Silage 2024

Conversations 3

How's the silage ground traveling this year?

Grazed off? Slurry out? Fert spread?

Or is it like a bog at the moment, a good year for rewetting.

893bet

If get another 3 weeks fine weather might get the last 2023 silage made….

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058340151/silage-2024

Floating

grange mac

Presently building my silage arc in anticipation of the 100mm yr is currently showing for the south west from this evening.... Need not say anymore.

TinyMuffin

I’m grazing off the silage that couldn’t be cut last autumn with 15 of the lightest weanlings heifers.

roosterman71

Nothing growing. Sheep went off it end of December and nothing has come back yet. Too wet in most places to travel. Few spots might be OK. Was hoping this week would be relatively dry and I could get some slurry out somewhere to get something going. Not looking likely at the minute though

stanflt

Nice cover of 7-800 on mine now - was grazed till mid December- got slurry in late Jan early feb- did a small bit of tracking around the gates but nothing major- 8 weeks till cutting

Tea cakes

Hi all, lots of grass on the silage ground right now, it wasn't grazed off as tight as I would have liked at the tail end of last year because of the wet, and haven't been able to get it grazed this spring either for the same reason.

I have weanlings and lighter cattle on some of it but they won't have it cleaned off by the time I'd like to close up and spread fert. Would the quality be badly affected if I don't graze it off and just spread the fert and let it on as is?

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917209#Comment_121917209

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Have grazed in the past and not grazed in the past before closing up. Tests have all been similar. Cutting date and weather is what determines quality imo

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917209#Comment_121917209

I’m in the same boat, I’m grazing it now with yearlings but I don’t know if I’m doing more harm than good.

There’s a lot of grass on some fields, probably 5 bales/acre if it was cut and baled now. The cattle are grazing it but clean outs are poor. Ground conditions are soft so they’re walking a lot of it into the ground. This could leave the silage a lot poorer than if I had left it and gave it a light application of fert and cut it for silage in the middle of April.

Its the driest land I have so if I don’t let them graze it then they’ll be back in the shed and I don’t want that either so I’m going to persevere but only time will tell id it was the right or wrong decision. Ask me next winter when I get silage samples done!

funkey_monkey

Slurry out. Soil sample results in. Can be travelled. Fertiliser will hopefully be out mid April.

Field is bare though. Waiting for temp to rise a bit more.

Good loser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917209#Comment_121917209

Graze away up to April 1 to 5. Then silage fert and roll when conditions suit.

Silverdream

Grazing silage ground at the moment with 200-250kg heifers. Anyting heavier and they are just ploughing the ground. I got some slurry out last week, its well washed in already and if April drys out then it would be silage ready by May 1st.

Conversations 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920293#Comment_121920293

What's the advantage of rolling it?

Some are for and some are against

Good loser

It presses the up/down bits of clay into level so less risk of clay contamination in the silage. The more severely poached the grass the greater the need to roll. Rolling will also level any ruts left by spinner when ground was soft.

Seadin

Won't be spreading no fertilizer until after mid April and Il be spreading it with a quad bike.

Seadin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121935487#Comment_121935487

🤣🤣🤣

kk.man

Very dry ground here...went with tractor and spiner... gave up on Saturday..never saw ground as wet.. beside some of the top tillage fields in the country

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121935650#Comment_121935650

I walked the place today, it was like the penance of Christ, fell 3 times.

Never seen it as wet. High clay content here in soil but every where is full to the top.

Ground will take a lot to warm up.

Aravo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121935487#Comment_121935487

Word on the street is that JP had a helicopter on standby for some kind of prison break. But that plan is no longer proceeding.

funkey_monkey

Lashed all day yesterday. Drizzly rain today.

We may close this thread and start 'Silage 2025'.

roosterman71

It's looking like first cuts will be late this year. How many of ye have slurry on the silage ground and fertiliser out? Or be able to get some out?

Is it too late now for slurry seeing as we're <2 months from a lot of it being cut and no dry weather on the horizon. Would bagged fert be a better option for many now if it dries a bit?

funkey_monkey

Got our slurry out during a brief spell. Some had to go out by umbilical to relieve pressure on the tanks.

Although I find that umbilical requires so much water to be spread that you lose a good few weeks storage. So, when you fill the tanks with water to make it pump-able there is no turning back.

If you get the weather go for it. I'd go with the bags first as you'll get more bang for buck with it. Then at least 10 days later you can go out with slurry.

https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/soil--soil-fertility/faq/organic-manures-faq/#:~:text=Q.,after%20slurry%20spreading%20for%20application.

whelan2

We didn't do our first cut until mid June last year. It was the best of stuff. We grazed it off fully first before putting out slurry and fertiliser. Aas a late turnout last year. The dates dont matter, too many get hung up on early silage, fine if you've to do 4 cuts or whatever.

Cavanjack

Me old lad never cut until mid June at the earliest and never panicked about it either. Got on the best. It’s nice to get cut early but if you can’t so be it. Weather is out of our control.

Reggie.

Loads of slurry abandoned here for silage ground. Will have to go out after the first cuts

Conversations 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121942841#Comment_121942841

When would the grass start to head out?

I suppose if it's grazed off tight first it would delay it

whelan2

Cut it before it heads out. Normally 6 weeks growing time