Cheapest form of wholecrop

[Chasingmytail]

Did peas and barley last year, good yield after drought, but worked out considerably expensive (min £55 per bale).
Drilled and harvested into bales by contractor. Only 20 acres.

Thinking about this year coming now need to think what alternatives - if any makes it more economical - if there is one.

Feed youngstock cattle - organic.

 

[michael N123]

Have you not got anywhere you can pit it ?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Whole crop as never really been viable cost wise unless you can use farm saved seed , nothing will beat grass but then you don't quite get that same energy out of it , 3 cuts of Italian Rygrass and Red clover will knock spots off it

 

[wdah/him]

Whole crop as never really been viable cost wise unless you can use farm saved seed , nothing will beat grass but then you don't quite get that same energy out of it , 3 cuts of Italian Rygrass and Red clover will knock spots off it

For price this is best I found a few years ago. We grew wheat as whole crop then into grass after. Never again would I do that as price was too much. On paper growing grass as a crop ie as in giving it all it needs when it needs similar to grain was a fair bit more cheaper and reliable, just hard to get that into my head.

Yes this year I am under sowing corn with grass owing to ground conditions. But unlikely to do it if ground wasnt as heavy

 

[Timbo]

Did peas and barley last year, good yield after drought, but worked out considerably expensive (min £55 per bale).
Drilled and harvested into bales by contractor. Only 20 acres.

Thinking about this year coming now need to think what alternatives - if any makes it more economical - if there is one.

Feed youngstock cattle - organic.

So I do similar (s barley + peas ) and undersown with a new ley. The new ley is my priority, - appreciate the bales wrapped aren't cheap, but they do a superb job feeding weanlings over winter that I don't really consider the cost factor.

 

[ollie989898]

Whole crop as never really been viable cost wise unless you can use farm saved seed , nothing will beat grass but then you don't quite get that same energy out of it , 3 cuts of Italian Rygrass and Red clover will knock spots off it

The seed cost is immaterial.

You grow wholecrop for starch, neither ryegrass nor clover can produce this. They are subtly different feeds.

 

[ollie989898]

What do you call wholecrop?

What was the crude protein and starch value of the pea and barley mix? I've had wholecrop that yielded handsomely and had a higher starch value than some maize crops that same season.

Compare the cost of growing forages to the cost of having to buy in other feeds, particularly as straights or compounds. Shave a few percent CP off your cow ration all winter and you are talking big savings which make the cost of growing 20 acres of wholecrop look fudge all.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What do you call wholecrop?

What was the crude protein and starch value of the pea and barley mix? I've had wholecrop that yielded handsomely and had a higher starch value than some maize crops that same season.

Compare the cost of growing forages to the cost of having to buy in other feeds, particularly as straights or compounds. Shave a few percent CP off your cow ration all winter and you are talking big savings which make the cost of growing 20 acres of wholecrop look fudge all.

OK work out for me the cost in energy terms of a bale of whole crop at over £50 a bale against bought in barley . And its not that simple either as buying in barley he is buying in acres that need do be added to the equation

 

[ollie989898]

OK work out for me the cost in energy terms of a bale of whole crop at over £50 a bale against bought in barley . And its not that simple either as buying in barley he is buying in acres that need do be added to the equation

I have no idea how you get to the cost of a bale of wholecrop at £50, many of my clients told me that the cost of whole crop, per tonne of dry matter was similar to that of maize. Remember the cost of maize seed is not insignificant and it's late harvest is problematic some years. Wholecrop is more reliable in that respect (especially in a dry year) and the cost of seed is much more reasonable.

I would also contend that wholecrop and a tonne of rolled barley are not comparable. For starters, you can only feed so much rolled barley as it is dusty as fudge and basically DIY acidosis in a bag. Wholecrop is a lot kinder to the rumen and includes a fibre source.

It's not all as cut and dried as people think- cutting and conserving multiple cuts of grass isn't particularly cheap either, especially on farms that go dry as their yields taper off quite fast sometimes.

 

[Timbo]

I would also contend that wholecrop and a tonne of rolled barley are not comparable. For starters, you can only feed so much rolled barley as it is dusty as fudge and basically DIY acidosis in a bag. Wholecrop is a lot kinder to the rumen and includes a fibre source.

EXACTLY.

 

[ollie989898]

The wholecrop thing is a wide array of things IME.

I've had farms literally spin on some spring barley seed and call it wholecrop. They cut it in July and literally do nothing to it in the meantime. No fertiliser, no weed control, no fungicide, no soil sampling. Dung/slurry. Probably. Cost to grow, you tell me.

Then I've had farms grow full blown winter wheat crops, all 4 fungicide timings, insists on pre-em followed by reduced rate atlantis and then decide actually, they might combine it. Cost to grow- well, I can probably see £60 of fertiliser spend on that and probably the same if not more on chemical.

You can't equate scenario A with scenario B. The people who gave up on whole crop and criticising it in my limited experience were the ones who didn't recognise that their crop was essentially dead by July because of disease and didn't yield anything like as well as next doors crop who had to wait 2 weeks later to cut because they had used strobilurins at T3.

 

[onesiedale]

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but the best (and cheapest) whole crop to ensile for livestock is grass

 

[Scholsey]

I see wholecrop as a break crop to grass that gives a perfect window to plant a fresh grass ley, if managed you can get a 3-4t/ac cut of grass in April, plant spring barley, 8-10t of spring barley and 1 maybe 2 cuts of grass in the autumn, a means to reseed whilst maintaining a level of production.

 

[ollie989898]

I see wholecrop as a break crop to grass that gives a perfect window to plant a fresh grass ley, if managed you can get a 3-4t/ac cut of grass in April, plant spring barley, 8-10t of spring barley and 1 maybe 2 cuts of grass in the autumn, a means to reseed whilst maintaining a level of production.

Bingo.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I have no idea how you get to the cost of a bale of wholecrop at £50, many of my clients told me that the cost of whole crop, per tonne of dry matter was similar to that of maize. Remember the cost of maize seed is not insignificant and it's late harvest is problematic some years. Wholecrop is more reliable in that respect (especially in a dry year) and the cost of seed is much more reasonable.

I would also contend that wholecrop and a tonne of rolled barley are not comparable. For starters, you can only feed so much rolled barley as it is dusty as fudge and basically DIY acidosis in a bag. Wholecrop is a lot kinder to the rumen and includes a fibre source.

It's not all as cut and dried as people think- cutting and conserving multiple cuts of grass isn't particularly cheap either, especially on farms that go dry as their yields taper off quite fast sometimes.

If you read the op that's what it says it costs him . My comments only refer to the op as they should

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If you read the op that's what it says it costs him . My comments only refer to the op as they should

Sorry he said over £55, I don't play bingo ether always seem to lose[emoji23]

 

[Scholsey]

Did peas and barley last year, good yield after drought, but worked out considerably expensive (min £55 per bale).
Drilled and harvested into bales by contractor. Only 20 acres.

Thinking about this year coming now need to think what alternatives - if any makes it more economical - if there is one.

Feed youngstock cattle - organic.

FODDER BEET, grew 7 acres organic, hoed it, 28t/ac worked out £22/t including rent

 

[ollie989898]

FODDER BEET, grew 7 acres organic, hoed in, 28t/ac worked out £22/t including rent

Mind the dry matter value of beet might skew things...

 

[ollie989898]

If you read the op that's what it says it costs him . My comments only refer to the op as they should

He doesn't elaborate on how he arrived at that cost. Was the crop poor, for example.

 

[Chasingmytail]

Clamp not got space nor have we got storage/feeders for importing barley etc. The efficiency of unwarping a bale and putting straight in calf pen works for us in time and hassle. Our young sons can do it in 10 mins and lasts about 3 days. Plus want to get the growth and weight on AA.

I have no idea how you get to the cost of a bale of wholecrop at £50

seed was seriously very expensive, drilling and contractors cut and wrap etc worked out around the £55 a bale. Time we divided the labour, ploughing, muck spreading...etc and stacking etc. Perhaps we could of got a better yield too. Crop was good and strong.

Yes we plan to do a lot of reseeding lays around the farm so last years going back to a clover rich lay and a tied field plan to plough up this year. Getting 3 cuts out of our grass would be impossible on organic lays plus the costs etc with getting contractors in.