{"id":507866,"date":"2020-07-11T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=507866"},"modified":"2020-07-10T10:14:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T09:14:02","slug":"growthwatch-focus-switches-to-second-cut-silage-and-surpluses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/growthwatch-focus-switches-to-second-cut-silage-and-surpluses\/","title":{"rendered":"GrowthWatch: Focus switches to second-cut silage and surpluses"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Teagasc\u2019s Se\u00e1n Cummins and James Fitzgerald<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

After a challenging few weeks in terms of drought, the farms in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme are now in a position of surplus grass once again.<\/p>\n

The focus for this and next week has firmly switched to getting second-cut silage crops saved and back into the yard, and on collecting any surplus grass from paddocks.<\/p>\n

In terms of the second-cut silage, crops have bulked up really well in most cases during the last three weeks. However, the grass to stem ratio is lower than desired in some cases as a result of grass being stressed up until mid-June.<\/p>\n

At this point, and before quality deteriorates completely, it\u2019s important to get this crop saved and added to the winter feed supplies.<\/p>\n

Unlike other beef systems, there\u2019s no scope for inferior-quality silage in calf-to-beef systems and it\u2019s worth remembering at this point that the daily meal feeding rate for weanlings on respective silages of 75% dry matter digestibility (DMD) and 65% DMD differs by nearly 180kg over a 120-day winter.<\/p>\n

[grass_growth_map from=”2020\/06\/26″ to=”2020\/07\/9″]<\/p>\n

Some farmers are questioning on whether or not grass is still high in nitrogen (N) and what potential impact this may have on fermentation.<\/p>\n

Typically, grass takes up 2 units\/ac\/day of nitrogen (N) in ideal growing conditions. However, the weather since fertilisation has not been sufficient for this to occur in some cases.<\/p>\n

To see if grass is suitable for cutting both the sugar and nitrates levels need to be tested prior to harvesting. Ideally, the sample of grass should be taken in conditions that mirror those of when the mower enters the field and ideally from midday onwards, when sugars are at the highest levels.<\/p>\n

In addition, with the growth rates that have been seen over recent weeks, many of the Teagasc Green Acres farms are in a position of surplus grass on the grazing platform.<\/p>\n

When the second-cut silage crop is being harvested, this might be an opportunity to remove this surplus grass and add it to the winter feed stack in the yard.<\/p>\n

JP Hammersley, Lattin, Co. Tipperary<\/strong><\/p>\n