The importance of upholding soil health and sustaining its productivity for the future is essential. No matter what the enterprise, we are reliant on soil for all production, either to produce our crops or forage to feed livestock. Therefore, measures must be taken to conserve soil, which is more vulnerable to erosion and the leaching of essential nutrients over the winter months, especially after the harvest of maize crops.
Autumn 2023 was a difficult one for many, with the only real drilling window way back in September we have seen a deluge of rain since which seems to have no end in sight, with forecasts predicting wet weather into the new year. This has meant only a handful of opportunities to get on the land to cultivate and then sow autumn crops.
As we start to look to what 2024 will bring, it’s a natural instinct to turn to spring cereals for any land that didn’t get planted in the autumn - deliberately or otherwise! However, with shortages of spring cereals it’s now more important than ever to remember that autumn cereals can be sown successfully into the new year. So, here are my top tips for late sowing winter wheat!
Quantifying the level of mycotoxin contamination in your feeds is always difficult, as there are >400 different species of mycotoxins, all with varying levels of toxicity, and they may not be in every part of the silage clamp or TMR that we sample! Generally speaking, any plant with a flowering head (such as maize or wheat) could have developed fungi in the field, under stress conditions such as drought or wet weather, which produce the ‘in field’ mycotoxins on the plant. When harvested, the mycotoxins remain in the silage, and in some cases, further mould/fungi growth in the clamp can lead to more ‘storage’ mycotoxin production.
Nutrient management planning ensures that crops receive the right nutrients in the right amounts at the right time. When done effectively, it not only promotes healthy crop growth but also maximises yields and minimises environmental impacts.
Rachel Clifton, one of our experts in nutrient management planning, sheds light on the plan’s key principles and practices, and what is involved in the process of getting one.
Low grass silage stocks have been a significant subject of conversation this summer, stemming from the adverse impact of a dry June on grass growth.
Although we had rain towards the end of June, it was patchy. Where rain did fall, it often came in short, heavy bursts. If the ground was baked hard, this made it prone to run off. What we needed was prolonged rainfall to wet the ground so it could soak in.
When it comes to selling wheat, many growers revert to selling it for animal feed, however it is important to evaluate and maximise the potential of grain in terms of market and premiums, as many could be missing out on opportunities to add value to their grain.
It is important to remember that not only group one varieties on the recommended list have the potential to offer a premium, as many group twos, threes and fours can also provide this if the specs are met, which many of them are capable of.
In Season 3, Episode 7 of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub podcast, Rob Hess one of our Senior Traders at GrainLink has joined me to discuss the potential of grain in terms of how growers can optimise quality and ultimately achieve the best price possible.
When growing high yielding varieties, often other agronomic features such as disease resistance are sometimes overlooked. The fungicides at our disposal today are capable of producing extremely good results, but it is important to apply as much thought to the fungicide programme and timings as to the choice of product, to achieve optimum yield potential.
Over recent years, the emphasis has moved away from reactive fungicide applications to treat visible disease in the crop, and more towards a strategy where prevention is better than cure. To achieve this, the fungicides must be applied at the correct time and early in the development of the disease, or even before infection occurs, with timing infl uenced by growth stage, weather and the variety’s disease resistance.
Ecosyl UK research has found that selecting the right wilting technique when making grass silage can speed up the process by up to five times. The research, which was conducted on farms in Wales using farm-scale silage machinery, compared the effects of tedding, time of day of cutting, and crop maturity on the rate of crop drying.
The results showed that tedding the grass after cutting increased the rate of wilting by up to 30%. Cutting the grass in the morning also resulted in faster wilting, as the dew on the grass helped to cool it down and reduce the rate of evaporation. Finally, the research found that the most mature grass wilted the fastest, as it had a higher water content.These findings suggest that farmers can speed up the silage wilting process by using the right techniques. Tedding the grass after cutting, cutting it in the morning, and harvesting the most mature grass will all help to reduce the amount of time it takes to make silage.
It is essential to take good care of grass silage made this year. Increasing milk production from home-grown silage is a great way to improve profitability.
Good quality silage starts with good quality grass, and cutting at the right stage of growth is key to achieving this, a one-week delay in cutting is equivalent to 1.2l of milk/cow/day. Allowing crops to “Bulk up” may mean more silage in the pit on any single cut, but generally cutting more often means you will grow more grass through the season – so potentially more silage of a better quality.
