After second-cut silage is a good time to spread lime on silage fields and correct any pH deficiencies to improve soil health.
Many farms are still waiting to harvest their second cuts of silage, with the wet weather delaying harvesting for many.
But once it has been harvested it is a good opportunity to correct soil pH and soil fertility in the fields that require it.
Lime
After second-cut silage has been harvested, the sward is clean, which means lime will not stick to the grass leaves.
This offers farmers the perfect opportunity to correct the pH in the fields that require it.
Before spreading lime farmers can spread slurry, but a 10-day break between these applications is advised.
So, this also means that the required time between lime and slurry of three months can be observed.
But if it is applied before slurry, wait three to six months before applying slurry.
According to Teagasc, spreading lime after urea is not a problem, but if spread before urea is applied, farmers again need to wait three to six months before applying urea.
Fertiliser
Having fields in the wrong soil pH reduces the effectiveness of chemical fertiliser.
On most dairy farms silage crops demand the highest amount of chemical nitrogen inputs, and ensuring that farmers are getting the most out of their fertiliser is a must.
By correcting the pH of the soils on a farm, farmers can grow the same amount of grass using less chemical fertiliser.
For what is a relatively cheap input on farms it can have a significant impact on the requirement for chemical input, which can then result is significant savings being achieved on farms.
It is important to first determine that lime is required and soil test are the only way that this can really be achieved.
The result of these soil tests will determine the amount of soil that is needed, but you must also seek advice around over how long this lime should be spread.
For fields that require significant amounts of lime it may need to be spread over a number of years.