With huge scope to maximise productivity from forage, Wynnstay has launched a new Forage4Profit campaign, which is designed to support farmers to improve meat or milk from forage.
The 2022 Kingshay report indicates that the average milk from forage on UK dairy farms is 2,900 litres, showcasing that there is huge scope for improvement, with some of the best farms reaching over 5,000 litres.
Reseeding an existing ley can lead to a significant return on investment. Within several years ‘weed grasses’ will ingress into a sward – particularly if the field has experienced poaching or after a hard winter. These ‘weed grasses’ have poor quality characteristics compared to ryegrass varieties from the Recommended List. These include poor digestibility and a poorer response to fertiliser, as well as not converting to meat and milk as efficiently as ryegrass.
Spring barley has been and will continue to be a valuable tool for farmers, the numerous reasons for growing spring barley are well documented which I won’t go into now. However, you’ve got to this point its now important to make it profitable for your business.
Incorporation of spring varieties into rotations can enhance farm business resilience, especially in the face of increased input costs or weed burdens. When selecting the best variety for your farm business, end market, agronomic packages and consistency of performance are the most important factors to consider.
Autumn 2024 was a tough planting year, prolonged rainfall and waterlogged land in many areas led to delayed or even missed drilling. This spring brings the opportunity to sow fallow ground with spring cereals or pulses either as a cash crop or as feed. Or if you have opted for an overwintered cover crop such as SAM2/SW6, following with a spring cereal crop in the rotation can improve soil structure and nutrient retention.
For north Somerset milk producer Jon Bult, growing a very early maturing variety of maize allows him to maximise his use of overwinter cover crops which deliver soil health benefits and an Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payment.
The importance of upholding soil health and sustaining its productivity for the future is essential. Cover crops can prove an effective means of contributing to soil health and quality when incorporated into a rotation.
Selecting a variety for autumn sowing begins with evaluating your current variety within your specific farming system. Additionally, it's important to consider any new varieties available on the market, including a few new options this autumn.
Wet conditions this past winter lead to heightened risks of soil and slurry contamination in first-cut grass silage, because of increased wheel ruts in fields and delayed slurry applications. Farmers will require extra vigilance with silage-making this season.
In his second year of growing maize in tandem with beans, Jonathan Evans of Berry Hill Farm in Pembrokeshire has learned some valuable lessons, particularly in terms of crop establishment, variety selection and the importance of weed control.
Seen firstly as a good alternative break crop to oilseed rape – which has become harder to establish due to the difficulties in controlling flea beetle – maize is now a valuable forage for their beef finishing enterprise as well as an additional cash crop sold to neighbouring dairy and goat farms.
