For those that may run short on silage, a fodder crop may be a solution.
Although last winter was quite good and cows got to grass quite early, the spring quickly turned and silage was back in diets.
This continued well past previous years and meant that on many farms the silage pit was empty when cows went to grass full time.
A fodder budget needs to be completed on farms to determine the outlook for fodder moving into the winter months.
Silage
Silage has once again been reintroduced into the diet on many farms and is likely to continue to be fed for a number of weeks to come.
The dry weather came at the right time for harvesting of first-cut silage and for the breeding of cows, but it has hung around for too long now.
Some farms are now is a position whereby growth is behind demand and average farm cover has dropped.
This means that for many farms that already used extra silage or have eaten into their surplus silage supplies, they now have also started to feed silage during recent weeks.
The hope would be that the feeding of silage can stop in the next few days or weeks and that the harvesting of second-cut silage can take place.
However, there is also the option of putting in a fodder crop to reduce the demand placed on the silage supplies during the upcoming winter.
Fodder crop
On some farms, the sowing of a fodder crop could be an effective way of ensuring that fodder supplies are adequate for the winter ahead.
A fodder crop can also be incorporated into a reseeding programme, with grazed fodder crops offering an ideal seed bed for an early spring reseed.
But before farmers consider planting a fodder crop there are a number of questions they should ask themselves, such as:
- Is the land suitable to grow and graze forage crops?
- When do you plan to graze the crop?
- When will the land for the potential crop become free for cultivation and sowing?
- What type of stock and how many do you plan to graze on the crop?
Farmers also need a field that has a good soil pH of 6.0-6.5 and a field that is flat, if possible.
Although the fodder crop will be the majority of the animals’ diet, they still require a roughage in the form of hay or silage to make up about 30% of their diet.
Generally, bales are placed in the field around the crop and access is given to a fresh bales regularly.
If you are considering a fodder crop you should seek advice and determine what crop will suit you best and which animals should be used to graze it.