All things Dairy

Jdunn55

Member
Just checked some silage ground whilst checking some ewe lambs, its looking good! Jumped in the past couple of weeks for definite. We direct drilled some hybrid ryegrass and red clover into a tired ley after 3rd cut last year should hopefully make some good silage!
 

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Just checked some silage ground whilst checking some ewe lambs, its looking good! Jumped in the past couple of weeks for definite. We direct drilled some hybrid ryegrass and red clover into a tired ley after 3rd cut last year should hopefully make some good silage!
Looks great, maybe too much winter growth? Or mega early cut?
 

Jdunn55

Member
Looks great, maybe too much winter growth? Or mega early cut?
Definitely too much winter growth. I've got a problem with this land, it has no water so cant graze cattle there (sheep are fine as I can ibc water to them and they drink bugger all) but sheep are only able to go on about 12 acres of it as the other 25+ is next to an illegal gypsy camp and there dogs are used for hunting so would end in disaster 🙃 Was thinking along the line of an early cut but how early is early? Mid april? I wouldnt want to lose too much yield if i can, but it would allow a fifth cut in theory
 
Location
West Wales
Just checked some silage ground whilst checking some ewe lambs, its looking good! Jumped in the past couple of weeks for definite. We direct drilled some hybrid ryegrass and red clover into a tired ley after 3rd cut last year should hopefully make some good silage!

really interested as to what you do here. Due to fences, wet ground and water supply we’ve got 100 odd Aves that haven’t seen sheep all winter and I can’t put heifers onto due to the previous owners “difficult situation with animals” meaning putting animals there wouldn’t be suitable. What would others do?Cut end of March/ early April? We normally go for 20th of April anyway just worried it will be sh!t? Or grass Harrow it in the spring to pull out the dead grass? My least favourite option but better than sh!t silage!
 
Definitely too much winter growth. I've got a problem with this land, it has no water so cant graze cattle there (sheep are fine as I can ibc water to them and they drink bugger all) but sheep are only able to go on about 12 acres of it as the other 25+ is next to an illegal gypsy camp and there dogs are used for hunting so would end in disaster 🙃 Was thinking along the line of an early cut but how early is early? Mid april? I wouldnt want to lose too much yield if i can, but it would allow a fifth cut in theory
1st April if we had some sunshine in March I guess. Stick 90 units of urea on it in feb, be a cracking shear there then. 👀👀👀👀
 

Jdunn55

Member
1st April if we had some sunshine in March I guess. Stick 90 units of urea on it in feb, be a cracking shear there then. 👀👀👀👀
I did try doing some grass in march last year, it sort of worked but the quantity just made it non viable, but that was gs4 ground that hadn't had any fetiliser so might be different. Guess I'll have to see what it looks like at the end of March, if its struggling a bit could whack some more nitrogen on and leave until mid/end of april. I have a feeling that it will rocket on now though, especially as I'm telling myself its nearly spring and it's getting warmer by the minute!
 

Jdunn55

Member
really interested as to what you do here. Due to fences, wet ground and water supply we’ve got 100 odd Aves that haven’t seen sheep all winter and I can’t put heifers onto due to the previous owners “difficult situation with animals” meaning putting animals there wouldn’t be suitable. What would others do?Cut end of March/ early April? We normally go for 20th of April anyway just worried it will be sh!t? Or grass Harrow it in the spring to pull out the dead grass? My least favourite option but better than sh!t silage!
Any possibility of leaving it for hay this year as dry cow feed and get tack sheep this winter to sort it out for next year? Alternatively cut asap accept your yield will be down but quality should be good and then take a cut from it every 4-6 weeks from then on to try and maximise yield? Those are the options I'm toying between, but given how it's looking now I'm leaning towards the early cut as if it Carrie's on growing as it is now it probably wont be that much lighter than if left to mid May
 

upnortheast

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Just checked some silage ground whilst checking some ewe lambs, its looking good! Jumped in the past couple of weeks for definite. We direct drilled some hybrid ryegrass and red clover into a tired ley after 3rd cut last year should hopefully make some good silage!
The difference between Cornwall & Northumberland ! - with snow forcast for tonight
Don`t think our little hedge plants will suffer from drought stress any time soon :(
Jan 20th flood.jpg
 
Last edited:
Location
West Wales
Any possibility of leaving it for hay this year as dry cow feed and get tack sheep this winter to sort it out for next year? Alternatively cut asap accept your yield will be down but quality should be good and then take a cut from it every 4-6 weeks from then on to try and maximise yield? Those are the options I'm toying between, but given how it's looking now I'm leaning towards the early cut as if it Carrie's on growing as it is now it probably wont be that much lighter than if left to mid May

would be too larger an area for hay unless we try and clamp it alongside our forage rye as dry cow food and then pray to god it rains For a decent second cut
 

Jdunn55

Member
would be too larger an area for hay unless we try and clamp it alongside our forage rye as dry cow food and then pray to god it rains For a decent second cut
In that case if it were me, I'd go with cutting asap and then every month from then on, you'll never let the grass get to head and by the end of September you might have the same amount of grass if you had left it bulk until the end of April/mid may but it will hopefully be rocket fuel!
 

Sylution

Member
Location
Carmarthenshire
really interested as to what you do here. Due to fences, wet ground and water supply we’ve got 100 odd Aves that haven’t seen sheep all winter and I can’t put heifers onto due to the previous owners “difficult situation with animals” meaning putting animals there wouldn’t be suitable. What would others do?Cut end of March/ early April? We normally go for 20th of April anyway just worried it will be sh!t? Or grass Harrow it in the spring to pull out the dead grass? My least favourite option but better than sh!t silage!

Our wintered grass always looks a bit yellow and oldish in March. But honestly by early May when we cut it looks good. Most of our silage ground is let to rest from 4th cut around Mid September to 1st cut. Slurry after christmas and fert on in Mid March. Did have sheep for years, however the fields were bare in spring and took ages to grow, and with wet winters were always waterlogged. Our soil structure now is much better, worms galore.

20210120_180734.jpg


Here is the 1st cut analysis. Cut 8th may. Not your 12me rocket fuel, but does our cows well. And always more milk than 2nd cut somehow, even if cut again in 30 days ish. 💁‍♂🙆‍♂️
 
Our wintered grass always looks a bit yellow and oldish in March. But honestly by early May when we cut it looks good. Most of our silage ground is let to rest from 4th cut around Mid September to 1st cut. Slurry after christmas and fert on in Mid March. Did have sheep for years, however the fields were bare in spring and took ages to grow, and with wet winters were always waterlogged. Our soil structure now is much better, worms galore.

View attachment 935292

Here is the 1st cut analysis. Cut 8th may. Not your 12me rocket fuel, but does our cows well. And always more milk than 2nd cut somehow, even if cut again in 30 days ish. 💁‍♂️🙆‍♂️
1st cut always feeds best here too.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
Our wintered grass always looks a bit yellow and oldish in March. But honestly by early May when we cut it looks good. Most of our silage ground is let to rest from 4th cut around Mid September to 1st cut. Slurry after christmas and fert on in Mid March. Did have sheep for years, however the fields were bare in spring and took ages to grow, and with wet winters were always waterlogged. Our soil structure now is much better, worms galore.

View attachment 935292

Here is the 1st cut analysis. Cut 8th may. Not your 12me rocket fuel, but does our cows well. And always more milk than 2nd cut somehow, even if cut again in 30 days ish. 💁‍♂️🙆‍♂️
Used the heifers to clear up after 4th cut, probably about ideal to carry over until silage mid May. Tack sheep going end Jan on some, will kick them into touch in years to come.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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