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We enisled our first cut at the beginning of the recent dry period.
At the time we were unaware a lack of rain would last as long as it did. On the day we started, it was dry, but the skies were ominously overcast, the temperature was modest and with almost no wind to dry cut grass.
It was mowed on a Monday and lifted on Thursday afternoon with all grass being tedded at least twice. It went in dry, with almost no effluent after the silo was sealed.
I realise that such a long window from mowing to ensiling is less than ideal due to the risk of higher losses from the crop. However, we reasoned this was a better option than putting the grass in earlier, but with a lower dry matter.
A contractor now puts in the majority of our silage with the exception of a 15ac block at an out farm where the yard is too tight for large machinery.
For this block, we cut it with our own ‘retro’ JF 850.
A combination of this, as well as mowing and tedding all the grass, allows my father to get his silage fix without the four-day pressurised campaigns of previous years.
Paddocks
The dry spell also allowed for perfect conditions for pre-mowing grazing swards, with good clean-ups being achieved by the cows.
However, the lack of rain significantly hit growth rates and as a result we have been buffer feeding cows with bale silage made of surplus from the previous rotation.
While this does take extra work, I was more than happy to endure it – the cows might not have had as much fresh grass as I would like, but they milked well, maintained condition, and while grazing, they were the picture of contentment.
Ballymoney Show
Despite the workload, I got some time off to attend Ballymoney Show at the start of June.
While understandably many local agricultural shows have struggled in the wake of the pandemic, Ballymoney Show committee must be congratulated for what I thought was the best local show I have ever attended.
Lynsey and I went at midday on the Saturday intending to just get lunch, spend no more than an hour or so taking a look around and then straight home to get more jobs cleared up. Needless to say this plan did not come to pass and evening milking was slightly delayed.
The amount of work and dedication involved in running a weekend show cannot be overstated. It represents all that is best with our local agricultural community.
The neighbours
For those who don’t know, you will find that farmers are by their nature curious creatures who take great interest in what their neighbours are up to.
I have recently discovered this can lead to acts of agricultural espionage.
I will not mention any names, but one of our neighbours recently commented to another how he was wasting his time and money spraying a seaweed biostimulant to his grassland.
The other neighbour, wanting to prove his case, took grass samples of his own treated grass and unbeknown to his neighbour, jumped a march fence and sampled his as well, sending both for analysis. He showed me the result of both samples. While the untreated grass gave a very respectable analysis, I was extremely surprised to see how much better the treated grass analysed for protein content.
Both men are excellent farmers, keen to try new practises and technologies and,importantly, they don’t have an ego preventing them from telling you if something they tried hasn’t worked.
Much as I appreciate the research and advice that comes from AFBI and CAFRE, cautious farmers like myself are much more likely to embrace change if they have seen it done by those they know and trust – even if the research involved some undercover work the CIA would be proud of.
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