Manure timing ?

[Obi Wan]

Hi I've been wondering how long 25/5/5 manure will last? I've always worked on 6 weeks rule of thumb and aim to top up or cut grass to suit. Would cutting it earlier give a better aftermath? This year has been wet for us and some grass shift that got too strong were shut off for silage - grass didn't head up after 6 weeks so I'm thinking the manure must still be giving a good feed? Anyone using other timings etc? Cheers

 

[Ormond]

Depends what rate you put on..
I work on about 2/2.5 units/acre a day N usage . Depends on rainfall , heat etc. Cutting earlier will give a faster regrowth generally

 

[tr250]

Do you mean bagged fertiliser? Manure is muck from animals.
2 units a day tends to be rule how much did you put on?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Lawn clippings silage was all the go in the early 80 ts .cut every 6 weeks alternating with grazing paddocks. Basically cutting the paddocks that were a week to strong for the cows

 

[Obi Wan]

Thanks Ormond, I always thought It must vary with weather conditions. I’m not sure about units - still work in hundred weights, 1.5 - 2 per acre once the grass starts to grow. I’m trying to cut down on manure by paddock grazing rather than set stocking, it looks to be paying off.

 

[Ormond]

So that's 75 to 100kg to the acre of 25 units of nitrogen so will give you 37.5 to 50 units to the acre. For silage we work on 100 units for first cut...90 ish for second cut and for grazing milk cows every 3 weeks approx with 34.5 units to the acre

 

[Obi Wan]

Sorry tr250 & Forage Trader just seen your posts.

Yes bagged fert - sorry local name for it here. I’m not sure on the units per day?

Yes that would make good quality silage but I’m not sure if I’d like to foot the bill

 

[Obi Wan]

So that's 75 to 100kg to the acre of 25 units of nitrogen so will give you 37.5 to 50 units to the acre. For silage we work on 100 units for first cut...90 ish for second cut and for grazing milk cows every 3 weeks approx with 34.5 units to the acre

Everyday is a school day, thanks for info. I’ve been wondering for years but never got round to asking lol

 

[betweenthelines]

I think this question is wrong. Ferts are just growth promoters. Crops will grow irrespective of fertiliser input. Ferts (organic or inorganic) will affect yields but will not affect things like seeding. I don't see that ferts can "run out" just that you can remove the crop that has benefited from them. The affect of additional ferts. can be seen within a couple of days.

 

[Obi Wan]

I think this question is wrong. Ferts are just growth promoters. Crops will grow irrespective of fertiliser input. Ferts (organic or inorganic) will affect yields but will not affect things like seeding. I don't see that ferts can "run out" just that you can remove the crop that has benefited from them. The affect of additional ferts. can be seen within a couple of days.

I think you've sort of A. missed the point and B. also come with the exact point i'm trying to determine. When is the best time to harvest the grass that's benefited from the "growth promoters" before the plant becomes stressed due to the growth promoters dropping away and goes to seed. Is it better to cut a week before you estimate the benefit of additional feed should wain and secure a higher quality fodder even though you're then affecting the amount of crop yielded vs cost.

 

[Ormond]

I don't agree that ferts can be seen in a couple of days. For us the optimum time to cut grass is worked out by when the N has been used upload you don't want it in your grass for making silage along with cutting just before the head emerges or during to give us a balance of quality and quantity

 

[DaveGrohl]

Grass will seed no matter how much fert you put on even if you don't put any on at all. Large doses of fert make very little difference to this but you then run the danger of high plant nitrogen levels which can make it difficult to make into silage/haylage or whatever. At the levels you're putting on it doesn't sound like you'll be in any danger of that though.

Also the 2 units of N per day rule of thumb is a very loose rule and is affected by things such as drought, heavy rain, type of fert, stage of growth and growy weather etc. I suppose the rule of thumb is there to provide a starting point though.