Silage 2022

Visited relatives in Mayo and was shocked that they still had half their cows inside. They had plenty grass from what I could see but I think it is the lack of fertilizer has them frightened to let the stock out.

I'm of the opinion that if you have always fertilized then there will be a buffer in the soil that grass will use. So for this year a lighter shake of fertilizer should not have a major difference in grass growth. If it continues into next year then you would then start to see a change in output

This thing about letting cattle out is all.in the mind. If there is grass there I would be letting cattle eat it. As long as ground can best it eat it. Even the fear of damage cattle will do is over emphaised. The biggest factor about fear is fear itself.

Rehousing 1/2 your stick is not so eathing to be afraid of. I would prefer to be sticking a bale in a feeder in May than in November and alot of lads do that anyway

Was always put for main cut, but with extra ground will prob have more bales, will suit transport and cutting a bit more. Doing a share of reseeding this year so should be less bales

Find it difficult to accept your grass situation is as bad as you say. It does NOT make sense at anytime to feed bales when there is ANY possibility of a pick of grass; the smallest colour of grass should be enough on May 8. Especially this year when bales could cost €10 plus more than other years. You're wasting money bigtime imo. If you graze the grass tight it will be all the better later in year.

It probably depends on the machinery available. I'm an old hand and have always done it alone the hard way with 2/3 covers (tough if windy) zill bags around the edges two lines of pallets in front and then tyres with nets over to keep birds off. I have plenty time and cut 12 acres each time, would hve all done in about 6 hours. In recent years have used clingfilm as first layer.

Considering getting Easyfix for first cut - about 50 covers (one pallet) would cost around €1700 incl Vat delivered. Size is 1.3m x 2 m and wt 33 kg. Have only seen pictures. They will sell smaller quantities. 50 covers would do 130 sq m. So would only do a % of the job.

If you see yourself being medium term in the business would invest in Easyfix. The zill bags were always a good investment.

With my system silage can get to 2m in height and I roll the plastic back a metre once a week as it gets high - feed that day for the week. Cut the top (second year) layer off with a Stanley.

If you eating bales and going to have surplus grass in a few weeks time you are adding cost into your system. Beef is very unforgiving of cost. Even without fertlizer bales are going to cost in or around 15-17/ bale. Fertlizer to grow it is adding another 15-20 bale.

Bales are looking like costing 35+/ bale. Those old bales if put aside and fed fist next Autumn it's a better option than watch grass growing now and baling in 2-3 weeks time. As well cattle are really stale in a shed now. At best they are gaining 400 grams per day. Out on grass they will be doing 1 kg+. Come August that gain starts to drop off fairly fast.

Any bales that are left over from a previous year should be fed first in the autumn.

Funkey Monkey, did you ever think about leaving the cows out for a few hours during the day to a strip of grass and bring them back inside for the night to the calves and the silage? I have seen it work to great success in places. Also helps the cows go back in heat by being away from the calf for the day.

Much the same as that here. Over the last couple of weeks it's shot up out of the ground. Will leave it till closer to the June bank holiday before knocking.

Regrowth will probably suffer without the bit of fert from the bag. Will put a coating of pig slurry on.

Cattle would be better off outside now with nothing to eat rather than being inside this time of the year. They’ll do more a thrive in April and may than they will from august to November unless it’s a very dry back end.

I'm the same here. Nearly too much grass about the place atm

Weanlings were taken off it on Christmas Eve and there was more grass on the main road than what was on it that day!

It got 2,500 gallons of pig slurry mid January when the closed period ended. I had planned on putting cattle slurry out on it 6 or 8 weeks after that but didn’t get time so all it got was 1 bag of Urea per acre then towards the end of March.

Reseeded about 4 years. It came out of long term tillage a few years before that but it’s funny ground, it’s off the scale for P, would be index 10 if the indexes went that high and K is a disaster in it, always index 1 or 2 no matter what so generally it gets slurry and 19-0-15 every year but said I’d chance the urea alone this year with the way things have went.

Looks light. Cutting a crop like that would hardly be worth the diesel used.