Jonathan Evans farms at Berry Hill near Newport, Pembrokeshire, alongside his father, uncle, grandparents, and cousins. The family farm 154 hectares where they grow grass, maize, forage rape, forage rye, and hybrid rye. In an attempt to reduce purchased feed costs and cut soya out of diets, in 2022 they undertook a novel trial and intercropped maize and beans to support the 190-cow herd.
The increase in cost of fertiliser products have prompted many growers to consider new and innovative ways to ensure their crops receive adequate nutrition. Wynnstay agronomists are working with growers and introducing a novel approach to crop nutrition and biostimulation.
The application of a fungicide to the maize crop can provide excellent control of eyespot and other key diseases.
In addition, the physiological benefits delivered by some active ingredients (e.g. pyraclostrobin) can significantly improve both the yield and quality of maize.
The effect of regional weather patterns is clearly visible again this season. In areas that experienced low rainfall and high temperatures during the critical establishment and early development phase, the crop has clearly suffered. Contrast this with other parts of the country where periods of hot weather were interspersed with regular rainfall, and well-established maize crops have high yield potential. Given the variability, I advise growers to monitor their crops as we progress through September to ensure the crop is harvested at the optimum maturity.
Small mistakes with harvest management can lead to costly results. Getting the details right at this stage will help to ensure all the resource that has been invested in growing the crop, doesn't go to waste!
Dairy farmer Jonathan Evans wanted to improve milk quality from his 220 cows to improve milk price and he is now reaping the benefits of close teamwork between his Wynnstay Agronomist and Nutritionist.
Before getting started with clamping maize, clean out old silage. If you had a problem with mouldy silage the previous year, be particularly thorough with clamp hygiene.
On exposure to air silage can begin to break down resulting in heating and high DM losses. This process is known as aerobic spoilage. Aerobic spoilage is initiated mainly by yeasts which can grow using a variety of different substances particularly residual sugars and lactic acid. After the initial yeast activity, moulds join in. They are able to grow on a wider range of substances so spoilage accelerates. Such silages will also have reduced palatability.
Maize silage can be prone to losses from poor fermentation. These losses are invisible and can run at about 8% for maize harvested at the recommended dry matter content. However in some cases they may be higher – e.g. with some suggestion that DM losses can be as high as 20- 30% between the field (pre-harvest) and what finally ends up in the rumen.
Harvesting maize at the wrong whole-plant DM can result in reduced silage quality. Don’t leave maize to die off before harvesting it, as many farmers do. We recommend harvesting according to the correct dry matter – for example, when the whole plant is at around 30-33% DM. However, don’t leave it to get too dry as this makes it more difficult to consolidate in the clamp.
