tem-
peratures as reasons for planning
additional reseeding.
“The hot, dry summer has ham-
pered grass growth and caused
forage shortages, but it’s also
resulted in an accumulation of
heat units that we are predicting
will bring forage maize maturity
forward by two to three weeks in
many areas,” said Germinal GB na-
tional agricultural sales manager
Ben Wixey. “There will therefore
be more time this autumn to es-
tablish grass after maize, and we
also expect soil temperatures to
stay warmer for longer, extending
the period when grass and clover
can be sown successfully.
“Short term Italian ryegrass or
Westerwolds are the norm where
drilling is possible after maize, but
this year the wider window will
bring perennials and hybrids –
possibly with white clover – into
the reckoning. These longer-term
ryegrasses will offer better quality
forage over a longer period, so
may well be a more versatile solu-
tion for anyone seeking ways to
rebuild their forage stocks.”
Germinal’s expectation for an
earlier maize harvest is based
on data recorded at their own
research station in Wiltshire,
where average dry matters across
a range of varieties in trials have
already reached the 30–32% DM
required to trigger harvest.
“We’ll be harvesting our maize
plots during the week of UK Dairy
Day, which is a full two weeks
ahead of expectations for the
varieties we have in trials,” said
Germinal GB technical trials man-
ager Dr Jo Matthews. “With the
heat unit accumulation that we’ve
seen across the country, farmers
should now be monitoring their
crops closely as maturity is likely
to be advanced in a lot of cases.
“We are seeing a lot of variabil-
ity this year, however, not only
across the country but also within
fields. Crops on heavier soils have
generally fared better during the
dry spell, but it’s unwise to make
any assumptions and there’s no
substitute for getting out into the
crop, taking representative sam-
ples and checking the dry matter
of whole plants.”
Germinal advises that dairy farm-
ers considering autumn drilling of
grass leys, whether after maize
or otherwise, should ensure they
create conditions that will allow
good soil-to-seed contact and that
there is enough moisture.
www.abccomms.co.uk
FORAGE BUDGETING CRITICAL THIS YEAR
Despite grass availability finally increasing, most producers are still facing a winter
forage shortfall and therefore careful planning is required to stretch out silage.
“A lack of available grazing for the major-
ity of the summer means many farmers
have been buffer feeding for a longer
period than usual,” explains David Jones,
feeding specialist with InTouch. “With very
little forage left over from last year due
to delayed turnout, a significant propor-
tion of this year’s silage has already been
fed.”
As a result, winter feeding is going to
present a challenge, says Mr Jones, and
producers need to act now to avoid their
forage running out.
“The first step is to measure how much
forage you have and budget accordingly.
By measuring silage stocks and testing
quality, you can determine how much
you have available on a dry-matter (DM)
basis. This can then be allocated to the
number of stocks on-farm, based on a
normal winter-feeding period, and will flag
the level of shortfall. It’s all about balanc-
ing supply and demand,” he says.
If silage stocks are not enough, Mr Jones
advises producers to source additional feed
as soon as possible, as prices are expected
to rise, and availability could be limited.
“When buying forage replacers, farmers
should buy according to the cost of a tonne
of DM, as feeds that appear good-value for
the season can actually be very expensive
if they have a high moisture content,” he
says.
Mr Jones also warned that rations will
require careful balancing to ensure that all
nutritional requirements are met.
“While straw and hay are fairly good-val-
ue in DM terms, appropriate protein and
energy sources will be required to make up
the nutritional gap.”
He adds that the use of InTouch technolo-
gy can help farmers budget their forage.
“The InTouch system is based around a
smart weighing device fitted to a diet feed-
er,” says Mr. Jones. “It guides the operator
through a specially-calculated loading
order, quantity of ingredients and process-
ing time, helping to optimise feed efficiency
and cut down on waste.”
In addition, the system also takes stock of
the feeds available.
“The stock-take function of InTouch shows
how feed stocks are being eroded daily, and
will therefore, flag potential shortfalls. While
producers should avoid major dietary chang-
es, this allows rations to be tweaked and
alternative feed sources to be incorporated to
avoid completely running out of forage.
“If forage stocks were to become fully de-
pleted, it would force drastic dietary changes,
which alongside having a negative impact on
stock performance would lead to a significant
hike in feed costs,” he adds.
“It’s estimated that producers could already
face an increase in the cost of production
of around three pence per litre, so forward
planning and increased feeding accuracy will
be even more important to maintain margins,”
concludes Mr Jones.
www.alltech.com/news.