Balmesh silage video 2022.

[michael N123]

That could be a big crop this year be a few farmers not putting so much fert on with price it is

 

[valtra]

It's just up the road from me schugs are the contractors, the farmer is hoping to take multiple cuts this summer he's only a week or so earlier than last year I think, but we have had a better spring than previous years.

 

[Courier]

Is it worth doing 5 or 6 cuts with costs as they are?

There really is no substitute for v. high quality forage….

 

[hill shepherd]

@hill shepherd lives on the hills behind there,im over other side of valley, not a lot of grass about yet!

Different world to where I live, but only about 5 or 6 miles away

 

[M-J-G]

Some small number of herds are housed all year round. Some herds are just too large to be sent out to graze. These are usually ‘storage fed’ which means that all their forage is conserved and uniform in quality. No waste from soiled grazing and no cows standing in the freezing rain and not eating or cudding.
Their choice. They can generally achieve very high stocking rates and milk yields although the nutters amongst us and the public are trying to demonise this for their own peculiar and sometimes nefarious reasons. There is certainly an issue with complying with NVZ’s with this system unless the farm also has a substantial arable area.

I understand the system, I was just curious about if 6 cuts of grass clippings still made sense over 3 good cuts and if the extra feed value made up for driving over the acres for less grass per cut.

Some guys up here have gone from 4 or 5 cuts back to 3 because the first and last cut weren't worth the hassle and the bit of fibre and body in the grass is making the diet easier to make stable with less need for chopped straw without a great deal of compromise.

I don't have any real opinion on the matter, I'm just curious.

 

[M-J-G]

There really is no substitute for v. high quality forage….

Are there any figures/calculations to demonstrate that?
Even gold can be too dear.

 

[muleman]

Are there any figures/calculations to demonstrate that?
Even gold can be too dear.

2 good cuts will probably be the better job now fertiliser and fuel has gone so dear.

 

[Cowabunga]

2 good cuts will probably be the better job now fertiliser and fuel has gone so dear.

That’s what I’m aiming for this year with a higher quantity than usual of silage from last year left over. Still don’t want to compromise quality too much, so I aim to go by the tenth of May at the latest, weather permitting. There is a reasonably good crop to cut.

 

[Bill the Bass]

Different world to where I live, but only about 5 or 6 miles away

Drove past the first video the other day before it was cut and thought it won’t be long, looked to have a decent bit of grass on. Easy for folk on a forum to criticise but them
lads on millionaires row have nowt to learn.

 

[BAF]

Saw first cut taken off by one of the local big boys at the start of the week this week. Must have done 5/600 acres maybe a bit more. Looked great for sheep keep!

 

[trev1]

could have grazed that all April at 40 +p litre. How much a litre would it have to be to better that as silage?

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I understand the system, I was just curious about if 6 cuts of grass clippings still made sense over 3 good cuts and if the extra feed value made up for driving over the acres for less grass per cut.

Some guys up here have gone from 4 or 5 cuts back to 3 because the first and last cut weren't worth the hassle and the bit of fibre and body in the grass is making the diet easier to make stable with less need for chopped straw without a great deal of compromise.

I don't have any real opinion on the matter, I'm just curious.

One of my dairy mates has gone back too 3 cuts now. Last cut in mid august. He reckoned he was having too chop and add far too much straw or dry haylage too bulk the fibre in the 4th cut out for it too be viable.