making silage HELP

stanflt

i ve got a jf900 harvester and a lely stabilo 600 however the jf doesnt like how the lely rows up the sward. is there a good rake on the market that will gather 10-15 foot but no more as it will only chock my 900

F.D

how about a lely rotonde? think its adjustable in width, so might be handy if the crop is light or heavy

Muckit

Cows out in Jan and now getting ready for silage......in March!!!.... you're showing us all up !!!!

pakalasa

He'll be buying the Christmas presents next...:D

Viewtodiefor

pakalasa wrote: »

He'll be buying the Christmas presents next...:D

Probably bought them last Xmas for this one!

cjpm

Viewtodiefor wrote: »

Probably bought them last Xmas for this one!

He got them in the sales on St. Stephen's day!!



Good man Stan, you're showing us all up

keep going

all these replies and hardly any answer to the question:D

fastrac94

dont rake infront of a jf,great harvester but they dont like raked grass....

Pat the lad

would u consider upgrading to a 1050. bigger better pick up. based on the jf 1350?

bob charles

12ft conditioner? or are you tedding?

case885

Id be very worried if you were picking up a 15 ft sward with 900 unless its very light silage, john deere 1365 is nice mower should do your job we have 1360 and jf 900

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

Id be very worried if you were picking up a 15 ft sward with 900 unless its very light silage, john deere 1365 is nice mower should do your job we have 1360 and jf 900

grass needs to be turned 2-3times

grazeaway

stanflt wrote: »

grass needs to be turned 2-3times

That seems bit like over kill. Why not just let it wilt for an extra day.

case885

stanflt wrote: »

grass needs to be turned 2-3times

y would you have to turn 1 10 ft sward?

stanflt

grazeaway wrote: »

That seems bit like over kill. Why not just let it wilt for an extra day.

dmd goes down over time on the ground-the extra wilt will just result in crispy dry top grass with sappy wet grass underneath resulting in less sugar, energy and protein conversion

simx

stanflt wrote: »

dmd goes down over time on the ground-the extra wilt will just result in crispy dry top grass with sappy wet grass underneath resulting in less sugar, energy and protein conversion

have you noticed greater dmd from doing this stanfit? on average over the years what would your silage dmd be?

stanflt

simx wrote: »

have you noticed greater dmd from doing this stanfit? on average over the years what would your silage dmd be?

silage without wilting used to average 19-20dm, i started wilting 2years ago and dm is averaging 32dm, cows up around 8litres/day during winter

simx

stanflt wrote: »

silage without wilting used to average 19-20dm, i started wilting 2years ago and dm is averaging 32dm, cows up around 8litres/day during winter

thats a nice difference alright,how long after mowing do you toss out?

stanflt

simx wrote: »

thats a nice difference alright,how long after mowing do you toss out?

as soon as its dry on top and inbetween rows is dry

case885

My silage is like dust this year it is so dry and there was no wilting done raked 3 swards together day after mowing grand job.

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

My silage is like dust this year it is so dry and there was no wilting done raked 3 swards together day after mowing grand job.

when was it cut, what is the dmd and protein like, are you winter milking

grazeaway

stanflt wrote: »

silage without wilting used to average 19-20dm, i started wilting 2years ago and dm is averaging 32dm, cows up around 8litres/day during winter

Am I right in assuming you don't have a mower conditioner? We get ours mown with a jd 1365 and wilt it for a day. Don't have a problem wet grass as the air gets in around the grass. Might save you a lot of time and diesel.

stanflt

grazeaway wrote: »

Am I right in assuming you don't have a mower conditioner? We get ours mown with a jd 1365 and wilt it for a day. Don't have a problem wet grass as the air gets in around the grass. Might save you a lot of time and diesel.

have kuhn 302- with conditioner

grazeaway

stanflt wrote: »

have kuhn 302- with conditioner

Find it worrying that your not getting even drying. If the conditioner isn't working then maybe time foe a change of just get straight mower.

stanflt

grazeaway wrote: »

Find it worrying that your not getting even drying. If the conditioner isn't working then maybe time foe a change of just get straight mower.

a mower wont change the dm of grass- if i was cutting later than the first week in may i would have drier grass but i wouldnt have the quaility- i cut silage every six/seven weeks

mf240

Stan for best results how long down? (asuming weather is agreeable)

case885

stanflt wrote: »

when was it cut, what is the dmd and protein like, are you winter milking

it was cut around 19 may there was good weather but the driest of the silage was the 2nd cut, dont test it but pressume it is high as it was very dry. yes im winter milking and cows are milking well.
Have you pictures of jf?

stanflt

mf240 wrote: »

Stan for best results how long down? (asuming weather is agreeable)

less than 36hours

grazeaway

stanflt wrote: »

a mower wont change the dm of grass- if i was cutting later than the first week in may i would have drier grass but i wouldnt have the quaility- i cut silage every six/seven weeks

Cool pics, grass does look good and leafy so wouldn't fluff as much as with stalkier grass which would explain why it's not drying like ours

Actually reminds me of silage on the continent where the crops tend to be much lighter

case885

also that grass looks very fresh more like grazing, how do you cut every 6/7 weeks with fertiliser? There are a few around me who do this i expect their silage will be black for the winter

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

it was cut around 19 may there was good weather but the driest of the silage was the 2nd cut, dont test it but pressume it is high as it was very dry. yes im winter milking and cows are milking well.
Have you pictures of jf?

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stanflt

case885 wrote: »

also that grass looks very fresh more like grazing, how do you cut every 6/7 weeks with fertiliser? There are a few around me who do this i expect their silage will be black for the winter

soil fertility

case885

what have you on jf? what ft sward do you pick up?

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

what have you on jf? what ft sward do you pick up?

tm125 10ft

case885

125 has no problems i bet, how many acres a year do you cut?

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

125 has no problems i bet, how many acres a year do you cut?

220for myself
120 with an uncle
140 with the cousin

machinery ring

Tipp Man

stanflt wrote: »

a mower wont change the dm of grass- if i was cutting later than the first week in may i would have drier grass but i wouldnt have the quaility- i cut silage every six/seven weeks

Stan what type of lely is that shaking out the grass?? And is it any good?

Will probably buy something ourselves this year as we can't get the f##king contractor to do it

case885

stanflt wrote: »

220for myself
120 with an uncle
140 with the cousin

machinery ring

Thats good going, id say you should get a jf 1050 and rake in 20 ft sward ud fly through it only thing is ud need something bigger on harvester

stanflt

Tipp Man wrote: »

Stan what type of lely is that shaking out the grass?? And is it any good?

Will probably buy something ourselves this year as we can't get the f##king contractor to do it

stabillo 600- great machine- different to the claas and krone as the grass gets more air time and tossed better

Tipp Man

stanflt wrote: »

stabillo 600- great machine- different to the claas and krone as the grass gets more air time and tossed better

and she'll rake for you as well??

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

Thats good going, id say you should get a jf 1050 and rake in 20 ft sward ud fly through it only thing is ud need something bigger on harvester

thinking of a wagon- labour and diesel and chop lenght

MfMan

stanflt wrote: »

as soon as its dry on top and inbetween rows is dry

Stan, is it a separate conditioner / 'wuffler' you have? If so, how many turns do you give the crop? What width are the swathes and how long do you leave the crop down before ensiling? My own pit was tested as being of very poor quality and I'm thinking of investing in a conditioner this year in order to improve the quality.

stanflt

Tipp Man wrote: »

and she'll rake for you as well??

no its crap at raking- only suitable for raking hay

case885

stanflt wrote: »

thinking of a wagon- labour and diesel and chop lenght

wagons are good alright but i dunno if 1 would do for 480 acres it take some time unless it is short draw?

stanflt

case885 wrote: »

wagons are good alright but i dunno if 1 would do for 480 acres it take some time unless it is short draw?

trying to convince the other members to buy one between them;)

stanflt

MfMan wrote: »

Stan, is it a separate conditioner / 'wuffler' you have? If so, how many turns do you give the crop? What width are the swathes and how long do you leave the crop down before ensiling? My own pit was tested as being of very poor quality and I'm thinking of investing in a conditioner this year in order to improve the quality.

seperate tedder- see picture of 2wd tractor

freedominacup

case885 wrote: »

wagons are good alright but i dunno if 1 would do for 480 acres it take some time unless it is short draw?

In light stuff like stan is cutting a half reasonable wagon would clear an acre per load. Our guy was clearing 4 acres per hour last year on 15/16 May for first cut. Charging by the hour also so acres/hour was watched closely.

porter shark

case885 wrote: »

Thats good going, id say you should get a jf 1050 and rake in 20 ft sward ud fly through it only thing is ud need something bigger on harvester

the classic mistake that put so many silage operations out of business... change harvester, then tractor has to be upgraded, next thing your loader isn't able handle the volume and has to be upgraded, and an extra trailer tractor and man needed drawing.
end result business un profitable and gear is on the donedeal

porter shark

stan you have a lovely operation, the lely rotonde will take from about 14' to about 18' and will leave a nice even row if your crop is evenly spread on the ground before raking. its a much better machine than a cam-rake and much more affordable, 8,000ish incl. vat.

redzerologhlen

porter shark wrote: »

stan you have a lovely operation, the lely rotonde will take from about 14' to about 18' and will leave a nice even row if your crop is evenly spread on the ground before raking. its a much better machine than a cam-rake and much more affordable, 8,000ish incl. vat.

It leaves a nice swath after it alright, A local small contractor has one and the rows look ideal for the feed on any machine afterwards and it leaves the ground fairly clean too. They said it is a bit cumbersome on the road though but that's probably not an issue for you stan.

grazeaway

stanflt wrote: »

trying to convince the other members to buy one between them;)

that could be the stumbling block alright. reckon your right about the tedder being only good for hay. If your doing that much silage then maybe a silage tedder might be better. Leave the silage straight out the back of the mower (no rows) to dry then ted it in like the lads with those massive mowers do.

silage wagon for 480 acrers would need to be big so you might have to upgrade the tractor NH125 might be too small to pick up quicly enough. Then your into weighing up getting a machine with CVT and so on.