Crop Farming & Harvest

In this article, Dr. Dave Davies of Silage Solutions Ltd discusses the importance of excluding oxygen from the clamp during silage production.

Spring focus should turn onto managing existing grassland and assessing which fields need to be re-seeded or over seeded.

To ensure that you are using the correct grass seed mixture for your management system, get in touch with a Wynnstay specialist.

As we approach the beginning of the 2020 maize growing season, there are a few important things to consider pre-drilling in order to achieve a quality crop. We normally think about the effect of weather during the growing season, but this year the excess winter rainfall will also need to be taken into account.

We all know the reasons for taking a 2 or 3 cut silage system to 4 or 5 cuts; better grass quality and higher yields to increase output from forage, and if you’re not doing it already, you’ve probably dismissed is it as an option for your business or are thinking of moving in that direction

Treating maize crops with a combined fertiliser and fungicide treatment at tasselling stage has been proven to pay dividends.

Many grassland farmers with a high stocking rate and significant feed inputs have moved away from using fertilisers containing P (Phosphate). But it’s important to know that even a maintenance application of P to keep soil indexes at target 2 can have an impact on grass yields. 

With yields on cereal crops widely being reported across the industry as much as 1 tonne higher per acre, (2.5 tonne per hectare) than last year, and grass yields certainly outstripping 2018, grain stores and silage clamps are looking fuller going into the winter this year.

Maize is a crop which responds well to careful management and it is also influenced by weather conditions during the entire growing season, explains Dr Simon Pope, Crop Protection Manager for Wynnstay.

Richard Edge of Wimboldsley Grange, Middlewich, who farms 800 acres with his father, John and mother, Ruth, is a first-time grower of Gravity. He says his expectations for his wheat have been exceeded this summer – most importantly in terms of Gravity’s yield potential.